Non-Western Dance Analysis

Before taking this course, my knowledge of non-western influenced dance was little to none. My knowledge of dance was not very vast but I did have some knowledge, as I was a part of a Mexican folkloric dance group while in high school. However most Mexican folk dances are evident in the heavy influence that European settlers had on them. Although I did have this small knowledge of dance, I knew it would not be much help for this assignment. My background in dance did not help me a lot in certain aspects but it did help me slightly on some technical aspects of the performances. When choosing what live non-western performance to attend, I tried to choose one that we had covered in class in order to have a better understanding of it. For …show more content…
Prior to this, I had no knowledge about traditional Indian dances, other than the ones that have been covered in class. At the showcase, multiple dances were performed, but only one dance we have covered in class was performed. That dance was the Bharat Natyam. It was the opening number and I believe it was very well performed. Two young females performed it, as traditionally it is done. The opening dance was the only traditional dance of India. The following dances were all hybrid dances that had other influences and not solely traditional Indian dances. One specific dance was highly influenced by a current dance craze. The music of the dance was a mix but the dance itself seemed to begin with common steps found in Indian dance, however the end of the dance was the performers dancing to Ju Ju on that Beat, a current dance craze throughout the United States. Other examples of the hybrid dances performed at Diwali night, were the use of current hit songs mixed with what I believe to be Indian music. Unlike the previous example, the rest of the dances were not as heavily influenced with current dances. The dances did include other dance styles but mostly used steps found in Indian