Introduction: Dance as Social Life and Cultural Practice

Dance is a performing art form consisting of purposefully selected sequences of human

movement. This movement has aesthetic and symbolic value, and is acknowledged as dance by
performers and observers within a particular culture. Dance can be categorized and described
by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements, or by its historical period or place of origin.
An important distinction is to be drawn between the contexts of theatrical and participatory
dance, although these two categories are not always completely separate; both may have
special functions, whether social, ceremonial, competitive, erotic, martial, or sacred/liturgical.
Other forms of human movement are sometimes said to have a dance-like quality, including
martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading, figure skating, synchronized swimming, marching bands,
and many other forms of athletics.

Dance occupies an important place in the social structure of all human cultures throughout
history. Dance is most commonly defined as a way of human expression through movement. But dance
simply cannot be reduced merely to movement. While it is true that movement is indeed a fundamental
feature of dance, because dance can also be defined as a specific art movement, based on the
expressive moves of the human body, dance is also much more. A number of theoretical definitions of
dance define it as a conscious way of rhythmic movements of the body in a defined bounded space, but
these either sport-kinesiological or art theories of dance usually overlook many symbolic aspects of
dance. In many cases, they reduce dance to its physical component in terms of aesthetically perfected
rhythmic physical activity, but they overlook the multiple roles and meanings that dance has for the
society in which it appears. The purpose of this anthropology of dance issue is to unfold various
meanings and nuances of dance in contemporary societies, with different contributors with different
examples from around the (dance) world illustrating how dance can be observed, investigated and
theorised in all its variety.

From the anthropological point of view, dance can be defined as a cultural practice and as a
social ritual (Radcliffe-Brown 1994), whereby dance is seen as a means of aesthetic pleasure and a
means for establishing ties and specific structure in the community. Dance as a social ritual can be
considered in the light of the symbolic aspects of a specific culture and in the light of the processes of
identification and differentiation through the meanings that it produces for the individuals in this
culture.

Historically, as Sachs (1997) notes, dance was at all times and in all cultures tightly embedded in
the life of a particular society. It was a form of communication and an integral part of the reproduction
of the social system. To paraphrase Bourdieu (1994: 4), I can argue that dance as a specific language is a
socially-historical phenomenon, dependent on the space and time in which it exists and dependent on
the power structures that rule in that time. Dance is a learned cultural practice; Polhemus (1993: 8) says
that societies create dances and that dance is actually a ‘metaphysics of culture’, because a culture of
specific society is embodied in the forms of material and physical culture, and the latter is also stylized
and schematized in the form of dance.
 In this respect, all contributors to this issue study dance from the broader anthropological and
cultural studies perspectives and go beyond narrower conceptualizations of dance as mere physical
movement. The field of dance studies, from the anthropological perspective, has been growing in recent
decades; in this issue, dance is dealt with as a cultural practice and a social life. There is much dancing all
around the world. People dance for fun, pleasure, leisure, for money, for their jobs, for their self-
expression, for the sake of tradition, for ritual purposes etc. As such, dance should be examined as a part
of everyday life. Contributors examine dance as a part of modern world and investigate various dances
and dance-related practices in the context of globalization and some also in the context of the capitalist
world market.

What type of thing is dance?

Dance (also called "dancing") can be described as all of the following:

 an activity or behavior
 one of the arts – a creative endeavor or discipline.
 one of the performing arts – art performed for an audience and existing in time rather than
as a permanent object.
 Hobby – regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's
leisure time.
 Exercise – bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and
wellness.
 Recreation – leisure time activity
 Motion – change in position over time.
Types of dance
Type of dance – a particular dance or dance style. There are many varieties of dance. Dance categories
are not mutually exclusive. For example, tango is traditionally a partner dance. While it is mostly social
dance, its ballroom form may be competitive dance, as in Dancesport. At the same time it is enjoyed
as performance dance, whereby it may well be a solo dance.
Dance styles by number of interacting dancers

 Solo dance – a dance danced by an individual dancing alone.

