Dance history overview
History means what happened in the past. Dance history tells how people danced in each age and why.
- Ancient age: group dances at festivals, harvests and prayers.
- Court age: kings and queens kept trained dancers to perform for guests.
- Folk-tale age: villagers danced stories of heroes, gods and animals, passed on by mouth.
- Today: stage, film and school dances, and anyone can share a dance online.
New words: court is the home and helpers of a king. Folk means ordinary people of a place.
Portraying historical figures
To portray means to show a person so that the audience knows who it is. A dancer has no words, so the body must speak.
- Prop: one clear sign. A crown shows a king, a sword shows a hero, a book shows a poet.
- Walk: how the person moves. A king walks slow and tall. A messenger runs light and quick.
- Feeling: what the person feels, such as pride, worry or joy. Show it in face and arms.
Find out the facts first. Ask: who was this person, when did they live and what did they do? Show their real deeds with respect.
Dance stories
A dance story tells a tale with movement, music and pose. Keep it short and clear with three beats.
- Beginning: meet the person and the place.
- Turn: something changes, a problem or a big event.
- End: the result, and what we learn.
Use space to help. Move left for the past and right for the future, or low for sad and high for happy. Give each beat a different pose so the audience can follow even without words.
Key formulas and definitions
- Key term: timeline = a line that shows events in time order
- Key term: portray = show a person through movement
- Key term: prop = an object that helps tell who or what you are
- Key term: dance story = a tale told with movement, with a beginning, a turn and an end
- Memory: P-W-F (prop, walk, feeling) and B-T-E (beginning, turn, end)
Worked examples
1. You must show a king in a dance. Which prop, walk and feeling would you pick?
Prop: a crown. Walk: slow, tall steps with the chin up. Feeling: pride. The audience can now read the character.
2. Plan a three-beat dance story about a farmer and a flood.
Beginning: the farmer works happily in the field. Turn: a flood comes, with fast and wide arm waves. End: neighbours help and they rebuild together, with slow joined movements.
3. Why did court dancers and village dancers dance differently?
Court dancers performed for a king, so their dance was trained, polished and planned. Village dancers danced for festivals together, so their dance was simple and open to everyone.
Common mistakes
- Using many props at once. One clear prop is easier to understand.
- Showing a historical person without finding facts. Check who they were and what they did.
- Telling the story only with the face. Use the whole body, space and direction.
- Forgetting the turn. Without a change, the story has no interest.