Taking a Look at Capoeira and Belly Dancing

Dance has been affected by many events including religious rituals that helped form the art of dance, the Italian Renaissance, and the French Revolution. “Dance was originally reserved for religious rituals in ancient civilizations” (“Dance” 1). Dance was used in the religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic. In ancient Egypt, different cultures would use dance to perform for their peers in ceremonies. Dance spread throughout Europe and soon became a common activity in many European countries. Dance also played a part in Greek and Roman society. Dance was used for religious purposes and was also demonstrated in ceremonies. “Dancing commemorated the changing of the seasons, life and death, social solidarity, and the connection between humanity and the unseen powers that affected human existence” (“Overview of Dance” 2). Dance would also be used in the Greek society to honor a god or an important individual. Ballet can be dated all the way back to the Italian Renaissance. In the fifteenth century, ballet was demonstrated during the courts of Italy. Ballet was not made to be performed in front of

Dance is one of the most beautiful, expressive forms of art known to mankind. It expresses joy, love, sorrow, anger, and the list truly goes on for all the possible emotions that it can convey. Dance not only can express how one feels, but it can tell a story or even be used to praise a higher power. Dance has intricately played an important role to every culture over the course of time. Two forms of dance that have not only stood against the test of time but have influenced the development of other various styles of dance is none other than Classical Ballet and Modern Dance.

Why is being a fancy dancer such a big deal? This is the dance of the Native American Fancy Shawl. This dance interests a lot of people because many people do not believe that Natives exist, never have seen one dance, or even a fancy dancer dance before. “ This style of dance is the newest style of Native American dance there is.” In the early 1920’s,  Native American women started to dance the Fancy Shawl dance which was very uncommon. In the 1950’s, women became more aware of the Fancy Shawl dance and started to dance the dance more in the Southern Tribes (“The Evolving Beauty of the Fancy Shawl Dance”). Most of the dances that the Natives Americans dances started from the men, due to the women wanting to dance like the men did. When started

The mystique and murk that shroud the legend and disparate accounts of the mysterious Little Egypt – who stirred up much controversy in the United States in the time after the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 – only highlights the significance of the character in the evolution of belly dance and America’s perception of it. Most historical memoirs of danse du ventre, known as belly dancing, mention that it entered America through the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition. Concessions such as the Algerian, the Ottoman, the Persian as well as the Egyptian incorporated belly dance to draw crowds’ attention, profiting more in the process. Because of the nature of this exotic dance and its fluid arm and hand movements as well as isolations and shimmies of the shoulder, pelvis, abdominal muscles and head, its exposition spread rumors all over the country. Many flocked to see it. Nevertheless, the notorious name of Little Egypt came to be known from the Street in Cairo, owing to the several exotic shows that attracted many Americans. Even in the twenty-first century, Little Egypt’s name is still a mystery, having become a legend that has lured many dancers.

Natasha, an American belly dancer, takes on a journey to Egypt to explore the history of belly dancing. Through her documentary, The Belly Dancers of Cairo, Natasha highlights the traditional and contemporary roles belly dancing plays in Egyptian societies. She shows footage of many belly-dancing superstars that show the beauty and elegance of raqs sharqi. However, the documentary also illustrates the apparent contradiction within raqs sharqi, where belly dancers are associated with disrespectful women who are involved with prostitution or “drug dealers”. Through the documentary, it is evident that raqs sharqi is seen as a beautiful art form when performed by random women, yet it becomes ungraceful and almost sinful when a close family member becomes a belly dancer.

Jane Desmond introduces her article, “Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance and Cultural Studies,” by describing a dance that readers can picture as the dance of tango in their minds. This helps lead to her connecting dance, or body movement, with cultural studies and social identities. In her article, Desmond focuses on connecting how dance and body movement can be portrayed differently in social identities, such as race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality.

