Dance Outline Chapter 2 1 Shiva and Dance in India a The G ds dance b Shiva G d of creation and destruction is classically represented as Nataraja lord of the dance A Bronze icons shown in temples show a four armed deity ringed by fire B One hand he holds a drum symbolizing the sound that kindles creation C Other hand cradles a ball of fire symbolizing destruction and renewal D His right leg bent at the knee crushes to earth the demon of ignorance E Raised left leg is swung around his body signifies the release of cares c Vishnu takes human form to recue the world when its threatened 2 Religious and Traditional Dance a Tradition of religious dance is found in Africa south of the Sahara and throughout the western hemisphere A Yoruba speaking people preserved and extended the religious practices of their ancestor of the living In some ceremonies the goal is to make a G d with one s body b c The initiate who has been trained dances to invite a particular G d to visit the world d When the invitation is accepted the G d takes procession of the initiates body and beings dancing so that everyone recognizes the deity e During this time the initiate remains in a trance f Yoruba A Speak of being mounted by a G d B Mounted experience that brings spiritual and material benefits to the individual and entire community 3 How and Why People Dance a Basic vehicle of dance is the body b Attitudes are powerfully shaped by religious belief c The influence of Indian dance has been felt as far away as china japan and south d Yoruba from west Africa implanted a tradition of religious dance in the Caribbean pacific and the Americas e The Judeo Christian world has been ambivalent about the religious uses of dance f Ancient Hebrews were surrounded by people who dance was a means of influencing the invisible powers and of establishing contact with them A Sought to distance themselves from the practices of their neighbors B Their ambivalence was passed on to early Christians C Removed from consecrated ground dance in the west flourished as a secular arena for social interaction and as the basis of secular theater D The split in the Christian world view between the sacred and the secular may be related to Christianity s denial of the body as something holy 4 Judaism and Dance a Right kind of dance and wrong kind of dance b After the Lord closed the red sea on the Egyptians Miriam sister of Moses led the surviving Hebrews in the dance of thanksgiving Exodus 15 20 c King David once danced before the Ark of the Covenant II Samuel 6 14 d when his wife mocked him for it she was punished e Psalm 149 exhorts Let them praise His name with dance f When Moses came down from mount Sinai the fact that they were all singing and dancing is especially noticed g This was the wrong kind of dance h Ecclesiastes remind us there is a time to dance Exodus 32 19 i j k Religious rituals of ancient Hebrews were influenced by their encounters with Talmud says the angels dance in heaven Jews must dance at weddings pagans A Pagans lived in land that the descendants of Abraham claimed by the divine right B The Lord of the Hebrews couldn t be envisioned in any image let alone one that danced l References to dance in the Hebrew scriptures seem both modest and restrained 5 Ambivalence Towards Dance Greek and roman a Greek and roman b Like the Mycenaeans and the Minoans and the Egyptians before them Greeks danced for religious ceremonies A To insure fertile fields and women B Prepare for war and celebrate victories C At weddings and funerals D Overcome depression and cure illness E Could threaten the established order c Dionysus nature G d came from the east d Zeus owed his survival to dance A His father was trying to kill him e Dancing figures adorned the earliest pottery f Evidence shows they never sang or chanted without moving their bodies g Dionysus led dancers in the spring festival at Athens A Choral competitions then into dramatic competitions B Now no one knows what they looked or sound like h Romans sent their sons and daughters to dancing schools i 150 B C guardians of public morality ordered these schools closed but the ban was unsuccessful the republican Cicero held that real men do not dance unless drunk or insane j k pantomime theatrical dance became popular in Rome l m the New Testament story of Salome and John the Baptist makes it clear that the the testimony of Lucian reminded his readers that dancing is as old as love association of dance ith love lust and violence was proverbial 6 Philosophy with Dance a Plato A Agreed with Socrates that every educated man should know how to dance B Pyrrhic weapon dance was acceptable to Plato because they made manifest to the dance in order that rules the cosmos C Banished professional actor dancers from his ideal republic to be safe b Purpose of art to reveal the good the beautiful c Steps stayed close to the ground and group dancing was safer than solo performances d Aristotle A Benefits of professionalism outweighed the drawbacks B Said all Greek citizens should attend dance C Also feared a life completely devoted to dance D Urged that profession of dancer be reserved for slaves ex slaves and foreigners 7 Christianity and Dance a Offered itself as a fulfillment of the word that has been revealed to the Hebrews and as a cleansing of the moral filth that has polluted Roman society b Earliest followers of Christ were concerned with living a pure life that required denial c The early church fathers believed in a body that could perform sacred dances to G d d Could point out scriptures against dance but couldn t ignore the dances of David and Miriam and dance of Psalms and the book of Ezekiel In their scriptures Paul admonished them to glorify G d in your body e f Matthew and Luke quoted Jesus as saying We have piped unto you and ye have of bodily desires Neo Platonic not danced g Fathers baptized dance by refining and spiritualizing it h Dances approved by fathers group dances i While shunning the dances of the Pagans Christians danced as a congregation during ritual prayer mystical practice healing and cleansing and scripture and doctrine Symbolic enactments dance of the blessed and the dance of the angels j k The circle ring dance was seen as a heavenly dance of the angels which was a celebration of the resurrection l Dancers sang hymns and psalms m Augustine self proclaimed expert on temptation A Denounced wild dancing B Damned it with let those who dance dance C Suggested that all