Dancing is historically entwined with many cultures around the world. Here, 17th century Persian women dance in a ceremony in Iran.

The history of dance may be as long as the history of mankind. We can only guess how dances looked like in earlier epochs. Persian Women dancing. ... Persian Women dancing. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... History studies the past in human terms. ... jus like my ass For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... Look up Mankind in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

An early manuscript describing dance is the Natya Shastra on which the modern interpretation classical Indian dance (e.g. Bharathanatyam) is based. The Natya Shastra or Nātyaśāstra is the principal work of dramatic theory in the Sanskrit drama of classical India. ... A Bharatanatyam Dancer Bharatanatyam (also spelled Bharathanatyam, Bharatnatyam or Bharata Natyam) is a South Indian classical dance form. ...

The ancient chronicle of the Sinhalese (Sri Lankans), the Mahavamsa states when King Vijaya landed in Sri Lanka in 543 BCE he heard sounds of music and dancing from a wedding ceremony. Origins of The Dances of Sri Lanka are dated back to the aborginal tribes. The Classical dances of Sri Lanka, Kandyan Dances features a highly developed system of tala (rhythm), provided by cymbals called thalampataa. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Mahavansha, also Mahawansha, (Pāli: great chronicle) is a historical record, often thought to be the oldest written record oh history, written in the Pāli language, of the Buddhist kings as well as Dravidian kings of Sri Lanka. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ...

In European culture, one of the earliest records of dancing is by Homer, whose "Iliad"; describes chorea (khoreia). Homer (Greek: , ) was an early Greek poet and aoidos (rhapsode) traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey. ... It has been suggested that Deception of Zeus be merged into this article or section. ... Chorea (choreia, khoreia, χορεία) is a circle dance (χορεύω σε κύκλο) accompanied by singing (see chorus, khoros), known in ancient Greece. ...

The early Greeks made the art of dancing into a system, expressive of all the different passions. For example, the dance of the Furies, so represented, would create complete terror among those who witnessed them. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, ranked dancing with poetry, and said that certain dancers, with rhythm applied to gesture, could express manners, passions, and actions. The most eminent Greek sculptors studied the attitude of the dancers for their art of imitating the passions. In Greek mythology the Erinyes (the Romans called them the Furies) were female personifications of vengeance. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ...

Rock-shelter drawings in India reveal the earliest examples of dance. Figure E-19 at the Bhim-Betka rock-shelters, drawing of 'urddhakeshin' Shiva at Nawda Todo, forms of monkeys at Gupteshvara and a number of human figures at Pahadgarh, Tikla and Abachand present evidence of dance being prevalent in those days. These drawings belong to the period from 5000 to 2000 B. C. As revealed by the stone statuette of a male dancer from Harappa and the bronze figurine of a dancing girl from Mohenjodaro, the Indus Valley civilization had a well-evolved dance culture. This article is about the deity Shiva. ... Harappa (Urdu: ہڑپا) is a city in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about 35km (22 miles) southwest of Sahiwal. ... Mohenjo-daro (literally, mound of the dead), like Harappa, was a city of the Indus Valley civilization. ... Excavated ruins of Mohenjo-daro. ...

Ballet dancing started in the 16th century. and its became so big that royality were getting dance masters to teach them ballet.

Asia

Main articles: Dance in India and Dances of Sri Lanka

Classical Indian dance India offers a number of Classical Indian dance forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. ... The origin of the dances of Sri Lanka lies with the indigenous people of Sri Lanka, the Wanniyala-Aetto and yakkas (meant who did iron works). ...

Classical Indian Dance in the 20th Century

During the reign of the last Mughals and Nawabs of Oudh dance fell down to the status of 'nautch', an unethical sensuous thing of courtesans. The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... Nautch, a word used in several languages of North India, is an Indian term for dance, and indicates several forms of popular dancing styles by young girls, generally called the Nautch girls. ...

