What are the dances? Name of types of dances

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-09 12:01

To express their overflowing emotions and feelings, expectations and hopes, our ancient ancestors used rhythmic ritual dances. As the person himself and the social environment that surrounded him developed, more and more different dances appeared, becoming more and more complex and refined. Today, even experts will not be able to indicate the name of the types of dances - all performed by people for centuries. However, dance culture, having passed through the centuries, is actively developing. On the basis of folk and classical, new and modern styles and directions appear.

What is this?

Before considering what types of dances are, let's clarify what it really is? The most short-lived and most complex of the arts, in which the human body and its plastic possibilities are used to create a unique image, is dance.

It is impossible without the personality of the artist and the music. The performer, starting from the content of the musical work, builds a “picture” of the dance and embodies his vision and sensory perception in motion. This action can be used as a way of social communication and self-expression, a competitive sports discipline and part of a religious cult, as well as a demonstration art form that is constantly evolving and changing. More and more new styles and forms, different types of dances appear in it, the variety of which confuses even specialists.

History of Appearance

The very first dances of people were ritual, performed by them in the hope of a successful hunt or a bountiful harvest, healing the sick or winning the war. Over time, rhythmic movements were generalized, which was the beginning of the formation of ethnic art, which each of the peoples has its own characteristics and traditions.

All the variety of dance steps originated from the basic types of human movements - running, walking, jumping, swinging and turning. Over time, the following types of folk dances appeared: domestic (for oneself), as well as performed for show - cult and stage.

Main destinations

Among the various dance styles and trends that exist today, the following are the most popular and well-known:

1. Ballet:

   ● classical;

   ● romantic;

   ● modern.

2. Ethnic (folk) dances,reflecting the essence and rituals, traditions and rituals of certain peoples. Among them, the following groups are distinguished:

   ● European;

   ● Asian (Eastern);

   ● African; there are various types of folk dances: group, individual, pair and others.

3. 

   Historical - these are dances popular in past eras and performed today, for example, ballo, contradans, polonaise and others.

4. Ballroom, including two main programs: European and Latin American. Here is the name of the types of dances included in the Latin program:

   ● jive, also called West coast swing or lindy;

   ● rumba;

   ● samba;

   ● paso doble;

   ● cha-cha-cha.

   The following types of dances are performed in the standard European program:

   ● Argentine tango;

   ● quickstep, or fast foxtrot; ● Viennese w altz;

   ● slow w altz, in which the trajectory of the dancers, unlike the Viennese, is not limited to a circle, but can vary;

   ● foxtrot, characterized by wavy and slow, smooth and sliding movements.

5. Sport dancing.

- street.

In this article, we will consider in more detail what types of dances are in modern choreographic art.

Beginning and middle of the 20th century

Similar division into twostages, not by chance. According to many performers of the beginning of the last century, dance as an art form had to reflect a new reality, and not adhere to the canons of the old ballet schools “frozen” in time. At this time, such choreographic directions arise, which are still popular today, such as:

1. Free dance.
2. Modern.
3. Butoh.
4. Contemporary (Contempo).
5. Jazz-modern.

Let's take a closer look at each of them, as they had a great influence on the formation and development of many styles and directions of modern dance art.

Free dance

This is, first of all, a special worldview of the performer, formed under the influence of Nietzsche's ideas. The performer, denying the canonical rules of ballet choreography, sought to combine dance and real life, manifesting himself as a liberated spirit of creativity. It was on the basis of the free style that such trends as modern and butoh, jazz-modern and contemporary were born and developed.

Modern

Emerged at the beginning of the century, this dance style is very popular today and is one of the leading choreographic schools in the West.

Like free dance, modern denies any ballet norms and seeks to embody various forms on stage using new original methods. It is characterized by semantic fullness, a wide range of movements, high jumps and flexibility, “broken” poses and movements unusual for ballet choreography, varioustwisting.

Contemporary dance

It is quite reasonable to say that such popular styles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as free dance and modern served as the basis for the formation of such a trend as contemporary (contempo). This dance, as an art form, offers the dancer, through various choreographic styles, to demonstrate as fully as possible in improvisation all the inner emotions and resources he has.

Jazz Modern

The main feature of this direction is the combination of jazz improvisational rhythms and energy, coordination and work with the body and breath of a modernist performer, as well as movements inherent in the classical ballet school. Thus, the body of a jazz-modern dancer becomes another musical instrument that manifests the melody through the plasticity of its own body.

Butoh

This is one of the youngest dance techniques that appeared in Japan in the 1950s. Buto, despite its rather long existence, remains the most difficult for people to understand today for the people of the Western world. It is based on the cultural, philosophical, religious and aesthetic values of the Land of the Rising Sun. This dance seeks to show the earthliness of everyday life of an ordinary person, as well as to comprehend and demonstrate the body and its capabilities in space and time.

Modern dance of the late 20th and early 21st centuries

The whole variety of contemporary dances can, of course, be conditionally divided into two large groups:

• street;
• club.

Which ones are considered to be street and which club ones? How do they differ? Let's figure it out.

Street dance

Hip-hop and Krump, popping and locking, breakdance and C-walk - all these are the names of the types of dances, "born" not on stages and in choreographic studios, but on the streets and in the courtyards of megacities, discos and clubs.

Mostly they are based on hip-hop. In street style, the performer is not limited to any form and can boldly improvise and experiment, creating an individual and unique pattern of movements, as well as interact with both other dancers and the public. In a "pure" form, they are extremely rare, and for the most part they began to be performed in clubs, and not on the streets, which is why they often fall into the club category. Here are the most popular and common destinations:

• New Style (NewStyle).
• Krump is short for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise, meaning "Spiritual Praise Absolute Power Empire".
• Locking.
• Popping.
• LA-Style.
• Crip walk (C-walk).
• R&B.
• Break dance.
• Hip-Hop (Hip-Hop).

Club dancing

This is a temperamental, bright and incredible mix of diverse modern styles that allows you to express yourself in motion. Everyone, as they say, "on hearing" the name of the types of dances in this direction:

• Tectonic orelectro dance.
• Jazz-Funk (jazz funk).
• House (house).
• Jumpstyle (jumpstyle).
• Melbourne shuffle.
• Waacking.
• Go-Go (Club Go).
• Square dance (square dance).
• DnBstep.
• Ragga (ragga) and many others.

It is impossible to list all kinds of dances. The list of names of modern styles and trends is constantly changing and supplementing. Today, dancing is not only a plastic art, but also a fairly common sport.

Sport dancing

If in the old days dancing was perceived only as an art form, then the complication of technical and choreographic performance requirements led to the need for excellent physical shape of those who do it. Today, the main types of sports dances are, first of all, ballroom dances. Their feature is the performance by partners of a set of certain mandatory movements and figures to a predetermined music. The ballroom dances evaluated at the competitions consist of three parts: compulsory, original and free.

Over time, new musical and choreographic styles and trends appear. And now such modern types of sports dances as break or locking, jumpstyle or pole dance (dancing on a pole) attract more and more fans from different age groups. To participate in competitions in these areas, athletes need not only excellent choreographic, but also physical training. For those who do not aspirewin international competitions, but tries to keep his own body in good shape, you can recommend fitness classes in various dance techniques. Twerk, high heels, go-go, strip plastic, belly dance, zumba, sexy R&B, ragga, booty dance - these are the most popular types of dance among the fair sex. Girls are attracted to them not only by the opportunity to correct the figure, but also to improve plasticity and increase their own self-esteem.