Assignment #6

During the baroque period (1600-1750), not only dance,  but art, music, and architecture began to flourish. The baroque period was all about dynamic movement and overt emotion. Many would call the arts in the baroque period the "overdone stuff". The costumes that dancers wore during this period were very detailed. Women did not become prima dancers until the 1700s. The following picture shows an example of the types of costumes that were worn by dancers during the baroque period. The costumes were changed in the classical period so that the audience could see the dancers' ankles better.

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There are a number of reasons why people dance. When I was a child I danced tap and ballet for fun. Many people start out dancing for fun at a young age and it becomes an interest or hobby of theirs. Dance is seen to many people as a form of representation as well as a way of expression. Today there are dance classes that people take for fitness or to get in better shape. Couples may also take dance classes together as a way to spend quality time with each other. Dancing has become expected at weddings and today some people even choreograph dances for their wedding ceremonies or receptions! There are plenty of different reasons why people dance. The following is a picture of a zumba class. Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance that people do for fitness. It is offered at many gyms today.

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In class we learned about several kinds of non-western dance. The first one we discussed is called Butoh dance, which derived from Japan in 1959. It is also known as "a dance of the dark soul", which is obvious in the music and movements that we watched in class. Folk or ethnic dances come from a variety of different places and have their own ethnic costumes, music, and movement. We learned about folk and ethnic dances like belly dancing, river dancing, Irish dancing, square dancing, American Indian, and Zulu Warrior dancing. We watched a video of a kathakali dance, which comes from southern India. The costumes, especially the masks, are interesting to look at and each hand movement has a different meaning. The image below is a picture of Chinese folk dancers.

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