Dance Around the World

Dance Around the World

Dance serves as an exposure of expression throughout the world depending on its cultural context and function of either producing a work of art, a way of socializing or its use for ritualistic purposes. Bollywood, one of the most famous styles of cultural dance, in essence is an Indian film dance style modeled on both the traditional Indian classical and folk dance while fusing inspiration from more modern styles, allows the performer to act out the lyrics of a song, fashioning a story. The wild world of African dance on the other hand, represents the fundamentals and belief system of historical Africa, by moving in an expression to their inner feelings. Although these styles of dance may seem to be at either end of the spectrum, each share the similarity of a “mass pattern of dance which may hold a mirror to humanity…functionally allowing the human body to be exposed to the world, communicating in every aspect, whether it is the magnificent art form or the daily movement” (Doris Humphrey). Through analysis and interpretation of both the non-movement and movement components, while examining the function of dance which is present in each cultural art form, the similarities and differences of how they create meaning through dance will be exposed.

African dance provides numerous ways for people to emerge themselves into dance unprofessionally due to its function of being not only social but also historical and ritualistic. By utilizing dance as a way to connect the African community back to their ancestry and nature, each element that formulates each performance is deeply imbedded with meaning and symbols, reflecting back to the traditional lifestyle (Theophile, 2012). In saying so, one of the most importan...

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...while incorporating interests of the modern era.

Ultimately, it is evident that through the use of non-movement and movement components in combination with shifts in functions of dance, Bollywood and African dance are still able to formulate cultural meaning. By comparing African and Indian dance while contrasting how they have transformed over time, the “mass pattern of dance which may hold a mirror to humanity…functionally allowing the human body to be exposed to the world, communicating in every aspect, whether it is the magnificent art form or the daily movement” (Doris Humphrey) enabled an analysis of expression through movement. Generally, by adapting a few elements to better suit the modern day, the face of both Bollywood and African dance is able to still withhold a cultural context while still having the capability of pleasing the contemporary generation.