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Dance Paper

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February 28, 2011

Dance Paper
Dance is used as a form of expressing how you feel through the movement of your body through music. Through the different styles of dancing, it can be slow paced, fast paced, mellow, seductive, fun and enjoyable at the same time. The different styles discussed in this paper will show that jazz, ballet, folk, ritual and modern dance are different but similar. Whatever style of dance you choose they all have repetition, form and rhythm and something about the dance that makes people enjoy it and move to it.
Jazz
The Charleston is a form of Jazz dance originally performed by Blacks on a small island near Charleston, South Carolina, around 1903. The dance became popular with the rest of society in the 1920s (Charleston Dance, 2011). Dancing the Charleston became a reflection of the times described as rebellious and daring. While dancing the Charleston the body remained relaxed and casual. Performers used a series of kicks with their heels pointing outward. By bending the knees and straightening the knees dancers move the body up and down at a fairly fast rate. Always performed to Jazz music, the Charleston was a sign of the times.
Boogie Woogie is another form of Jazz dance popular during the 1940s and 1950s (Bedinghaus, 2010). The dance uses variations of a six count dance pattern that repeats throughout the dance. Dancers add their own variation of the steps through lifts and swinging the body upward with legs extended outward. Variations in footwork are always based on the six count basic pattern. A dancer’s upper body remains on center and the lower body performs the steps. Like the Charleston, Boogie Woogie was a sign of the times.

Ballet
Sleeping Beauty is a ballet performed around the world and uses costume and scenery to aid in telling the story. A duet performs s portion of the ballet and other members of the company stand or sit in the background in appropriate costumes. The



References: Charleston Dance. (2009). Retrieved from http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Charleston-dnc You Tube. (2010). Nutcracker. Retrieved from http://www.upitibe/cp,/watch Kundanis, B. (Feb 1, 2002). The Complete Guide to Irish Dance. (Performing Arts). Library Journal, 127, 2. p.101(2). Retrieved February 26, 2011, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=apollo Judy, M. y. (n.d). The dance: together with language and music. Irish step dancing is irrevocably woven into the tapestry of irish culture. And, as with those two genres. Irish dance is experiencing an unprecedented surge in popularity--not least of all in limerick, where preparations are underway for the world irish dancing championships. World of Hibernia, 6(4), 158. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Today 's Highlights; Television.(Features). (n.d). The Times (London, England), 23. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Elder, L. (2008). Belly Dance. Dance Spirit, 12(2), 68. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. 'African dance ' n.d., Encyclopedia Britannica: Britannica Online, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 February 2011. Soca Music, (2010). Retrieved from http://www.caribmusicnet.com/soca-music-videos/ Chan, Tommy H., (2010). Popping Dance. Retrieved from http://www.poppingdanceacademy.com/

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