Dance has a long history dating back to prehistoric times, where it served as a form of communication during important life events and was incorporated into religious ceremonies. Ancient civilizations like Egypt, Crete, and Greece used dance for religious worship, storytelling, military training, and entertainment. During the Roman era, dance performances highlighted comic and erotic elements and were often performed by slaves. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, dance was associated with the church or society, with sacred dances during religious festivals and secular dances at life events. Knights began incorporating dance into their training.

1. DANCE
FROM THE PAST

2. History of Dance

3. The word dance comes from the German
word damson, which means “to stretch”
or “to drag.” The music of early man
came from stamping of feet, clapping of
hands, snapping of fingers, or any sound
that can produce rhythm.

4. It is an art of precise expression of one’s
emotion though graceful movement,
performed with musical accompaniment.
Dance is considered the mirror of the
society because it responds to historical
and religious events as well as social and
political statements.

5. Prehistoric Period

6. It served as an important means of
communication and revolved around life
events that were meaningful to individuals
and tribes: birth, puberty, courtship,
marriage, and death. Most tribes
incorporated dance in their religious
ceremonies and festival activities based on
superstition and infused with magic.

7. Dances also to explain the supernatural and
natural events happening in each tribe.
Shamans, possess magical powers, act as
physicians, religious leaders, lead dancers and
keep tribes healthy, prosperous, and safe. They
performed and imparted dances and rituals to the
people to combat and win over environmental
forces and remain in good graces with the gods
and the spirits.

9. Ancient
Civilization

10. Ancient Egypt

11. Dance was the ancient Egyptians’
primary way of expressing their religious
services and teaching about their ancient
myths.
The major dancers were the following:

12. 1. The king
2. The priests who performed magical dances
for the gods and other spiritual entities and
took the role of the god Osiris in a great
religious dance drama
3. The virgin dancers who were trained to
perform during ceremonies led by the
priests

13. Irena Lexova, a 20th century author,
classifies the ancient Egyptian dances into
these categories; pure movement or
spontaneous dances, acrobatic dances,
imitative dances, group dances, war dances,
dramatic dances, lyric dances, grotesque
dances, funeral dances, and religious
dances.

15. Ancient Crete

16. The Cretan civilization, which existed
from 3000 to 1400 BC, was a cultural
link in the ancient world between
Egyptians and Greeks. Cretans were
sophisticated and rich in arts and culture.
they used dance to perfect their training.

17. Like Egyptians, their dances intertwined
religious ceremonies and fertility rites, myths
and symbols. Dance themes included military
training, healing, religious rituals, and
entertainment. According to the Greek writer
Homer, the Cretans had an excellent army
because they used dance to perfect their
training

18. The Greek poet, Sappho, described a
circle dance performed by Cretan
women: they held hands around an
outside altar and “purified” what was at
the center of their formation.

20. Ancient Greece

21. Dances in ancient Greece were extremely
organized and structured. A total of 95,140
combined body movements were calculated to
have existed in these dances they maximized
these movements; incorporated ritualistic,
symbolic, or representative gestures; and ere
accompanied by music, both vocal and
instrumental. The dancers were also required to
sing during a performance.

22. Dance was an essential part of religious
celebrations, entertainment, and theatrical
performances. Even the army performed a
dance which “inflamed courage and gave
strength to preserve in the paths of honor and
valor.

23. Phorai and cheironomia are Greek terms
that describe the carriage of the body during
dance and mimetic gestures. May steps were
very much similar to the present classical
ballet movements, such as leaps and
pirouettes, and Greeks even used the “points”
or the tips of the toes.

24. Schemata refers to the form and shape of
gestures, focusing on how a dancer executed
the short movement patterns. Deixis was pure
dance, performed by a male Greek dancer who
portrayed the essence of a human character, an
animal, or a natural element such as fire or
wind.

26. Rome

27. Dances in the Roman era were primarily
performed by religious, social and
entertainment purposes. They frequently
highlighted burlesque, overtly erotic,
comic, and frightening elements. Many of
the dance performers were slaves
imported from Greece and other
conquered nations. watch dancers.

28. They had low status as professionals and were
less respected as artists and participants of
religious events. Wealthy Romans generally
did not dance but they preferred to hire and
watch dancers.

29. During Roman religious celebrations. The
Salii or the college of 24 dancing priests that
were members of the noble class did war
dances in full armor with a sacred shield in
their left hand and a staff in the right. They
worshipped the god Mars and headed rites for
purification and funeral ceremonies. They also
did fertility dances to honor the god Pan.

30. Pantomime and mimes were among the
famous performances during the Roman
period. They allowed dancers or performers to
portray comedies and satires about country life
and other characters. The performers used
movements and gestures that had a clear
meaning to the spectators.

31. The term pantomime refers to a performance
by an actor or solo dancer who does not speak
but acts in a stylized form. Pantomimists
became famous for their ability to relate entire
stories with gestures and postures. They
sometimes wore masks with closed mouths
and intricate costumes or were covered with
cloak and jewelry.

33. The Middle Ages
and the Renaissance

34. Dance played a vital part in peoples’
lives during this period as a way to show
their manners and as a form of
celebration, amusement, and
entertainment.

35. During the Middle Ages, dance was
associated with either the church
(liturgical or sacred) or the society
(secular). With these two categories,
dance themes included sacred dance and
life-span events that were connected to
religious activities and other occasions.

36. The priests and the clergy performed
ritual procession during Eucharistic
celebrations, while the bishops led
sacred devotional dances around the
altars during feasts days and Sundays.

37. For a particular feast being celebrated, a
corresponding hymn and dance were
sung and danced by worshippers at the
courtyard. Feudalism and knighthood
prospered during the 12th century,
defining codes of decorum, loyalty,
bravery, romantic love, and chivalry.

38. Knights wore their armor during training,
but they seldom danced in it because of
its weight. Chivalry transformed dancing,
giving it a code of etiquette, manners,
and courtly love.

40. Thank you for listening!
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