Chapter 1 Theme Dance an as emblem of cultural identity with a focus on clashes between societies 1 Dance comes from the impulse to move a Sequences of physical activity become dance b The phenomena to dance is universal c Dancing comes in many forms and for many purposes d The meaning is personal and cultural and therefor understanding may be obscured e Dance gives identity to a person and a culture 2 Discussions of dance as cultural identity and power a The history and characteristics of classical court dance in Cambodia 1 There are depictions of dancers on temples 2 Dancers gave blessings for prosperity fertility and were essential in ancestor worship 3 Thousands of dancers were supported by the royal treasury 4 Dancers were kidnapped by the Siamese armies in the 15th century 5 The capitol city of Angkor was abandoned but dance survived 6 The invading Khmer Rouge annihilated the dancers in 1975 35 escaped to US 7 The new communist govt tried to restore its own legitimacy but the problem of dance remained 8 Classic Cambodian dance style characteristics a Slow hypnotic wavelike b Dancers may stand in one spot on one foot for a long period of time c Fingers curled backward d Dancers are sewn into their outfits a This is a new field of scholarship that investigates the meanings values and contexts 3 Studies in dance anthropology of cultural dance b Examples Judeo Christian weddings 1 2 For Christians clashes in Christian beliefs result because of conflicting ideas about the proper function of dance in religion and society 3 Hasidic Jews dance in worship but are separated by gender 4 The History and characteristics of Tahitian Dance a dances are friendly b the first European encounters with european sailers produced conflict c dancing is accompanied by chanting d hip movement e demonic expressions f touching each other is generally not permitted