Short History of Dance - prehistory and ancient times
Summary
TLDRThis video script explores the ancient origins of dance, tracing its roots from prehistoric rituals and cave art to the specialized art forms in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India. It highlights the evolution of dance from a communal activity to a professional pursuit, with unique styles in each civilization. The script also discusses the decline of dance in the Roman Empire and its integration into Christian rituals, before being suppressed in the medieval ages, offering a fascinating journey through dance history.
Takeaways
- 🕺 Dance has been a part of human expression since ancient times, with evidence found in cave art.
- 🐾 Prehistoric dances were used for rituals, imitating animals and nature, as war dances, exercises, and social activities.
- 🔍 Early tribal dances likely shared features with modern tribal dances, characterized by simple repetitive steps and rhythmic drum accompaniment.
- 🏙 As societies developed, specialization led to the creation of the profession of a dancer, with distinct styles emerging in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India.
- 🌟 In Mesopotamia, dances for goddess Ishtar featured spinning movements, elements of which are still seen in Middle Eastern culture today.
- 🧝♂️ Egyptian dances were highly skilled and gymnastic, often performed at funerals and processions, with detailed wall paintings and written descriptions aiding modern recreations.
- 👑 In ancient China, dance played a significant role in court and education, with Confucius emphasizing its importance, leading to a somber and symbolic style.
- 🕉 Ancient Indian dance was a sacred art form, with the Bharata Nāṭya Śāstra detailing choreography and gestures for storytelling about gods and heroes.
- 🏛 In ancient Greece, dance was highly regarded for its educational value, often recreating mythological stories and connected to theatre and festivals.
- ⚔️ The Roman Empire initially continued Greek dance traditions but later degraded the art form, with aristocrats finding it inappropriate except for war dances.
- 🛐 Early Christianity incorporated dance and music into rituals, but this practice was later suppressed when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Q & A
What is the earliest evidence of dance as a part of human expression?
-The earliest evidence of dance is found in cave art created by our ancestors, which indicates that dance was used in rituals, as a war dance, for exercise, morale boost, and as a form of entertainment and socialization.
How did prehistoric dance resemble modern tribal dance?
-Prehistoric dance likely had similar features to modern tribal dance, with simple repetitive steps, structures of straight lines and circles, and rhythm created by drum accompaniment.
What was the significance of the dance for the goddess Ishtar in Mesopotamia?
-In Mesopotamia, the dance for goddess Ishtar was significant as it was performed by female priestesses and featured a spinning movement that has survived through the ages in Middle Eastern culture.
How did dance in ancient Egypt differ from other civilizations?
-Ancient Egyptian dance was characterized by its strong gymnastic nature, demanding highly skilled performers, and was often associated with funeral dances and processions.
What role did dance play in ancient Chinese court and society?
-In ancient China, dance played an extremely important role in the court, with popular dances featuring long-sleeved costumes and slow dramatic movements. Confucius emphasized dance's role in human education, leading to the development of a somber and symbolic character of movement.
Why is the Bharata Nāṭya Śāstra significant in the history of dance?
-The Bharata Nāṭya Śāstra is significant because it is the oldest tractate about dance from ancient India, providing a detailed language of movement with steps and gestures called mudras, used to deliver stories about gods and heroes.
How did the development of a class system influence the function of dance in ancient societies?
-The development of a class system led to the diversification of dance functions, with some dances being for entertainment and folk rituals accessible to everyone, and others being elite dances connected with religious celebrations and court affairs.
What was the attitude of ancient Greek philosophers towards dance?
-Ancient Greek philosophers, such as Plato, held dance in high regard for its educational purposes, and dance was often used to recreate mythological stories with a strong connection to theatre and festivals.
How did the Roman Empire's conquest of Greece affect the art of dance?
-After the Roman Empire conquered Greece in 130 BC, the art of dance began to degrade, as Roman aristocrats found dance inappropriate for a nobleman, and the only acceptable form was a war dance.
What changes occurred in dance culture when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire?
-When Christianity became the official religion in 380 AD, Roman governors removed dance from rituals, considering it pagan, and this marked a significant shift in the role of dance in religious and cultural practices.
What was the general attitude towards dance in the medieval ages following the fall of the Roman Empire?
-The medieval ages brought a new philosophy and attitude towards the art of dance, which did not regain its previous position in the church or society, reflecting a significant change from the attitudes of the ancient world.
Outlines
🕺 Origins and Early Forms of Dance
This paragraph delves into the ancient beginnings of dance, highlighting its role in rituals, as a war dance, and as a form of entertainment and socialization in early human societies. Cave art serves as evidence of dance's significance in the past, with movements likely mirroring modern tribal dances. The script mentions a recording from the early 20th century of an African tribe, emphasizing simple, repetitive steps and rhythmic structures created by drum accompaniment. As societies evolved, specialization led to the emergence of professional dancers, with civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India developing unique dance styles. Notable examples include the dance for the goddess Ishtar in Mesopotamia and the gymnastic and highly skilled funeral dances of Egypt. The paragraph also touches on the philosophical influence of Confucius on Chinese dance and the sacred art of dance in ancient India, as detailed in the Bharata Nāṭya Śāstra.
🏛 Development of Dance in Ancient Civilizations
The second paragraph explores the evolution of dance within the context of societal growth and class systems, where dance became both an accessible folk art and an exclusive elite art form. It discusses the significant contributions of ancient Greek and Roman cultures to dance, with Greece valuing dance for its educational purposes and Romans initially continuing Greek traditions but later degrading the art form. The paragraph also covers the impact of Christianity on dance, initially incorporating folk dances into rituals but later removing them due to their pagan associations. The fall of the Roman Empire and the onset of the medieval ages brought new philosophies and attitudes towards dance, marking a transition in its cultural significance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Dance
💡Cave Art
💡Rituals
💡Mesopotamia
💡Egypt
💡China
💡India
💡Class System
💡Ancient Greece
💡Roman Empire
💡Christianity
Highlights
Dance is an ancient form of human expression with origins in cave art.
