The History of Dance – from Ancient times to Today
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There are discoveries of caves with rock paintings across the world that date back to 4000 BC —one of the best known is the “Dancing Sorcerer” in Trois Frères in France.
Based on prehistory and what was found in these caves, it is shown that the ancient groups of humans danced to the beat of the sounds of nature, applauded and bumped the soles of their feet, among other noises. Dance appears to have had a highly spiritual character during that time of history, since it was used as part of different rituals, religions and traditions that were transmitted from generation to generation. Early circle dances have many of these attributes, many of which have carried on to some modern day practice.
Another example, is a long recorded history of Chinese dances. But some of the dances in the ancient texts mention that they were associated with shamanic rituals. On the other hand, the important dances of the ancient period are considered to be the ‘ceremonial yayue’, dating back to the Zhou Dynasty, 1st millennium BC.
In china, dance had its pinnacle during the Tang Dynasty, and during this period, dancers from many parts of the world performed at the imperial court and Chinese opera. With this came dragon dancing, lion dancing and practices such as foot binding, which can still be seen today.
The arrival of civilizations
Years later, with the arrival of ancient civilizations such as those in Iran, Rome, Egypt, and Greece began to use dance incorporating musical instruments and the voice in religious rituals, dances to divinities, weddings, deaths, and receptions.
It is said that the first in Europe to understand dance as an artistic form were the ancient Greeks, who linked it to the cult of Dionysus —god of fertility, wine, and leisure—, and it was part of the theatrical practices along with music and poetry.
More so, this art had greater importance in ancient Greece in 1200 since their movements represented various histrionic expressions and they named each dance according to the events or event. The slow and heavy dances conveyed a tragic feeling known as Gymnopedias, the fast and euphoric dances expressed a satirical feeling and became known as Pyrrhica and Sikinnis, the energetic and joyous dances combined with songs were Hiporquema and Cordace, to mention the outstanding ones.
As an interesting fact, if you have read Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, they tell how they practiced these dances in a marriage ritual, describing a collective dance of men and women where they held hands in a circular fashion.
You might also be interest to know that Pole dance history also goes way back, with the earliest mention of Malahamba in the Indian classical Manasollas, written in 1135 AD.
Medieval dance
The Middle Ages were a very dark period for this beautiful art that is dance.
It is especially difficult to learn the history of dance in the time of the Middle Ages. For centuries, only the most learned (nobles and clergy) knew how to write and read. Therefore, there are not many writings about dance in the Middle Ages, since it was only practiced by the common people.
As in many times and events in history, repression appears and dance is also present right in the Middle Ages in the year 476. The Christian church did not approve such movements and saw it as an unscrupulous activity. The nocturnal dances gave rise to excesses condemned by the Church, which tried to simply prohibit this art, without ever succeeding.
Through history, there have been several religions that took a similar stance.
Little by little, religious dances began to disappear to give way to new forms of dance.
Beginning in the 6th century, the people of France invented cheerful dance styles, practiced in a group around a singer. Dance and music were two inseparable activities: the people repeated the singer’s refrain while they danced around him.
The rise of Europe in the history of dance
Dance and music increasingly merged, beginning to see groups of people around a singer while they danced around them —here an important focus for the new era of dance as the modern era begins to develop. It is in the 15th century that a well-known dance for professional dancers appeared: the ballet! It is also when the history of ballroom dance began.
Classical dancing was very popular in France and Italy. Jean Baptiste Lully contributed to this popularity, thanks to his compositions, performed at the royal court, as well as at the Paris Opera. Thanks to the enthusiasm that these shows aroused, the ballet became a means of communication during the political regime, to subtly convey a message.
Initially, masks were often used to favor the bodily expression of the dancers. The dancers’ costumes made the artists feel freer, a feeling that many are also looking for today. The footwear and clothing helped to accentuate the harmony of the body, then the tiptoe posture arose.
For centuries, ballerinas were an emblematic figure of ballet culture. At the same time, some dancers discovered cultured dances, made up of complex choreographies that are difficult to memorize. With a fast tempo, the artists had to demonstrate impeccable intelligence and concentration in order to execute the movements perfectly. The cultured dances were reserved for the elite; today they are accessible to all, thanks to private dance classes and the many annual festivals of cultured dances.
We dive much deeper into the history of ballet here.
Baroque dance
In the Baroque period, the history of dance continued to evolve mostly in France, where the ballet de cour allowed instrumental music to be developed to better suit the dance.
Louis XIV was in charge of turning dance into a great spectacle and even created the Royal Academy of Dance in 1661. The main academic dances that arose at that time were the following: polonaise, minuet, gigue, gavotte, passepied, rigaudon, etc. .
It is important to note that in Spain several popular or social dances also began to be developed, such as the seguidilla, the chaconne, or the fandango.
Romantic dance
Although romantic dance was characterized by a taste for folkloric dances, the history of classical dance was the one that had the greatest evolution: from the characteristic ballet costume, the tutu, to music purely composed for ballet.
The tutu appeared for the first time in Robert le Diable’s Ballet des Monks, in 1831. While the first music exclusively composed for ballet to stand out was Coppélia, in 1870.
During this time, the choreographer Carlo Blasis rose as the father of modern ballet, as he summarized all the technical aspects of the dance in his book The Terpsichore Code.
In addition, in the mid-19th century, the center of dance creation and innovation moved from Paris to Saint Petersburg, where Russian ballet would become a leader in expressions of this art in the following centuries.
The dance of the contemporary era
In the 20th century, dance began to appear much closer to how it is practiced today. After World War II, that was the time when contemporary dance became popular!
Some choreographers, eager to get away from ballet’s reputation for “intellectual” dance, helped popularize modern dance, as well as modern jazz. While classical dance was considered more of a variation of group gymnastics, modern dance favored the freedom of the dancer as such.
Incorporating new movements from different styles (jazz, modern dance, classical dance…), contemporary dance plays with the change of rhythm and dance improvisation. The contemporary dancer seeks above all to express independence and creativity through movements that are both fast and slow, which require great technique. We take a more in-depth look at contemporary dance history here.
This has been a whistlestop door. The history of dance in the last 150+ years needs a much more in-depth look different forms of dance, as they evolved into new styles. Here’s a few we’ve covered:
So, in every foot tap, spontaneous swirl and rhythms, the history of dance pulses. From the ancient caves, passing through the modern stages, dance transcends every excuse, threading a great part of our existence. It once adorned rituals, and now evolves freely in many different expressions. As beats change, so does dance, eternally enchanting, mirroring our journey through time.
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