Classification Essay
Classification of dance has been a much debated topic over the years with no clear determination or clarity to any rightful method to organize an art form that has been around before any legitimate word was spoken. Over the years, dance has been influenced by culture, politics, history, language and a plethora of other direct and indirect in forces. Dance is an art, a language of movement and grace widely appreciated as a form of entertainment providing captivating images and inspiring secret desires. Through dance, an audience lives vicariously through the medium of the performing artist. Dances are also performed during important ceremonies in cultural communities during rites of passage as they portray stories passed …show more content…
Ballroom dance came into existence during the rebirth of Italy in the renaissance era. Europe was experiencing a time of great cultural and social change where innovation, imagination and creativity were an important part of the sophisticated social structure. As an expression of these influences, dance took on an extremely rigid and structured convention to movement, appearance, and cadence. As with many things, imagination and cultural influence began to quickly influence the framework of ballroom dance as artists strove to show something a little more interesting than their contemporaries. As popularity of dance began to spread, ballroom dance began to divide into the following categories: Waltz , Rumba, Samba, and the Mambo. Originating in 1816, the Waltz is a dance that is comprised of two people dancing together in a slow pace and measured cadence where the actors in the dance have a very specific structure and framework. As the earliest of the ballroom dances, this represents a need of the time to exhibit culture, complexity, and sophistication. The Waltz is unequivocally the most widely known form of ballroom dance originating in the early eighteenth century (Schuller 6). Variations of the Waltz have emerged over time to include the Viennese Waltz, and the Cha-cha. Other categories of the formal dance include the introduction of the Rumba in 1890. The Rumba originating from Cuba which involved the focus of hip movement, aggressive glides and sassy posture. The Samba originated in Brazil around 1911 and is vastly popular in those countries. The Samba inspires a national dance in Brazil that is performed every year and is one of the few ballroom dances that can be performed solo (Florian 6). Lastly, the Mambo is a dance that accompanies the music of the same name composed in the 1940s. This dance is known to be flirtatious, highly sensual and often viewed as a
Classification of dance has been a much debated topic over the years with no clear determination or clarity to any rightful method to organize an art form that has been around before any legitimate word was spoken. Over the years, dance has been influenced by culture, politics, history, language and a plethora of other direct and indirect in forces. Dance is an art, a language of movement and grace widely appreciated as a form of entertainment providing captivating images and inspiring secret desires. Through dance, an audience lives vicariously through the medium of the performing artist. Dances are also performed during important ceremonies in cultural communities during rites of passage as they portray stories passed …show more content…
Ballroom dance came into existence during the rebirth of Italy in the renaissance era. Europe was experiencing a time of great cultural and social change where innovation, imagination and creativity were an important part of the sophisticated social structure. As an expression of these influences, dance took on an extremely rigid and structured convention to movement, appearance, and cadence. As with many things, imagination and cultural influence began to quickly influence the framework of ballroom dance as artists strove to show something a little more interesting than their contemporaries. As popularity of dance began to spread, ballroom dance began to divide into the following categories: Waltz , Rumba, Samba, and the Mambo. Originating in 1816, the Waltz is a dance that is comprised of two people dancing together in a slow pace and measured cadence where the actors in the dance have a very specific structure and framework. As the earliest of the ballroom dances, this represents a need of the time to exhibit culture, complexity, and sophistication. The Waltz is unequivocally the most widely known form of ballroom dance originating in the early eighteenth century (Schuller 6). Variations of the Waltz have emerged over time to include the Viennese Waltz, and the Cha-cha. Other categories of the formal dance include the introduction of the Rumba in 1890. The Rumba originating from Cuba which involved the focus of hip movement, aggressive glides and sassy posture. The Samba originated in Brazil around 1911 and is vastly popular in those countries. The Samba inspires a national dance in Brazil that is performed every year and is one of the few ballroom dances that can be performed solo (Florian 6). Lastly, the Mambo is a dance that accompanies the music of the same name composed in the 1940s. This dance is known to be flirtatious, highly sensual and often viewed as a