What is dance and what is it for?

Dance is an ancient form of artistic expression, it has been used for all kinds of rituals and offerings to the gods. It can also have many health benefits and be a form of communication and social interaction, even in some countries of Eastern tradition, certain types of dance were used in ancient times to achieve enlightenment, nirvana and the highest peaks of self discovery.

Nowadays when the different cultures of the world are observed it has been observed that each one has particular and unique dances.

What are the benefits of dance?

There are many benefits related to the health of the body and the production of serotonin and dopamine typical of sports practices, during dance there are many movements that the body performs, which at the same time help to have better coordination and agility.

Benefits of dance in children

Dance is ideal as an exercise for children, taking advantage of their flexibility they can develop agility, balance and coordination easier than an adult. Research has also shown positive effects of dance on children on a mental level.

It develops their confidence, teaches them discipline and concentration to achieve their goals, skills that will be essential in life to develop in an integral way, in addition to children with behavior problems, it helps them to be more centered and behave better.

Another excellent and beneficial point for young children when watching dance classes is the development of imagination and intelligence by having to coordinate arm and leg movements, steps and all this within the rhythm of the music.

Dance in adults

Dance is an effective exercise for all ages, and adults and seniors can also reap the benefits of dance. Besides strengthening the body and especially the legs, it also helps adults to have a healthier heart and circulatory system.

In people over 65, it can help improve memory and fight Alzheimer’s, help control cholesterol and lose weight. Another great benefit in older people is the prevention of bone mass that can cause diseases such as osteoporosis.

What is dance?

The dance is composed of a series of movements that are generally accompanied by musical rhythms, these movements can be slow, smooth, fast or explosive depending on the type of dance and what is being expressed with it.

Dance is capable of expressing emotions without words, using the body as a means of expression and through choreographies that help tell a story through these movements in an organized way.

What are the types of dance?

The expression through rhythmic movements or dance, can be done for many purposes of which one of the most common today is simple entertainment, however, dance can also be a symbol of culture and have a lot of meaning as in the case of folk dances.

Academic dance

Academic dance is characterized by being taught, it has many more restrictions than other types of freer dance since there are structures and rules in academic dance. It can be studied and is based on the science of movement and combines on the one hand the theory of dance and on the other the applied part of the technique.

Traditional dance

Traditional dance is one that symbolizes the culture of a society, forms part of folklore and can have a religious and spiritual meaning. Around the world there are many traditional dances with which ancient cultures told the stories of their ancestors, gods, being also a mechanism to pass knowledge from one generation to the next.

Modern dance

This form of dance was born at the beginning of the 20th century and is characterized by its freedom and the interpretation that the dancer or choreographer can give and what they want to show. It is a free way to express different emotions, or abstract forms of thought through rhythmic movement that do not follow a certain pattern.

Classic dance

This form of dance originates in Europe and is closely related to the nobility, it was born as a form of training among these high echelons of the dominant social class of the time.

Most know classical dance through ballet, which is a particularly demanding dance when it comes to mastering the body, since the group movements that take place during a staging of this type of dance stand out for their softness, harmony and grace of its performers.

Dance elements

It is made up of several concepts of which the body is one of the most important but which contains other elements that are also essential for its development. There are 5 of these elements that characterize dance and they are the following:

Dance in the body

Unlike other types of artistic manifestations, in dance the instrument is the body itself, without relying on canvases or brushes or on colors to express a real artistic expression. The most determining factor in dance is the body, its movements and the energy and character used for said expression.

• The way in which the body can take different postures through movement can express symmetry, asymmetry, bend or shrink, stretch to convey a certain message.

• The parts of the body, another fundamental point within the dance, since each movement performed emphasizing a certain part of the body will have a determining and different meaning.
• The way a dancer breathes, how he balances and how the body feels from the inside, emotions and sensations are his elements of creation.

Dance in action

In the movements you can also find the elements that characterize and allow the dance to express itself, since simply walking, making a facial expression, the action can compose the dance steps like the flamenco swing.

Non-motor movements are a fundamental part of the action, they are short movements such as stretching the body, making a fall or a turn. There are also movements known as locomotives within the action, which move the dancer in space, such as running, crawling or jumping from one point to another.

Dance in your space

Another element that cannot be separated from the execution of any dance, since the way in which the dancer interacts with his environment in space is decisive for expression. Size is part of space and has to do with the amount of space that the dancer can occupy when performing a movement, which can be small or large.

Other points such as direction and lines are as important as in any other type of artistic expression, the dancer can draw different lines with his movements in space in a specific direction that can be backwards, from right to left or diagonally.

Dance in time

Within the time, the duration of the dance enters, which can be long or short, but there is also another fundamental aspect that is the rhythm.

Here aspects that can be musical are related, such as the beat that refers to the rhythmic patterns either 6/8 or 2/4, the waltz has a rhythm that it followed and distinguished from other forms of dance and in the same way in the Urban dance, hip hop and break dance take a time that is particular to this form of artistic expression.

Energy in dance

Perhaps this is the most difficult element of dance to understand from the outside, energy transmits states of mind or emotions, all these aspects can be full of strength, fluidity or tension.

Part of the energy is the weight, this is a way of representing certain moments in history that a dance is trying to tell, the weight can also propel, create a rebound, originate movements up or down.

Tips when practicing dance

If you want to start expressing yourself through the art of dance, you must bear in mind that it is necessary to perform a gentle warm-up, an ideal place and, if possible, have someone who can help you improve.

Using the internet as a tool to search for dance tutorials, dance steps and their types can be a very useful way to immerse yourself in this fascinating art. When you feel that you have become more skilled, it may be time to look for an academy, look for information about which ones exist in your city.

If you are looking to lose weight and do cardio, there are also specific types of dance that are generally practiced in gyms as a form of exercise, this is a very effective way and used today to get in shape, so if you want to start practicing it, look a class that suits your abilities and have fun doing it.