Dance

Dance is rhythmic movement that usually corresponds to music. Historians believe that ancient man used dance in his ritual rites such as spiritual worship.http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ab82 Today, dance can be used for entertainment, recreation, fitness, relaxation, ecstasy, ritual, spiritual worship and competition.http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ab82

There is an abundance of dance styles that are still practiced today across the world. Some dances have a long history such as ballet, the Viennese waltz, bellydancing, Irish clogging and the tango. However, certain dances have just appeared in the late 20th century like lyrical dance, rave dancing, breaking, krumping and tutting.

Ballet developed during the Italian Renaissance as a form of dance entertainment for the royal court.http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/yiannis/dance/history.html By 1661, King Louis XIV turned the art form into a profession.http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/yiannis/dance/history.html The first ballet academy was named the Académie Royale de Danse.http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/yiannis/dance/history.html

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ballet is "a theatrical art form using dancing, music, and scenery to convey a story, theme, or atmosphere".http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballet Ballet performers wear themed costumes and ballet shoes. Ballet shoes are constructed so that dancers have the ability to dance en Pointe (to dance on the toes). http://www.tiptoedancewear.com/ballet-history/<ref>

Ballroom dancing involves couples performing traditional social dances such as the modern waltz or rumba.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballroom%20dance There are two types of ballroom dancing: standard ballroom and Latin.http://www.latinballroom.org/ballroom101.php The standard ballroom dances are the slow foxtrot, tango, quickstep, Viennese waltz and modern waltz.http://www.latinballroom.org/ballroom101.php The Latin ballroom dances are the paso doble, rumba, jive, cha cha and samba.http://www.latinballroom.org/ballroom101.php

Ballroom dance competitions are held across the world. International ballroom dancing organizations have agreed upon standards tempos, terminology, posture standards and techniques.http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~don/pubs/modern.html Ballroom dancers in competitions must wear specific types of costumes depending on the style of dance. http://www.latinballroom.org/ballroom101.php

Hip hop dancing began in the 1980's with the invention of breakdancing.http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/breakdancing/ Its creation corresponds to the formation of rap music. Early breakdancers used the new dance style as a nonviolent way to deal with gang conflicts.http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/breakdancing/ The first dance steps included moves that mimicked punching and kicking.http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/breakdancing/ Over time, the dance form evolved to include acrobatics and other dance styles. Some of today's hip hop dance styles are krumping, popping, tutting, locking, crunk, bounce and b-boying. http://www.bboy.org/

The exact origin of lyrical dance is unknown.http://lyricaldance.org/what-is-lyrical-dance/ It is a modern dance form that mixes jazz, modern and ballet.http://lyricaldance.org/what-is-lyrical-dance/ In this dance style, the dancer tries to show the emotion in the lyrics of a song by using fluid motion.http://lyricaldance.org/what-is-lyrical-dance/ The dances are usually performed in light, flowing costumes and bare feet. Props (like ribbons) are sometimes used as well.http://lyricaldance.org/what-is-lyrical-dance/