Prehistoric dances were used for rituals, imitation of animals, war dances, exercise, and socialization.
Modern tribal dances may share features with ancient prehistoric dances.
The profession of a dancer emerged with the development of early civilizations.
Mesopotamian culture featured dances for goddess Ishtar with spinning movements.
Egyptian dance was characterized by gymnastic skill and was important in funeral rites.
Ancient Chinese dance was integral to court life and had a symbolic, educational role.
Bharata Nāṭya Śāstra from India is the oldest known treatise on dance, detailing choreography and gestures.
Ancient Indian dance was a sacred art form used to convey stories about gods and heroes.
The development of dance art was influenced by societal growth and class systems.
Rich societies in ancient times sought exclusive art forms, leading to a distinction between elite and folk dances.
Ancient Greece valued dance for its educational and mythological storytelling purposes.
The Roman Empire initially valued dance less, with a preference for war dances.
Christianity initially incorporated dance and folk music into its rituals, but later removed it due to pagan associations.
The fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the medieval ages brought a new perspective on dance.
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Transcripts
Short
History of Dance
It is not possible to trace back the exact time
when dance became a part of human expression.
The only evidence of dance created
by earliest human ancestors is a cave art.
Thanks to it we know what role dance had in the past.
It was used for rituals
often imitating animals and nature
as a war dance, it was an exercise
and morale boost for hunters
and as entertainment it helped to release
the stress of everyday life
and socialise with other tribe members.
It is hard to imagine the exact look
of prehistoric dance but we can assume
it had similar features
to the modern tribal dance. Here we can see
a recording of an African tribe
from the beginning of the XXth century
As we see the movement is based on
simple repetitive steps.
Dance group creates structures of straight lines
and circles.
The rhythm is created by the accompaniment
of drums.
If we compare it to cave art, we can see
it is quite accurate example of dance made
by the first human ancestors.
Slowly prehistoric tribes settled
and build the first cities. New lifestyle
allowed some members of society to specialise.
That was a moment when profession of a dancer was created.
Around 3000 BC
first civilisation developed
culture of Mesopotamia,
Egypt, China and India
each created a unique style of movement.
In Mesopotamia popular was a dance
for goddess Ishtar
performed by female priestess.
The element of choreography often used
was a movement in which, dancer spin around oneself.
A lot of dance elements from this civilisation
survived through the ages in the culture of the Middle East.
For example
spinning movement is well known
from the rituals of the Dervish order. However, it roots
go back to ancient times.
In this video, we can see
a dance ethnologist Farima Berenji
her choreography can familiarize us
with the character of dance
performed in the times of Mesopotamia.
In Egypt very important were funeral dances
and processions. Dance had a strong gymnastic
character demanding highly skilled
performers
In this recreation of Egyptian dance
from the movie "Ten Commandment"
we can see how skilful were dancers.
Numerous wall painting, and first written descriptions
helped choreographer to revive a very accurate example of it.
The abundance of sources about
dance from this culture indicates
how important it was in Egyptian society.
In ancient China, dance played
extremely important role in court.
Popular were dances with long-sleeved costumes
and slow dramatic movements
Most important Chinese philosopher Confucius
claimed that dance had eminent role
in human education.
Influence of his philosophy
and integration of dance with rituals
resulted in development of sombre character of movement.
Dance became symbolic. Every gesture
had a different meaning.
In Ancient India dance was sacred art.
The oldest tractate about dance
comes from this civilisation.
It is written in Sanskrit language and is called
Bharata Nāṭya Śāstra
It precisely describes steps of the choreography
and the gestures called mudras.
This detailed language of movement
was created by dancers to deliver stories
about gods and heroes.
Culture of dance was cultivated
in Indian Penisula with a huge devotion.
As a result ancient style of dance
like Bharatanatya survived to this day.
Even though, each civilisation created
different style. The development
of art of dance was similar.
Growing societies evolved and divided into class system.
Rich people wanted art to be exclusive.
Because of that the function of a dance developed.
There was a dance for entertainment and folk rituals
accessible for everyone, and there was elite dance
connected with religious celebration and court.
We can't talk about art of dance
in ancient times, without mentioning
two big cultures from the end of this era:
Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
In Greece art of dance thrived
philosophers like Plato showed high regard
for the educational purpose of it.
Dance often recreated mythological stories
and had strong connection with the theatre and festivals.
Popular were dances in groups.
Movement often was inspired by nature and
had soft lines.
Gold ages of dance in the Mediterranean basin
ended in 130 BC
when Roman Empire conquered Greece.
Romans did not value dance equally,
under their dominance, it started degrading.
Roman aristocrats found dance inappropriate
for a nobleman. The only acceptable
form of dance was a war dance
originating from Greek Pyrrhic dance.
While Roman aristocrats had high
disregard for dance, new religion
Christianity carried the legacy of Greek dance culture.
Christians incorporated a lot of folk music
and dance into their rituals
Unfortunately, everything changed in 380AD.
When Christianity became official religion of the Empire.
Roman governors removed dance from rituals.
Because they found it pagan.
Even though shortly after in 476 AD
Roman Empire collapsed
Dance did not gain back its position in church.
The new era of medieval ages began
and with it came new philosophy and attitude for the art of dance.
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