 Partner dance – dance with just 2 dancers, dancing together. In most partner dances, one, typically
a man, is the leader; the other, typically a woman, is the follower. As a rule, they maintain
connection with each other. In some dances the connection is loose and called dance handhold. In
other dances the connection involves body contact.
 Group dance – dance danced by a group of people simultaneously. Group dances are generally, but
not always, coordinated or standardized in such a way that all the individuals in the group are
dancing the same steps at the same time. Alternatively, various groups within the larger group may
be dancing different, but complementary, parts of the larger dance.
Performance and participation
Theatrical dance, also called performance or concert dance, is intended primarily as a spectacle, usually
a performance upon a stage by virtuoso dancers. It often tells a story, perhaps
using mime, costume and scenery, or else it may simply interpret the musical accompaniment, which is
often specially composed. Examples are western ballet and modern dance, Classical Indian dance and
Chinese and Japanese song and dance dramas. Most classical forms are centered upon dance alone, but
performance dance may also appear in opera and other forms of musical theatre.
Participatory dance, on the other hand, whether it be a folk dance, a social dance, a group dance such as
a line, circle, chain or square dance, or a partner dance such as is common in western Western ballroom
dancing, is undertaken primarily for a common purpose, such as social interaction or exercise, of
participants rather than onlookers. Such dance seldom has any narrative. A group dance and a corps de
ballet, a social partner dance and a pas de deux, differ profoundly. Even a solo dance may be undertaken
solely for the satisfaction of the dancer. Participatory dancers often all employ the same movements
and steps but, for example, in the rave culture of electronic dance music, vast crowds may engage
in free dance, uncoordinated with those around them. On the other hand, some cultures lay down strict
rules as to the particular dances in which, for example, men, women and children may or must
participate.

Origins
Archeological evidence for early dance includes 9,000-year-old paintings in India at the Rock Shelters of
Bhimbetka, and Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures, dated c. 3300 BC. It has been
proposed that before the invention of written languages, dance was an important part of the oral and
performance methods of passing stories down from generation to generation. The use of dance
in ecstatictrance states and healing rituals (as observed today in many contemporary "primitive"
cultures, from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert) is thought to have been another early
factor in the social development of dance. References to dance can be found in very early recorded
history; Greek dance (horos) is referred to by Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian.
The Bible and Talmud refer to many events related to dance, and contain over 30 different dance terms.
In Chinese pottery as early as the Neolithic period, groups of people are depicted dancing in a line
holding hands, and the earliest Chinese word for "dance" is found written in the oracle bones. Dance is
further described in the Lüshi Chunqiu. Primitive dance in ancient China was associated with sorcery and
shamanic rituals.
During the first millennium BCE in India, many texts were composed which attempted to codify aspects
of daily life. Bharata Muni's Natyashastra(literally "the text of dramaturgy") is one of the earlier texts. It
mainly deals with drama, in which dance plays an important part in Indian culture. It categorizes dance
into four types - secular, ritual, abstract, and, interpretive - and into four regional varieties. The text
elaborates various hand-gestures (mudras) and classifies movements of the various limbs, steps and so
on. A strong continuous tradition of dance has since continued in India, through to modern times, where
it continues to play a role in culture, ritual, and, notably, the Bollywood entertainment industry. Many
other contemporary dance forms can likewise be traced back to historical, traditional, ceremonial,
and ethnic dance.

Dance and music

Dance is generally, though not exclusively, performed with the accompaniment of music and may or
may not be performed in time to such music. Some dance (such as tap dance) may provide its own
audible accompaniment in place of (or in addition to) music. Many early forms of music and dance were
created for each other and are frequently performed together. Notable examples of traditional
dance/music couplings include the jig, waltz, tango, disco, and salsa. Some musical genres have a
parallel dance form such as baroque music and baroque dance; other varieties of dance and music may
share nomenclature but developed separately, such as classical music and classical ballet.