Ography Dance

Body Rhythm

These days dancing is becoming increasingly popular. There is an increasing number of television shows which are about dancing such as "Dancing with the Stars" and "So you think you can dance". It's no doubt it is becoming more and more popular, in fact so popular they are making more and more movies about dancing such as Chicago, Flash Dance, Save the last dance and many others.

The Britannica encyclopedia defined dancing as an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.

As we all know there are different types of dances, from the traditional cultural dance to a very modern dance such as break dancing. I myself enjoy dancing, I didn't have any formal training but I do enjoy it when I go to parties. For me it's something I enjoy socially and also in some ways it keeps me fit. You do sweat a lot when you dance, especially when you do it for hours on end.

In this site we will explore some of these dance types and learn a little more about their history.

Haka

I'm not sure if many of you are familiar with this cultural dance called Haka. Haka is a traditional dance form of the South Pacific islander mostly known from the Ma-ori of New Zealand through their rugby team display. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.[source:wikipedia]

If any of you have witness this cultural dance being perform you'll know from experience how impressive this dance is. It has so much emotion and energy. The first time watching it I was mersmerized by the whole performance, I was so intrigue I could not keep my eyes off the performers. I have to say that it is one of my most unforgettable experience. So if you are ever in New Zealand for a holiday don't forget to watch the Haka. They have a daily performance at the Auckland Museum.

Most haka are performed by men, with the female role, if any, limited to providing support by singing in the background. There are however some haka which are performed predominantly by women – one of the most well-known being the Nga-ti Porou haka "Ka Panapana". Read more about it here Haka Dance

Ballet

Moving on to a more graceful type of dance; ballet. As a little girl I have always love the idea of being a ballet dancer. A ballet dancer for me represents gracefulness, beauty and elegance. I loved how they are dressed and the way they flow smoothly around the stage, it's like watching a fluff of cloud dancing. It's one of my most favourite type of dancing.

Ballet is a formalized kind of performance dance, which originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France, Russia, and Britain as a concert dance form. [source: wikipedia]

On a more interesting note, ballet apparently emerged in the late fifteenth-century Renaissance court culture of Italy as a dance interpretation of fencing, and further developed in the French court from the time of Louis XIV in the 17th century. [source: wikipedia]

Contemporary ballet is what we are accustom to now, it is a form of dance influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance.

Break Dancing

I have always like watching this type of dance. It always catches my attention and I can't stop watching, it's so modern and it takes great stamina and flexibility. There are a lot of very talented break dancers out there, like the ever so popular Australia's got talent Justice Crew. I am such a big fan, I have not seen anything like their performances, their performances were original and they always have the Wow factor.

B-boying, often called "breakdancing", is a popular style of street dance that was created and developed as part of hip-hop culture among African Americans and Latino youths in New York City. Breaking was created in the Bronx, New York during the early 1970s. [source: wikipedia]

Males are generally the predominant gender within breaking however, this is being challenged by the rapidly increasing number of b-girls.

Hip Hop Dancing

Hip-hop dance refers to dance styles primarily danced to hip-hop music. This is the type of dancing I love to dance to at parties. I feel that you can do this style of dance freestyle, just move however you want to move just as long as it goes with the music. For me it's the best way to express yourself through dancing, you can make it as energetic as you like or sexy, it's really up to you and that's the beauty of it.

Hip hop dance is so popular that the World Hip Hop Dance Championship has been created. The competition founded in 2000 in the United States where both crews and soloist compete.

In parallel with the evolution of hip-hop music, hip-hop dancing evolved from breaking and the funk styles into different forms: moves such as the "running man" and the "cabbage patch" hit the mainstream and became fad dances. The dance industry in particular responded with a studio based version of hip-hop—sometimes called new style— and jazz funk. [source: wikipedia]