I do think that the dance floor is indeed powerful enough to ease differences and bridge cultures. I believe that not only the dance floor, but dance its self is very powerful. People have used dance for many things since the begging of time. If we look into history we can find dance and dance floors. For example, Native Americans used dance to communicate with the spirits, to heal and to tell their history. If you look at European history, they introduced their daughters into society and showed their wealth by holding Balls. Even today when we have foreign dignitaries visit our country we have balls, or dances, for them. There is also Quinceanera and the first weeding dance. These are just a few examples of how music, culture and communication are all intertwined.
Dance is very powerful. It can communicate in any language. You do not need to speak the language of the dancers to know what they are portraying. People of all cultures can come together for the love of dance. We can go to any county and go to a dance hall and dance. We do not need to know what they are saying we are able to share with one another through the movement of our bodies. Dance is a very powerful tool of communication.
In Clubs and Dances today you see a mixture of all types of people. People from many cultures all in the same place for the same reason, too have a good time. When people are dancing they can get comfortable with each other easier. After they dance, then they can strike up a conversation and maybe become friends. When people are out having a good time they are not as aware of different cultures. They are more focused on the music and having fun then the differences in the people around them. I think that people who truly love dance appreciate different cultures more. I think this because they can see the beauty in the dances and share them with the other people.
There are even shows on TV like “so you think you can dance” that bring together many culturally different dances. Dances from all around the world are learned by contestants from many back grounds. I think that shows like this will also help to bridge the gap. It introduces the general public to styles of dance and music that they may never be exposed to other wise.
Dance is now and will continue to bring people together.
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The blog dance, to me I found it to be a well written blog. It was very interesting. She used great examples to her beliefs about how dances bridges cultures. I have to agree where she writes. Dance is very powerful. It can communicate in any language, and it’s a very powerful tool of communication. I also have to agree in the clubs on the dance floor you see a lot of different cultures come together on the dance floor. Music and dance bring all ages of cultures together to the dance floor. It’s a beautiful thing to see. Especially among our youths, there’s a saying she wrote that touched my heart in a very big way. Where she wrote “I think that people who truly love dance appreciate different cultures more. I think this because they can see beauty in the dances and share them with the other people”. To me when I read this statement I found it to be very powerful. However, that’s how I feel about other cultures dances. She even said there our dance shows that bring different cultures together and end up dancing to music from different cultures. It took my mind to “Dancing with the Stars”. I really enjoyed reading this blog.
ReplyDeleteYour blog about dance is so accurate and thoroughly enjoyable! It is so true that when people dance in clubs all over the world, and even in our own neighborhoods, there is no language spoken other than "the movement of our bodies". Very well put! The fact that so many events in our different societies is accompanied by dance is evident as well through the references you gave about Native Americans, English Balls, Quinceaneras, and wedding dances. I can always see the beauty in dances from different cultures and it's amazing and wonderful to me that I don't have to speak the language they do in order to understand what their dance is portraying. Usually it's easily recognizable from the movements they make, whether slow and somber, sharp and angry, or lively and bouncy. You can tell from the expressions on their faces as well, which is a big part of dance. Often you'll hear judges on dance shows critique dancers on their facial expressions as well as all the other body movements regarding the stories they portray in their dances. I love that "So You Think You Can Dance" explores many different types of dances, not only from cultures within America, but all over the world. It helps to broaden our perspectives and get a taste of the many different cultures and people out there who are, in a lot of ways, very much like ourselves.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very well written! I to think that the dance floor is a place powerful enough to ease differences and bridge cultures. I like how you said that dance itself is powerful enough. I believe this also because if you bring a group of ethnically different people together for a dance, people probably would forget about the fact they are all of different races and enjoy themselves anyway. Same goes for gender. If you bring men and women together for a dance, they would most likely enjoy it because they would forget that they are of different genders. I agree that in clubs today, you find a mixture of all kinds of people. You could find people of different ethnicity, different genders, and sometimes even some that are homosexual. This of course is not a bad thing because it shows that many different types of people can come together despite their differences, and still yet enjoy themselves! So you think you can dance is a great example of this. On that show, you find people very different from one another, coming together for the love of the sport. You dont see them discriminating against each other for really any reason at all.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my point of view was different on this subject, yours opened my eyes to a new way of viewing this topic. Your view was definitely more optimistic than mine was. After reading your blog I found myself changing my perspective on this subject toward a more optimistic one. The example you use of how many different cultures use dance in very special occasions is great. It made me rethink my position and help me to become more open to the idea of dance being powerful. I also agree with you that you do not have to speak “dance” to understand it. All you have to do is feel the music and let it control your body. I never really thought about how television shows bring cultures together and bridge the gap so effectively. Dance has never been one of my strengths, so it was easy for me to assume that dance has no power. My thought was how could moving your body to music, bridge the gap between cultures and people? Now I have flipped that mentality around and adopted a more positive outlook on dance. Thanks for the newfound insight and way of thinking about dance and how it positively affects people’s lives.
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