Later, linking dance with immoral trafficking and prostitution, British rule prohibited public performance of dance. Many disapproved it. In 1947, India won her freedom and for dance an ambience where it could regain its past glory. Classical forms and regional distinctions were re-discovered, ethnic specialties were honored and by synthesizing them with the individual talents of the masters in the line and fresh innovations emerged dance with a new face but with classicism of the past.

European dance

See also: Medieval dance and Renaissance dance

The first detailed descriptions of dancing in Europe date from 1450 in Italy, which is after the start of the Renaissance. ... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance -French Renaissance -German Renaissance -English Renaissance Renaissance dances belong to the broad group of historical dances. ...

18th and 19th centuries: from court dancing to Romanticism

By the 1700s ballet had migrated from the booger court to the Paris Opera, and the director Lully ‘preserved the ballet du cour’s basic concept of a composite form, in which the dance was an essential and important element.’ ibid. During this century the ballet was to develop throughout Europe, from a courtly arrangement of moving images used as part of a larger spectacle, to a performance art in its own right, the ballet d’action. This new form swept away much of the artificiality of the court dance and strove towards ‘the concept that art should aspire to imitate nature’. This ultimately resulted in costuming and choreography that was much more liberating to the dancer, and conducive to a fuller use of the expressive capacity of the body. It also opened the door to pointe-work, for this acceptance of more naturalistic costuming allowed the development of the heel-less shoe, which led to the dancer being able to make more use of the rise onto demi-pointe. Théâtre de lAcadémie Royale de Musique, Paris, circa 1865 Théâtre de lAcadémie Royale de Musique (was also known as the Théâtre Impérial de l´Opéra, Le Rue Peletier, or simply, Le Peletier, but more familiarly as the Paris Opéra) was... Jean-Baptiste de Lully, originally Giovanni Battista di Lulli (November 28, 1632 – March 22, 1687), was an Italian-born French composer, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. ...

The era of Romanticism in the early 1800s, with ballets that focussed more on the emotions, the fantasy and the spiritual worlds, heralded the beginning of true pointe-work. Now, on her toes, the deified ballerina (embodied in this period by the legendary ballerina Marie Taglioni) seemed to magically skim the surface of the stage, an ethereal being never quite touching the ground. It was during this period that the ascending star of the ballerina quite eclipsed the presence of the poor male dancer, who was in many cases reduced to the status of a moving statue, present only in order to lift the ballerina. This sad state was really only redressed by the rise of the male ballet star Nijinsky, with the Ballets Russes, in the early twentieth century. Ballet as we know it had well and truly evolved by this time, with all the familiar conventions of costume, choreographic form, plot, pomp, and circumstance firmly fixed in place. Wanderer above the sea of fog by Caspar David Friedrich Romanticism is an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in 18th century Western Europe during the industrial revolution. ... Marie Taglioni, in a colored lithograph, circa 1831 (Victoria & Albert Museum). ... Nijinsky can refer to: Vaslav Nijinsky Nijinsky II This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Léon Bakst: Firebird, Ballerina, 1910 The Ballets Russes was a ballet company established in 1909 by the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev and resident first in Théâtre Mogador, Paris; and then in Monte Carlo. ...

Early 20th century: from ballet to contemporary dance

Since the Ballets Russes began revolutionising ballet in the early 20th century, there have been continued attempts to break the mold of classical ballet. Currently the artistic scope of ballet technique (and its accompanying music, jumper, and multimedia) is more all-encompassing than ever. The boundaries that classify a work of classical ballet are constantly being stretched, muddied and blurred until perhaps all that remains today are traces of technique idioms such as ’turn-out’. ...

It was during the explosion of new thinking and exploration in the early 20th century that dance artists began to appreciate the qualities of the individual, the necessities of ritual and religion, the primitive, the expressive and the emotional. In this atmosphere modern dance began an explosion of growth. There was suddenly a new freedom in what was considered acceptable, what was considered art, and what people wanted to create. All kinds of other things were suddenly valued as much as, or beyond, the costumes and tricks of the ballet.

