Most dance classes are filled with structured lessons about different skills, techniques, tricks and combinations. The current development in the co-operation among dancers and musicians of diverse cultures and countries has added impetus to the globalization process and international integration. Contemporary dance continues to grow in popularity due, in part, to its accessibility to dancers. This ideal, coupled with increasing global networking has made it somewhat imperative for cultures to share their art of music and dance and co-operate in this respect. When did organ music become associated with baseball? Dance is exercise, so the physical benefits of dancing will be similar to that of other cardio activities. Dance has always been a part of human culture, rituals and celebrations. Thus, regardless of where the award is taking place, individuals and groups from all over the world become beneficiaries of the function. It must be established that music and dance are almost two sides of the same coin. Change ). More prevalent are these gestures in traditional African dance where gestures and symbols are integral part of the art. It is interesting to note that as important as time is to our world today, dance form more amusing part of our life. Contemporary dance refers to an expressive style of dance which allows freedom of expression both mentally and physically to relay specific information to an audience. Owing the points made, we will not be far from truth concluding that dance indeed is the livewire of man. Contemporary dance is a style of expressive dance that combines elements of several dance genres including modern, jazz, lyrical and classical ballet. How long will the footprints on the moon last? As contemporary dance is still dynamic, new styles and emotions will arise as involved creative people introduce their concepts to the world of dance. The art of dance thus, has a far reaching-importance even in our world today. Dancing allows one to express oneself. Thus, the context-specific nature of dance goes a long way to sell out one’s culture to the larger society. People crowd in theatres and night clubs just to dance their heads off. More interestingly, the art of dance is important to our health as it offers us psycho-medical effects. After all, these are the aspects that make up a great performance. “Now that we have perspective, you can compare it with modern art and the modernism movement. ( Log Out / For instance, if a dancer points his forefinger to the ground and to the sky, it means “except God and mother earth, no one is powerful than him or her”. Dance also helps in the promotion of our culture. The origin of dance is as difficult to trace as the origin of music. Dance continues to find expression in the child’s life through other transitional rites of passage. From the feet up, your feet should be shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, pelvis over your legs. Some important figures that appear in contemporary dance history as conductors of the crossings between ballet and contemporary dance values are: Rudolph Nureyev (1938 – 1993): an archetypical classical figure who will not hesitate to work with modern and contemporary dancers and that becomes a great incentive for the classical community to start trespassing barriers. It is important in the field of entertainment. However, you may want to consider incorporating a little bit of dance improvisation into your classes – even if your students balk when you mention it. A dancer may also call a lover to dance by beckoning him or her with the left forefinger and making an eye contact. As David Bolger notes in an interview for our new production, FRANCIS FOOTWORK -that has its world premiere this evening in Galway. Dance can be a release from the challenges in life and a way to let go of day to day emotional challenges that kids may not be aware of, or know how to release. Head level and over your torso, with eyes forward. Symbolically, a dancer may also point his fingers to the cardinal points and finally cross his or her arm against his chest. Contemporary dancers can come from any training background, ranging from classical ballet to break-dancing, and they integrate bodywork techniques such as yoga and Pilates into their dance, along with systems such as the Alexander Method. specific concert dance genre that is all about unchoreographed movements as influenced by compositional philosophy Contemporary dancers strive to connect the mind and the body through fluid dance movements”. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. From the foregone discussion, we have established that the importance of dance to the modern world is immense and far-reaching. It must be noted that dance has to be always performed in a particular context along with a particular material. An accent stamping of the feet means “I will vanquish all my enemies”. This is why I think the study of dance history is important. Dancers must strive to achieve full range of motion for all the major muscle groups. This is because, the conceptof rhythm is believed to be infused into the child through daily activities such as sweeping and grinding by the pregnant African mother. A sense of community is found within the dance. It not shocking then that dancers are as fit as athletes. The logic behind this is that, dance involves deep psychological activity of great thinking and smartness. The forerunners of Look at contemporary dance as you would a painting or sculpture, or as you might listen to a piece of music. In Africa and many other parts of the world, dance was performed for mere aesthetics and the art was given less recognition and prominence. Since contemporary dance is all about versatility and innovation, it does not have a specific genre that it can actually identify with specifically.In regard to music selection though, while picking out a musical track it is important to have a dance that one is able to identify with. It is interesting however to note that for the African, we dance from birth to death and even hereafter. