A General History of Dance

People have always danced. Early man used to dance to prepare for war or a hunt, to pray to his gods or for a good harvest.

In the Middle Ages folk dancing was popular amongst the peasants in the countryside. A lot of these dances were connected with the agricultural year - both the Maypole and Morris Dancing are linked with farming. At around this time a more formal and slower pace of dance was beginning to evolve through the courts of Kings, but now dancers were dancing for pleasure and entertainment.

During the 15th century Italian dance masters began to formalize these dances around a basic dramatic or emotional idea – now called 'ballets'. This type of dance became very popular in France and King Louis XIV (1643 – 1715) founded the first ballet school to provide dancers for his court.

Contemporary dance developed in the early 20th century. Instead of using set steps the dancers developed their own movements to express thoughts and feelings. One of the first dancers to do this was Isadora Duncan (1878 – 1927). She used fresh and unfamiliar movements and would tell stories through her dance performance. This changed the whole concept of dance completely.

In the 1920s (known as the Roaring 20s) a popularized dance form of jazz became popular at nightclubs. Many parallels exist between the dance music of this time and disco music from the 70s. Both forms of music featured lavish orchestrations. It was during the 1920s that the disco ball first appeared. During the later years of the 20th century new popular musical styles resulted in new dances. Young people danced the Jitterbug to the Glenn Miller sound and the Jive to Rock and Roll. In 1960 Chubby Checker released his record 'The Twist'. These songs were the start of many popular dances which are still used to this day.

During the 1970s disco music became popular. This type of music was celebrated in the film 'Saturday Night Fever'. Once again leading to new dance styles. For many dancers, the primary influence of the 70s disco age is still predominately the film 'Saturday Night Fever' but also dance troupes like Pan's People and Hot Gossip influenced many dancers and dancing.

Also during 1970s a very different kind of music and dance was developed called 'punk'. This was high speed music played deliberately raw and amateurish style. Melodies were often tuneless and the instrumentation was distorted.

During the first years of the 1980s the 'disco sound' was being phased out and newer, faster tempos were used. Body Popping and breakdancing developed through such music as the music was now a more complex arrangement performed by large ensembles of studio musicians, to a leaner sound, accompanied by synthesizers and drum machines. Such films as 'Fame' and 'Flash Dance' influenced many dancers and dancing moves. In addition during the 1981 – 1983 period elements from blues and jazz were used to create a different sound altogether.

More recently, Rap, Hip Hop and Pop music were also being created which then lead to another break-out of new dance styles.

In the 2000s, music and dance has evolved through the years leading up to what we now call 'Freestyle'. Basically, anything goes! Radio, television, the internet, all these types of media, greatly influences the music and dance world. Music can be remixed, spliced and rearranged and so can all the dance moves!