Grass dancing is thought to have originated in the Plains tribes when the elders ordered the young men to stomp down the tall grasses in preparation for meetings, camps, powwows, or other ceremonies. Some tribes believe that God created the grass dance to represent a

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

Tap dancing originated with African dancers in early America. This style of dance is created when a dancer wearing shoes fitted with heel and toe with metal plates brushes their feet across the floor or any hard surface. In the mid to late 1800’s tap dancing competitions were a common form of entertainment. Tap dancing is known as an artistic and social form of dance. Tap is ritual as it became a fusion of several ethnic percussive dances of those who lived in this area, primarily African tribal dances and Scottish, Irish, and English clog dances, hornpipes, and jigs. Tap is social as most tap dancers perform in competitions with hard choreography which other may find hard to pick up. Tap dancing is a type of dance which makes sounds by chugging,

There were many Indigenous Australian Aboriginals that danced different dances in different ways, when and where they performed dances varied immensely, as did the way they were taught or the reasons behind why they danced.

Throughout history, many societies have used dance as a way to express themselves, and their culture. Dance is defined as “[moving] your body in a way that goes with the rhythm and style of music that is being played” (Simple Definition of Dance, Merriam-Webster). This definition has been portrayed throughout many societies and civilizations throughout history, and it is used to express their culture, history, and tell stories. History and dance affect each other due to the fact that some dances might not exist today if the historical events had never happened in the first place; also vice versa some facts about history might not be known today if the cultural dances had never existed. As exemplified in the societies of China 200 B.C and the

Dance is a universal language that involves exaggerated movements of the arms, legs, and body. With the sound of music, dance is more than just a form of expression. It is a moving portrait embraced by the curtain frame. It is a masterpiece assembled by artfully maneuvered strokes. The strokes don’t belong to that of the painter, but rather the educator who supervised the integration of music and dance. There it hangs on a stage like any other painting on a wall; a moving portrait. However, the many stereotypes formed among the dancers have altered the way some view the performances of dance. Especially in the modern and ballet genres, while the dancers pour

Dancing as a genre is part of the oldest culture in humanity. It is an act related to shamanism that exhibits all sorts of human emotions and can also contain political messages. Thus, even though dancing has been with our community for a long time, acts of entertainment that are more visually exciting such as concerts and movies have been more popular; only the passionate fans showed interest in pure art of dancing and street culture. Dancers were able to put on a show while releasing emotion in their movements and expressing their feelings. Krump dance, and all social dance of today, are danced for essentially the same reasons. Dancers are able to release anger, fight hardships, and overcome class struggles by simply moving their bodies

Dance has been a part of human history since the earliest records of human life. Cave paintings found in Spain and France dating from 30,000 -10,000 BC. have vivid drawings of dancing figures in association with ritual illustrating the pesents of dance in early human society. Many people around the world see life as a dance from the movements of the heavens and the turn of the seasons to the unique dance of every creature. The history of dance reflects the changes in the way people see the world, relate to their bodies and experience the cycles of life. In India

Their are some claims that Egyptian pyramid builders were belly dancers. It originated in India over 5000 years ago, it then spread through the middle east due to the migrations of Gypsy tribes. Belly Dance is usually performed at formal events, such as pre-marriage ceremonies and fertility rituals. Some young African women would perform in marketplaces in order to earn coins, in which were later sewn onto their skirts for safety. It was not until later during the 20th century that this style would be performed world wide. Hand positions are very important to this style of dance. It is known that hands tend to channel your heart's energy. Hands are also used to move an audience's attention to where a dancer is aiming to go. Facial expressions that come with this style tend to be very alluring. The face sets the entire performance. This style in the Middle East has two very social contexts, they are social dance, and as a performance type art. When it is being used as a social dance it is performed at gatherings or celebrations by simple people in normal clothes. However when it is being used as a performance, it would typically be performed in front of a large crowed in very beautiful costumes. Belly dance has been through many countries and its cultures, in which made it into what it is