Dance, for centuries, has “been used as communication between the body and the soul,” says Ruth St. Denis, Oriental-modern dancer and mentor of Martha Graham. Throughout the widespread genres of dance, there is always a rich background and purpose. Modern dance, one of the most recently recognized genres, can take many forms, while Dance du Ventre, or belly dancing, has a more narrow variety of moves. However, both have a deep rooting in women’s history and represent the value of a woman and her body. Modern dance stems from the revolution against ballet and other strict genres which discriminated against women of larger body types and didn’t allow for much emotional expression. Dance du ventre was a ritual performed during child birth.
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The genre was believed to have originated in the Paleolithic era and there is literature referencing the art form, dating back to the first century A.D. It was said that a common practice was to perform belly dancing around a woman in labor, as the relieve some of the pain of child birth. In this sense, belly dancing served as a spiritual practice, which men were not permitted to see, symbolizing the power of the woman’s body and the pain that it endures. While other genres such as Polynesian dancing kept up a purpose of spirituality with some notion of sexual manner, belly dancing transformed from a ritual performed during the birth of a child to a dinner performance at events such as Greek dinners as the genre moved westward, especially as it reached the United States. This form of ritual originally represented the sacred power that women have to bear a child and bless men with a child, which they thought might bring them closer to the gods. However, as Islam spread through Africa and the Middle East, these dancers began to live a Harem lifestyle, which seemed lavish and rich, but in reality represented the men’s enslavement of women. For example, a sultan would often call upon his chosen dancers to perform Danse du Ventre for he and his male guests, however, the …show more content…
Modern dance does not often follow a specific path throughout a variety of dances, but a certain dance might stay to one part of the space, or a choreographer may choose to use all of the space. Because this genre has more freedom of expression, there are rarely limits on special pathways aside from how large the dance space is that is given. These modern dancers also use levels of highs and lows, including floor work, more often than those of Danse du Ventre. Contrastingly, performers of Danse du Ventre often travel in lines from left to right, upstage to downstage, and in circles. Aside from traveling in circles, the performer mostly keep their body facing the audience.
Both genres use time in a similar, varying way. The movement can be slow of fast in either dance form. For example, The drum of Danse du Ventre can begin the song, with a slow, steady beat, allowing the dancer to acclimate to the rhythm, but as the music progress the beat will become increasingly fast. The same thing can happen in the music of a modern dance. However, in the Modern genre, the choreographer has the freedom to make the speed of their movement go against the speed of the music. In Danse du Ventre, the dancer moves their body with the
The genre was believed to have originated in the Paleolithic era and there is literature referencing the art form, dating back to the first century A.D. It was said that a common practice was to perform belly dancing around a woman in labor, as the relieve some of the pain of child birth. In this sense, belly dancing served as a spiritual practice, which men were not permitted to see, symbolizing the power of the woman’s body and the pain that it endures. While other genres such as Polynesian dancing kept up a purpose of spirituality with some notion of sexual manner, belly dancing transformed from a ritual performed during the birth of a child to a dinner performance at events such as Greek dinners as the genre moved westward, especially as it reached the United States. This form of ritual originally represented the sacred power that women have to bear a child and bless men with a child, which they thought might bring them closer to the gods. However, as Islam spread through Africa and the Middle East, these dancers began to live a Harem lifestyle, which seemed lavish and rich, but in reality represented the men’s enslavement of women. For example, a sultan would often call upon his chosen dancers to perform Danse du Ventre for he and his male guests, however, the …show more content…
Modern dance does not often follow a specific path throughout a variety of dances, but a certain dance might stay to one part of the space, or a choreographer may choose to use all of the space. Because this genre has more freedom of expression, there are rarely limits on special pathways aside from how large the dance space is that is given. These modern dancers also use levels of highs and lows, including floor work, more often than those of Danse du Ventre. Contrastingly, performers of Danse du Ventre often travel in lines from left to right, upstage to downstage, and in circles. Aside from traveling in circles, the performer mostly keep their body facing the audience.
Both genres use time in a similar, varying way. The movement can be slow of fast in either dance form. For example, The drum of Danse du Ventre can begin the song, with a slow, steady beat, allowing the dancer to acclimate to the rhythm, but as the music progress the beat will become increasingly fast. The same thing can happen in the music of a modern dance. However, in the Modern genre, the choreographer has the freedom to make the speed of their movement go against the speed of the music. In Danse du Ventre, the dancer moves their body with the