Recreational dance is a social activity in which people of all ages can participate.

Recreational dances
come from all over the world and include folk, cultural, and historical dances and social dances from the
past and present. These types of dances use a variety of steps, figures, and formations. The styles,
performance, and music are related to the cultural roots, historical eras, and geographic areas from
which the dance originates.

Dance fitness, on the other hand, is a fun way to increase cardiovascular endurance, strength, and
flexibility. Various dance genres support fitness. Dance-related fitness training systems, such as Zumba
Fitness and cardio dance, have boomed recently. A lot of people enjoy using dance as a fitness activity.

What makes a good dance?

A good dance displays a significant meaning or conveys a message. Sometimes, it also portrays
life experiences. Dance may be presented abstractly and symbolically but still convey emotion and
meaning (McGreevy-Nichols et al. 2005). A good dance lifts and transports the audience from their
seats during the performance.

It has a beginning, middle, and end/conclusion. The beginning of a dance may come in a form of
shape, a pose, or an entrance. The middle consist of a development or the exploration of the main idea.
The ending/conclusion should be clear and may be in a form of a shape, a pose, or an exit.

All works, whether it is sports, music, or dance, must have a form brought to their elements by
means of orderly arrangement, meaning, and purpose (Lockhart, 1982). There must be a sense of
direction. A good dance therefore, must have shape or form for its choreography to be effective.

What is form?

A form is the instrument by which ideas and elements are arranged or combined into a logical
sequence which results in unity and consistency, and by means of which the content or idea can be
expressed and communicated. It is the organizing factor of any work or dance composition (Lockhart,
1982).

The form should progress through time from the beginning to the end of the choreography.
(Minton, 2007). Each section is composed of several units that are smoothly connected to each other.
These small units called phrases.

What is phrase?

When you combine one movement with several others, they form a unit. When units are pieced
together, they make up a section in the choreography and the sections together form a whole dance.
Therefore, a phrase is the smallest unit of form in the whole dance (Blom and Chaplin, 1988). It can be
related to a sentence in writing compositions. Choreographers and dancers use movement phrasing
when working on dances.

Although Minton (1997) suggests that movement phrases should vary in length and shape, most
of the dances these days use equal length phrases. Commonly, a single phrase consists of eight count. It
is easier for building routines and choreographic combinations with an 8-count phrase.
What is motif?

A good dance contains a theme or a motif to be able to convey its meaning or intention to the
audience. A dance without meaning makes it harder for the audience to understand; thus, making it
superficial and easy to forget.

A single movement or a short phrase of movement that embodies the style and intention of the
dance is called o motif. A good dance uses a motif in which the movements are repeated, varied, and
developed by manipulating the movement components or elements.

Characteristics of a good dance?

1. Unity The interconnected phrases of the dance are coherent and flow smoothly together. The
movements fit together and each plays an important role that contributes to the entirety of a
dance.
It is crucial for a dance to have unity to effectively make the audience understand the
choreography as a whole. It also attracts and holds the audiences attention (Minton, 2007).

2. Continuity and Development The phrases of the dance that are organized progressively,
making each movement phrase move naturally into the next. There is a continuous
development of the movement phrase and the audience is swept along to the end.
Some dances develop organically in much the same way a play or a novel grows from a
process of natural unfolding of an idea, or sometimes it is built upon a structure ordinarily
associated with poetry (Lockhart, 1988).

3. Variety and Contrast Making one or several variations that highlight the facet of the motif.
This provides variety within the development of a dance. It introduces new material, which is
noticeably different from anything so far seen in the dance (Rickett-Young, 1966). Variety and
contrast in movement phrases add excitement and flavor in the dance. Changing the direction,
use of energy, timing of a movement phrase, and avoiding repeating them in the exact way are
ways to add variety to the dance. Examples of contrasting movements are slow to fast, short to
long, and minimal to large movement phrases.

4. Transition This is the link between movements, phrases, and sections of the dance. It makes
the logical progression of the dance flow smoothly. Also, it is vital because it keeps the unity and
continuity of the dance.

Transitions may vary from length and complexity. They may be long or short, gradual or
abrupt. They may also be simple or involving an entire phrase of movement.

5. Repetition It emphasizes movements and phrases that are important to the dance and give a
feeling of closure to a work (Minton, 2007). Some phrases need to be repeated in choreography
so that the audience can see those movements again and identify its significance. Usually, when
a certain phrase or a section of choreography is repeated, it is the main message of the dance.
This function to make clearer the meaning or intention of the dance (Ricket-Young, 1996). Also,
if the audience gets familiar with the movement, it gives them a feeling of comfort (Schrader,
2005).
 6. Climax this is where the apex of energy in the dance is reached (Schrader, 1996). It is similar
to a climax to a climax in a story where a series of events culminates. The climax may be a fast
and engaged blast of energy and action, or it could fade away to a gentle and quiet exit that
marks the end of a particular story (Rickett-Young, 1996). The music will often assist both the
choreographer and the audience when determining this point of development (Schrader, 1996).

