Dance and Culture

Since time immemorial dance and culture have been interwoven. Almost all the ancient civilizations of the world had their distinct forms of dances. Along with the evolution of the humankind evolved the dance forms. Across continents and oceans, different cultures segregated and each culture adopted its own dance form. Just like food and clothing, dance also became one of the chief defining characteristic of a culture. It might be difficult to list all the dance forms that are prevalent in the world, as there are so many. Many dances are being carried forward from the ancient times and some are now no more practiced. A website on the internet lists 91 dance forms. In actuality the figure is much higher. Like other art forms, dance has also been ever evolving. So many new dance forms have developed during the past years.

Some of the dances popular in the United States of America are Ballet, Ballroom Dance, Disco, English Country Dance, Ethnic dance, Flamenco (Spanish/gypsy Jazz dance), Meringue (Latin Club), Mexican Hat Dance, Salsa dance, Samba dance, Tap dance, Waltz (ballroom, social), Wolosso (Ivory Coast), Western swing, West Coast Swing ("WCS"; Swing,) etc. some of these were adopted from other cultures and some were developed in America itself. Dances have proved to be a great way to socialize. Dance camps and dance events can be great avenues for the young to come forward and showcase their talent. Even the professionals take delight in such events as they see young amateurs learn from their mistakes. These camps also serve to be a potent venue for people from different backgrounds to come together and know about each other. This is how relations develop, this is how cultures evolve.

Dance and dance apparels have been allies in transforming cultures over the years, across borders. Dancers have spent fortunes on dance dresses and dance shoes, to get the right get-up. Dance costumes and make-up are a vital part of a dance performance. All the three combined become a specific dance type which ultimately accounts for the tradition of that dance. The costumes are generally chosen as per the convenience of the dancers. Different geographical locations have different requirements hence they account for different types of costumes. The costumes of various types of dances are also influenced by the native dress of that place. All in all we cannot deny the interdependence of the two- dance and culture. Both have helped each other to grow, develop, evolve and sustain.