A Culture and its Purpose
A culture comprises of people who belong to a certain social group. Such individuals share common values and beliefs. Therefore, the purpose of culture is to develop a sense of community among the individuals. Culture is an important aspect of life that holds people together. Dance is one of the factors that are used widely to showcase one’s culture and establish cultural boundaries. Polhemus revealed that every culture has its dance. The type of dance adopted by different social groups serves as their emblem. Such a particular social group will be identified through their unique dance. For instance, some communities have their distinct dance a night before the initiation ceremony. Therefore, whenever such dances take place, one can easily tell that a given community is about to initiate one of their family members.
Dance as an Expression of Culture
Therefore, the dance is used to define the culture of each social group. People who take part in dance activities seek to show the aesthetic principles of their culture. The dance will in turn influence various cultural domains including the style of architecture, cosmology, and political aspects. The type of dance performed by a give social group presents culture as something beyond mere set of rules and norms. The dance defines culture as a form of aesthetic orientation.
Dance and Ethnicity
In various countries like the United States, dance is used by different groups to mark their ethnicity. The subsections of these ethnic groups normally express themselves through the music and dance of certain classes to differentiate them from others. The type of dance will indicate the kind of a person someone is and the generation they belong, and their ethnicity as well. For instance, a rap dance is performed by the young and digital generation of people. According to scholars, dance is often used as a unique form of expression by certain cultures. Although dance has some aspects of universality, the type of movement will determine if the participant is strictly a solo or everyone can partake. The pattern of the dance also defines the culture of the people. For example, most of the Hispanic Americans dance has the people moving in pairs of men and female. This is mostly referred to as the Salsa.
Symbols and Differentiation
A dance uses symbols to differentiate one culture form the other. Each culture has the symbols which are used to convey different meanings. The pattern and symbols in an African dance, for example, will have different meanings from those applied in the western culture dance. Even in situations where different culture use similar symbols, the interpretation may not be the same due to their backgrounds.
Dance and Physical Culture
The physical culture is also related to dance. Physical culture refers to how society perceives the body in terms of their identity. The dance is used to express the values and beliefs pertaining to the body. For example, people can learn through the dance the customs in courtship and marriage as far as their culture is concerned. Therefore, people use dance to physically reveal their cultural identity. The manner in which the parties relate in a particular dance expresses the morals, interests, and values of that culture. Every dance has an objective to accomplish. Therefore, for any dance to set cultural boundaries, each movement and style is intentional. The dancers will make deliberate choices to enhance their ability to communicate effectively the purpose of the dance. As a result, the audience and the performer will focus on the dance experience and how it has revealed the cultural identity.
Dance and Cultural Boundaries
Dance is also used to showcase cultural boundaries. Every day’s life is influenced by the way people dance. In some cultures, it is strictly forbidden for the ladies to swing their hips in public. In the same way, the girls are not allowed to dance closer to the foreign partners. Therefore, the dance is used to set cultural boundaries in the way people should relate and interact with one another. The dance is also used to set boundaries regarding what class of people is allowed in the night clubs. In some cultures, there are dance movements which children cannot partake. The young ones are taught some simple steps and styles. However, the way they are dressed for the dance indicates that the children are not allowed to perform in ballroom competitions or in places that exalt sexual orientation.
Dance as a Cultural Expression
Every culture has also its way of dressing. In some social groups for example, women are not supposed to cover almost every part of their body. Such cultural identity can be expressed in the attire used in the dance. Rituals are also some of the cultural factors that people use to establish their boundaries. Most communities often dance with specific forms of expressions to carry out the ritual ceremony. For example, when a person dies, the family will dance the entire night as a sign of respect. Death rituals differ from one culture to another. Most people also use dance to express their worldview as a community. The dance offers the best avenue to practice your belief. For example, various cultures believe that the boys must be given the opportunity to dance with girls the night before the initiation ceremony.