Compositional forms are traditional frameworks which have set patterns category

1. Sequential Forms
These forms contain themes/motif which progress is a specific order. They are arranged
arranged accordingly.

a. AB (two-part) form the simplest of the sequential forms and is similar to a verse and a
chorus of a song. It is a binary form with two contrasting sections consisting of a beginning
section (A) followed by a second section (B). Each section contains elements that contrast in
tone or quality. Examples of which are light and dark, huge and tiny, love and hate. This
form is commonly used in many folk dances and songs.
b. ABA ( three-part) form composed of introductory theme (A), a contrasting theme (B) and
a statement of the original theme (A). (A) is the unifying theme and the center of interest,
then (B) gives contrast. The original (A) returns either as an exact repetition or in an easily
recognizable variation or development. Most popular songs use this form where is chorus
(A), a verse (B), and a repetition of the chorus (A) which is often somewhat elaborated to
highlight the idea of the song (Ricket-Young, 1996).
c. Rondo form (ABACA) in this form, the unifying theme (A) returns after each contrasting
theme. (A) appears after every contrasting theme. (A) appears after every contrasting
section at least three times, but it can itself be varied (Ricket-Young, 1996). It can be
described ABACADAEAFA development of movement idea (Minton, 2007). Here, sections
(B), (C), (D), (E), (F) are the contrasting themes while (A) is constantly repeated every after
each section.
d. Theme and Variation form the motif is a series of movements to which variations are
added throughout the development of the entire choreography. The motif/theme can be a
single phrase or several movement phrases placed together in a sequence (Minton, 2007).
The order of the movements is kept the same all throughout the variations. It can take the
form of subtle adjustments in dynamic, space, style, mood, and tempo (Ricket-Young,
1996).

2. Contrapuntal Forms
Here, several themes are woven together on choreography to form a complex structure.
The main theme is seen against itself or against one or more other themes (Ricket-Young, 1996).
There are four contrapuntal forms of dance:

a. Ground Bass single theme starts the dance and is repeated all the way through the dance
while other contrasting themes are simultaneously performed with it. This form is best done
in a group working either in contrast to each other or against a soloist. The repeated theme
can be performed by a group while soloist or a smaller group dances the other theme with
more complex combination of movements (Minton, 2007). It can also be performed in a
 circle wherein the dancers in a circle perform the repeated theme while the soloist or
smaller group in the center performs the contrasting theme.
b. Round or Canon consists of two or more movement phrases or theme in which the main
movement phrases in imitated exactly and completely by the successive movements, but
done in staggered manner (McGreevy-Nichols et al. 2005). For instance, the first dancer
performs the theme, the second dancer enters at the end of the first half-phrase, the third
enters at the start of the second phrase, and the fourth enters on the last half of the second
phrase. The round ends in the same order as the last dancer finishes off the movement or
theme (Ricket-Young, 1996).
c. Fugue or Accumulation a choreographic form that is constructed by adding on different
movement or dance phrases in every repetition of the main movement theme (McGreevy-
Nichols et al. 2005). The movement phrases or the motif can be developed by reversing,
inverting, augmenting, or diminishing throughout the dance (Ricket-Young, 1996).
d. Suite every section of the dance (beginning, middle, and end) use different tempos and
qualities, and a fast and lively end section (Minton, 2007).

3. Episodic Form
Episodic forms are not musical forms; instead, they are found in literature. They tell a
story through connected and progressive sections called episodes. Narrative form is an episodic
form that tells a story or conveys an idea and the sequence of the story determines the
structure of the dance (McGreevy-Nichols et al. 2005). As in all good soap operas, each sections
of chapter reveals more of the plot and has its own interest, variations, and contrast. Classical
ballet often uses this form (Ricket-Young, 1996).

4. Other Compositional Forms

a. Natural sturctures mostly come from natural structures such as the seasons, life cycles,
and everyday life experiences. All these present rich materials for organic dance structure.
b. Collage consists of a series of movement phrases that are often unrelated but have been
brought together to create a single dance with a beginning, a middle, and an end
(McGreevy-Nichols et al. 2005). The overall form remains a whole even though the content
may be illogical (Rickett-Young, 1996).
c. Tableau different movement phrases are performed by different dancers simultaneously
in the same space. The dancers may execute a tableau at a different location on the stage
and connect transitional movements for each scene to produce a progression of moving
snapshots (Minton, 2007).
d. Chance the movement phrases are performed in random order and spatial placing. Every
time the dance is performed, it is done in different order and therefore has a different
appearance (McGreevy-Nichols et al., 2005). Originally, the dance phrases hence, coming
from the word by chance.