Most of the early 20th century modern choreographers and dancers saw ballet in the most negative light. Isadora Duncan thought it most ugly, nothing more than meaningless gymnastics. Martha Graham saw it as European and Imperialistic, having nothing to do with the modern American people. Merce Cunningham, while using some of the foundations of the ballet technique in his teaching, approached choreography and performance from a totally radical standpoint compared to the traditional balletic format. Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... Portrait photograph by Arnold Genthe. ... Martha Graham and Bertram Ross in Visionary Recital, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1961 Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is known as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. ... Merce Cunningham (born April 16, 1919 in Centralia, Washington, United States) is an American dancer and choreographer. ...

The twentieth century was indeed a period of breaking away from everything that ballet stood for. It was a time of unprecedented creative growth, for dancers and choreographers. It was also a time of shock, surprise and broadening of minds for the public, in terms of their definitions of what dance was. It was a revolution in the truest sense.

Late 20th century: growth of contemporary dance

After the explosion of modern dance in the early 20th century, the 1960s saw the growth of post modernism. Post modernism veered towards simplicity, the beauty of small things, the beauty of untrained bodies, and unsophisticated movement. The famous ‘No’ manifesto rejecting all costumes, stories and outer trappings in favour of raw and unpolished movement was perhaps the extreme of this wave of thinking. Unfortunately lack of costumes, stories and outer trappings do not make a good dance show, and it was not long before sets, décor and shock value re-entered the vocabulary of modern choreographers.

By the 1980s dance had come full circle and modern dance (or, by this time, ‘contemporary dance') was clearly still a highly technical and political vehicle for many practitioners. Existing alongside classical ballet, the two art-forms were by now living peacefully next door to one another with little of the rivalry and antipathy of previous eras. In a cleverly designed comment on this ongoing rivalry the brilliant collaboration of Twyla Tharp (one of the 20th Century's cutting edge Dance avant gardist(Contemporary) and Ballet dance was ultimately achieved. The present time sees us still in the very competitive artistic atmosphere where choreographers compete to produce the most shocking work, however, there are still glimpses of beauty to be had, and much incredible dancing in an age where dance technique has progressed further in expertise, strength and flexibility than ever before in history. Contemporary dance is the name given to a group of 20th century concert dance forms. ...

At the same, mass culture experienced expansion of street dance. In 1974, famous group Jackson 5 performed on television a dance called Robot (choreographed by postmodern artist Michael Jackson). This event, and later Soul Train performances by black dancers ignited street culture revolution, which later formed break dance. For the emergence of 20th century modern dance see also: Mary Wigman, Gret Palucca, Harald Kreutzberg, Yvonne Georgi, and Isadora Duncan. Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ... Street dance is an umbrella term, similar to vernacular dance, used to describe dance styles that evolved outside of dance studios at more everyday spaces such as streets, school yards and nightclubs. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The cover to the Jackson 5s first LP, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, released on Motown Records in 1969. ... Postmodernity (also called post-modernity or the postmodern condition) is a term used by philosophers, social scientists, art critics and social critics to refer to aspects of contemporary art, culture, economics and social conditions that are the result of the unique features of late 20th century and early 21st century... For other persons named Michael Jackson, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation). ... Soul Train is a long-running American music-related syndicated television program. ... Breakdancing, also known as breaking and b-boying by its practitioners and followers, is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement in the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s. ... Mary Wigman (1886-1973), born Karoline Sophie Marie Wiegmann, was a German dancer, choreographer, and instructor of dance. ... Gret Palucca (8 January 1902 in München; † 22. ... Harald Kreutzberg (1902 - 1968) German dancer and choreographer. ... Yvonne Georgi (October 29, 1903 - January 25, 1975) was a German dancer, choreographer and ballet mistress. ... Portrait photograph by Arnold Genthe. ...

External links

• Dance: The Living Spirit of Indian Arts by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet.
• Historic Illustrations of Dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D. from Project Gutenberg