Dance today is a result of what people did back in 2000 BC.
An ancient tribal dance, which was one of the most important religious ceremonies, is ‘The Sun Dance’. This dance typically took place in North America in the Plains, predominantly the in upper plains and rocky mountain areas. Native American tribes would perform this dance, which would consist of three or four days of seclusion, fasting and other rituals involving pain and suffering. Not only was this ritual done to honour the sun and the Earth, but the individual dancers danced for their personal aspirations, praying for better future, or wishing to determine their place in the universe. The yearly ceremony is performed during the summer solstice, preparations took place up to a year before the ritual. Musical instruments were almost always restricted to only a set of drums and ceremonial pipes.
A contrasting ceremony also performed by the Native Americans, is ‘The Rain Dance’. The purpose of the ceremony is to ask the Gods to send rain for the tribe’s crops’. The dance typically takes place in spring before the crops are harvested, on the other hand, this ceremony can take place when rain is vital. Like most Native American rituals, costumes can vary from each tribe. Some wear headdress and some will wear masks. Animal skin and hair, jewellery is worn and painting on the body. Feathers and jewellery tend to be turquoise to symbol the rain.
Dance steps usually involve moving in a zigzag pattern as opposed to other ceremonial dances that involve standing in a circle. Both men and women participate in the ceremony and this ritual takes plain mainly in the southwest. In all other tribal rituals, men were not allowed to take part.
In ancient Egypt, is it thought that if you could dance then you were gifted and could pursue a well respected career as a dancer, dancing was unquestionably an important element of ritual and celebration in Ancient Egypt. People from every social class were exposed to music and dancing. And was considered a prestigious thing, no one would dance in public. Evidence of dance is found in paintings on the walls of tombs. It is believed that dance was a sacred art. In ancient Greece, art became more focused on become artificially perfect. The ability to dance meant you were educated and wealthy, some could even marry into upper class positions if they didn’t occupy them at birth. Like Egypt, people who danced in public were not generally respected. Greece also introduced pantomime, which was a popular new style, this was later brought to Rome. Greek and Roman dancing is very similar created to please the Gods. During the Punic war, the Greeks took over some of the Roman’s land and began to teach Roman’s their own take on dance. Eventually, dance lost its sacred purpose. Dancers were mostly slaves, wealthy Romans would hire dancers to dance for them in courts.
An example of an international folk dance is the Hula. Originally, the Hula was called the "Ha`a". The name was changed to "Hula" in the l9th century. Hula originated in the Hawaiian Islands. Hula was performed as a ceremonial dance executed by men and women in honor of the goddesses, Pele and Laka. There are two main types of Hula: the hula kahiko (ancient) and the hula auana (modern). Both are still performed in present day. To begin with, Hula was performed to poetic chants performed by men, which were called ‘’Mele’’. The men would recite the poetry while females played it out in the form of dance. Traditionally, both genders would wear knee level skirts made of palm leaves as well as flower garlands around their arms, ankles and heads. Hula actually originates from a series of only six traditional moves. Hollywood took the Hula and depicted it in a much different style. By the mid-20th century, hula was becoming more commercialized and new instruments were added such as the guitar and ukulele. Today, Hula can be seen at festivals competitions and at hotels and resorts. Although modern influence has touched Hula dancing, it still remains a beautiful and captivating dance to watch or perform.
A more localized social dance is Scottish County Dancing. The dance come from a ballroom dance of Scotland, as its original dancers were from the more educated and wealthy classes of the Renaissance. The history goes back at least three centuries, it was then rediscovered in the 1920s. Both men and woman dance together in this style and are usually partnered together. Dancers are usually dressed in formal wear. Men are dressed in shirt and kilts with signature knee high socks and black shoes. Woman are in knee length, pleated skirts and black flat shoes. The dancers will typically stand in lines and interweave. Skipping movements and strides are seen in this style. Dancers also tend to move in circles. The music that accompany the dance is usually an accordion. Scottish Country Dancing is performed at various events today, such as, ceilidhs, weddings and other events throughout Scotland and England.
During the 16th century, is when dance started to become a professional art form.
King Louis XIV established of the first professional dance schools; Academi Royale de Danse. King imported Jean Baptiste Lully from Italy and became one of the kings favourite dancers. Lully also composed music for ballets in courts and often collaborated with choreographers. Lully wanted to move dance from counts to stage.
Ballet master, Pierre Beauchamps was named "superintendent of the king's ballets’’ in the ARD. It is Beauchamps who created the five foot positions of ballet, (first through fifth positions). It was then that names were given for each step. The standards were raised and technique became a challenge so training became essential.