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Dance Essay Research Paper Throughout the course

Dance Essay, Research Paper

Throughout the course of human history, dance has been a part of cultures around the

world. The purpose and style of dance varies from culture to culture. Perhaps in this

article, dance can be divided into two parts: Eastern versus Western dance. I believe that

what the author wants to accomplish in this article is to break down barriers in people s

thoughts toward what is dance and what isn t dance and bridge the gap between

Eastern and Western dance. The author gives her approach to this and hits on some very

complicated and sometimes confusing issues. In this article, the author states that

much of what is written by historians whose main concern is with Western art dance.

These critics see dance in two ways:art or primitive. The problem with this is that more

often than not, these people do not have a background in dance so already they have a

superficial and biased view of certain forms of dance. On the other hand the dance

ethnologist is more than likely experienced in dance and usually does not have all the

barriers in their mind as the average person or a historian.

As the article continues, Snyder seems to stress the importance of making a

mind/body connection. She feels that being in a certain way of thinking and going into

an experiential state is central and important to the dance experience. She feels that this

can take one to another reality , often a higher reality. This can cause even the

non-dancer to feel exhilarated and want to join the dance. Snyder talks about different

parts of the brain and their role in achieving this experience. Eastern cultures are more

open to being in a different state of mind than people in Western cultures and this often

shows in the dance forms and their movements. Snyder feels that the way we use our

brains is a hiderance in uniting Eastern dance and Western dance. It is said in this article

that people in Western Cultures function only using half of their full brain capacity.

Snyder feels that being in a certain mind frameduring a dance causes an integration

between left and right brain and a connection between inner and outer space.

Snyder feels that dance needs to respond to this new age and needs to be looked

at and approached from this perspective. At least that is the impression that I got from

reading this. She feels that three important factors play a key role and they are, relative,

industrializtion, and the written word. All of these play a role in the constant changes in

dance.