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. A music which begun as counter-cultural music has come to influence many of youths in the world. Dance continues to permeate every facet of our world today. Dancing provides physical/mental refreshment and relaxation. Ethnic dance techniques are important to keep individual dances alive. Again, dance continues to remain one of the formal tool of ensuring physical fitness. It is also an important lucrative activity in our world today. Copyright © 2020 Multiply Media, LLC. Thus, for the African, dance holds a lot of significance in man’s life. Today, most dancing is about recreation and self-expression, although it can also be done as a competitive activity. All in all, contemporary dance has contributed much to the world of performing arts and its acceptance into the world of theater has opened the door for many styles and artists who never had an avenue for expressing their talents. Hitherto, dance was performed as just a mere entertaining activity of gesture where the dancer only derives satisfaction from booing from the crowd. This has gone a long way to consolidate our gain for globalization and international integration. It can be danced to the tune of any music. Ethical values, freedom, acceptance of self and others, and opening of the mind are common expressions of contemporary dance that the viewer will experience. Contemporary dance can be challenging both physically and emotionally and it pushes the boundaries of dance … What are the release dates for The Wonder Pets - 2006 Save the Ladybug? To that extent, dance has not only been given official recognition and eminence but largely, offered a better way to explore the art for its judicious use in our ever-changing world. It evolved as a protest against both the balletic and the interpretive dance traditions of the time. The art of learning dance through movement of the body and limbs does not appear to be as important in American culture. Lastly, dance is a key symbolism of communication. The entertainment industry today offer colossal amount of money to individuals and sometimes groups to perform dances for their audience. A dancer uses these gestures and symbols to communicate ideas to his or her audience. Social Change in Ghana: The Example of the 1981 Revolution, THE IMPORTANCE OF DANCE IN A CONTEMPORARY WORLD. Dance is an art by which everyone can express the emotions. They're constantly morphing through usage, though the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance has always been called 'contemporary,' and not modern dance. Contemporary dance can be a way to stay fit for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. They also must fight for their recognition in the education than other artists. The contemporary style places a heavy emphasis on the connection between mind and body, with dancers being encouraged to explore their emotions through dances that push against traditional boundaries. Dance is one of the major source of entertainment in our world today. Laughter and fun—dancing can provide a lot of entertainment. Graham was a modernist in the style of her … The art of dance is characterized by concentration, smartness and endurance. Thus, through the language and costume, a dancer is able to not only identify his or herself with a particular culture but also promote that culture to the bigger world. The harmonization of dance in the world today makes it easy for everybody to perform any dance regardless its origin. Another significance dance holds for us today in our modern world is its lucrativeness. As universal as the art of dance is, only few people can creatively use dance to interpret music to satisfy audience. Torso,which includes the shoulders, should be over your pelvis. With the influx of music in our world today, the art of dance continue to serve as complimentary entertainment activity. (This is important as they are the ones paying the bills.) The universalization of music and dance in our modern world has necessitated the need of sharing and co-operation among nations in this endeavour. Thus, people use their speciality in dance to make dimes and nickels for themselves. Studios and even colleges often don't have time to get into the theory of Modern dance. Whilst this gives a lot more insight, and references styles that most non-dancers will recognise, it still lacks in creating an image that really reflects all that contemporary dance is. As the world continues to expand towards information and technological age, entertainment easily becomes an indispensable tool to wear away boredom. Each part of the body is important in the dance; the trunk, the extremities, the easy expressions and the postures must be complemented correctly to obtain a natural and pleasant movement in sight. Rossman and Rubel also opine that dance is an expressive activity through which one expresses ideals or sentiments.Dance thus, is any verbal art which involves a rhythmic movement of the body or part of the body to interpret whatever music is provided. Though informal means were used in some extent to teach new generations of dance, today it forms integral part of academic discourse. People even are exploring more dynamics ways of body movement to embellish not only dance but also give recognition to their music. This style of dance often involves a great deal of playin… Although these gestures and symbols continue to be used today, they achieved their intended purposes in the days. Benefits of Contemporary Dance. The material on this site can not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Multiply. This combines emotions that links the spirit with the mind and the body to pass information at deeper levels. Today, dance has taken profiteering dimension where people specialize in the art for economic gains. This important move has given the specially endowed dancer to explore his talents and utilize them in the contemporary world. WHY IS DANCE IMPORTANT. This is true because, dance involves a lot of the antics of gymnastics and sometimes, even more. Where there is music, there is dance and vice versa. One major tool of entertainment today is music and dance. 2- Action . More so, it has been instrumental in the globalization process as a cultural universal. ( Log Out / Learn more about the history, styles, and aesthetics of dance in this article. These among many are the gestures which find expression in traditional African dance and continue to hold relevance to the modern world. From a social perspective, art could be understood as a mean to create ties between people, so its purpose would be to help maintain the social unity. In this sense, the purpose of contemporary dance would be the same as that of articulated language: communicate. Equipped with rhythm, the child is given the first musical notes at birth during naming ceremony which marks the first transitional rite. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. 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