How far would you agree that dance is a form of communication?
Dance allows us to tell stories in the simplest way possible , without uttering a single
word. They can express emotions and feelings deeper than words through a extensive
range of movements and expressions.Dance is the oldest form of communication as
people have had body language way before paper, pen or technology. This essay
focuses on different cultural and social dances , and what each dance form expresses.
Furthermore, the importance of choreography for dance to be a communication will
also be discussed .
Social and cultural dances
Dance is bonded with the various human civilisations around the globe . Thus dance
forms are woven into the social and cultural aspects of many civilisations . This has
given birth to social and cultural dance forms . cultural dance forms can be about
birth, death and everything in life.these dance forms are tradition in the society, and a
way to express joy or happiness.Bharatanatyam , a cultural dance form is known for
its ability convey stories . In Ancient hindu text , Bharathanatiam refers to ‘loving
devotion to a particular diety. Bharathanatiam expresses hindu religious stories and
devotional belief . In order to achieve this the dance form uses various hand gestures,
facial expressions and movements . These serve as the vocabulary for bharathanatiam
to convey stories.
An another form of cultural dance form which conveys deep messages is the
Brazilian samba dance . The samba dance has its roots deep down with African origin
and is often combined with samba music . The dance symbolises the diverse country
of Brazil . It is a important part of candombl’e ceremonies. Candombl’e is an
African-brazil religion and samba dance is done to honour and worship gods of this
religion by expressing their faith. In addition Samba ,which was earlier called the
African slave dance , was a way of coveying the feelings for the enslaved during the
colonisation in Brazil by Portuguese .
Social dance forms , are dance forms which are performed in social gathering ,
helping people to socialise and connect with each other .Wedding dances is a social
dance, which is performed by the newly wed during their marriage .There are a
plethora of wedding dance styles. This includes waltz, foxtrot, slow dance , and a few
How far would you agree that dance is a form of communication?
more . Waltz dance involves mainly ‘rise and fall’ action done between the couples
and body sways. Foxtrot dance consists of fast and slow steps, where it uses the pace
of steps to rhythm to the beat of music . Finally, the slow dance comprises , of the
couple dancing slowly, swaying to the music. However , irrelevant of which style of
wedding dance is performed, any form of this dance expresses love and unity
between the couple and a start to their new life. Another prominent social dance in
the current world is pub dance .
pub dancing doesn’t have any rythamical moves or a characterised set of
action( unlike Bharathanatiam) . It involves vibing to music, a series of hips and hops
and invoulantry moves to particular beats for the soundtrack . In fact of this ,Pub
dancing induces strong feeling of enjoyment and entertainment in an individual.
Dance choreography
A simple definition of choreography “sequencing steps and movement”.Nevertheless
there is far more to choreography
Than just that. Choreography makes dance a communication . Strategically linking
movements in a sequence is much like fitting words together to construct a sentence .
As long as there are words to speak , movements can be choreographed to express
these words. Dance is choreographed to contain a array of steps and movements ,
sequenced in an order to convey a deeper meaning and message . “Vocabulary" of
dancing , are movements , which help the dancers to express an message to the
audience in an impactful manner . Therefore during , choreography of dance , these ‘
vocabulary’ are put into good use to achieve an impactful dance performance.
Clearly dance is a form of communication . Through expressions and movements
dance has the ability to convey stories , messages , connect people of same cultural
belief , help people socially connect to each other, and entertain people. Considering
dance as a from of communication is
Essential in todays community. As many dance forms have invaluable information
about communities , preserving dance forms helps preserve
Valuable information it communicates .
How far would you agree that dance is a form of communication?
