World History of the Dance / Fall 2023

  I Introduction   According to Kassing (2007), from its origins dance served as a medium for magic and religion through rituals and ceremonies. For early societies, a ritual was a series of acts established through tradition. Ceremonies, on the other hand, signify or celebrate an important event.Ceremonies are performed by enacting strictly prescribed rituals. II Learning Objectives   Understand the outer and inner aspects of dance in non-literate societies during prehistory. Explain the importance of dance ornaments Gain an awareness of the role of the mind's eye in the development of art Discuss the role of the shaman in these early societies Articulate what cave art suggest in reference to dance  Experience the labyrinth III Main Lesson 1 The Dancer Take a look at the diagram on page 29 of Kassing (2007)   Source: Kassing, Gayle (2007). History of Dance:  An Interactive Arts Approach. Human Kinetics   Question 1 Which are the outer and inner a...

  I Unit: Homonins Theme: The Oldest Human Rituals Introduction   Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated from apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence shows that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all people originated from apelike ancestors and evolved over a period of approximately seven million years. II Learning Objectives   Understand the influence homonins had on human's abilities to dance Explain the importance of bipedality for dance development in the paleolithic Gain an awareness of the significance the construction of early shelters, burials and art objects had for human evolution Experience finger dexterity through choreography of hand gestures  III   Main Lesson 1   First Ancestors   2  N O T E S First Ancestors  Our first ancestors lived  7 million  years ago Bipedal, upright walking  Ability to walk emerged long before humankind developed big brains. Even though th...

  Review Historic accounts depends on who writes it. Like a cloud, history changes depending on who is looking at it. History does not follow a lineal sequence, but a bundle of events happening simultaneously, during different historic periods, like a spider's web.  Example: In 1492 the Europeans (in the Middle Ages)  arrived to the Americas. Their dances ranged from slow, stately "processional" dances (bassadance, pavane, alamain) to fast, lively dances (galliard, coranto, canario) . The former, in which the dancers' feet were not raised high off the floor were styled the dance basse while energetic dances with leaps and lifts were called the haute dance.     They found the Caribbean indigenous people, who were in the Neolithic and who danced the Areítos , a ceremonial act that was believed to narrate and honor the heroic deeds of Taíno ancestors, chiefs, gods, and cemis. Performed in open spaces within villages,  Areítos involved lyrics and choreograp...

  I   Introduction   Learning about history requires a learning environment where everyone feels included so that everyone's own histories count as much as what is recorded in published sources. Therefore, introducing ourselves and learning each other's names becomes a necessary step in creating a safe learning environment. Class today is about re-framing our concept of history. It is about knowing that history depends on who tells the story. For this reason we have to take published sources with a grain of salt. We will use Alexandra Carter's metaphors to explain the different ways we can conceptualize the study of history.   II   Learning Objectives Know  each other's names Understand different conceptual frames when looking at history Discuss  how these concepts apply to your own field III   Main Lesson    1  Activity a) Introduce yourself to the group by saying your name, where you come from, your major, if you have a...