HOPE 3

UNIT 1: Introduction to Dance

According to Mettler (1980), dance is an activity that has many forms and fills many different needs. It can be
performed for recreation, entertainment, education, therapy, or religion. Dance is a form of art because
people can creatively express their feelings, culture, and even religion through rhythmic movement.
As time went by, many studies concluded that dance could be a form of exercise or workout that improves
health. Bremer (2007) of The British Journal of General Practice in his article “Dance as Exercise” cited that the
qualities and benefits offered by dancing depend on the form concerned. As a general rule, it improves
physical health by developing strength, suppleness, coordination, and balance in varying amounts.

Lesson 1: The Evolution of Dance

BRIEF HISTORY AND NATURE OF DANCE

Choreography is performed by both individuals and cultures around the globe. Dance flourished at various
times in the past and were largely the product of cross-cultural trade and interaction (Alejandro and Santos-
Gana, 2002). The history of dance can be traced back to ancient times. Dance was first incorporated and
developed by a variety of musical, spiritual, and mass movements.
Different Styles of Dance
Many diverse dance styles around the world depend on their skills and technique. Practicing many kinds of
dance routines was taken seriously by others. People tend to learn several types of dance before they
specialize in one class. Below is a brief overview of some of the most popular ones.
 Ballet is often dubbed as the “backbone of dance.” It is a style that requires intricate movements to

relay the message of a story. The basic steps in ballet usually use the entire range of dance styles. This
dance typically uses techniques and requires enormous diligence and dedication to do a perfect
execution. Ballet has three classifications: classical, neoclassical, and contemporary.
 Contemporary dance is a style that integrates modern, ballet, and jazz. It allows the dancers to express
their feelings freely. It unites the mind and the body through dance movements.
 Jazz is a lively and enthusiastic dance. It is naturally combined with upbeat music such as hip-hop or

show tunes to add a theatrical flair. Jazz dancers frequently have more freedom to express their
unique character through their dance presentations. These dances usually have a lot of leaps, quick
footsteps, turns, and other special moves.

 Folk dance is a leisure, ceremonial, or traditional dance that is usually executed by members of a
community
 Modern dance is deeply rooted in the ballet syllabus. It started as a free and expressive form of
dancing. This style began in the 20th century as a response to classical ballet. In recent years, it has
involved fundamentals not usually related to dance, such as speech and film.
 Hip-hop is a style of dance that progressed from hip-hop principles and is typically performed with hip-
hop music. It is usually very bouncy, that permits the dancer to have freedom of movement within the
repetitive music, and can integrate it to one’s personality.
 Breakdancing is the most familiar and most diverse type of hip-hop dance. Other classes of hip-hop
dance include krumping, popping, and locking.
 Ballroom typically is done in pairs - a man, and a woman. This dance is well known to be a social dance
because communication is important between the partners. The common types of ballroom dances are
Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Jive, lindy hop, mambo, pasa-doble, quickstep, rumba, samba, tango, Vietnamese
waltz, and the waltz. There is a competitive form of ballroom dancing, which is called a dance sport. It
has different rules and regulations in executing the steps
 Cheerdancing is a relatively new area in athletics and culture, having first originated as an art of
gymnastics competitions in the 90s. This is one of the International Cheerleading Competition divisions
that concentrate on dance steps and fundamental gymnastics features, such as tricks and advanced
athletics abilities. Cheerleaders are among the participants

Lesson 2: Dancing Is Fun and Healthy!

BENEFITS OF DANCING ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS
A. Physical
 Dancing, when performed on a daily basis, is a healthy way to improve cardiovascular and
muscular fitness, body shape, posture, and flexibility (Malvar, 2006;Fine, 1981; Keller, 2007;
Childs, 2007). Dancing enhances balance mechanisms as well. (Rickett-Young, 1996). According
to Angioi et al. (2009), performers who participate in low- to moderate-level routines have
significantly improved their cardiovascular and athletic fitness. As a result, medium to low
dance activity is just as good at increasing health as most intensive exercise treatments.
Thus,dance is an excellent way to reduce the risk of heart disease.
 As per Flores (1995), people who participate in dance-based athletic events have a poorer
prognosis and cardiac output than those who participate in other types of daily fitness
exercises. It was also seen that as people dance, their biosynthesis pathway improves
significantly (Malvar, 2006).
 Furthermore, unlike with the use of treadmills
and elliptical machines, dance moves are
omnidirectional, allowing for knee stability, hip
flexibility, and backbone stability (Keller, 2007;
Childs, 2007). It's also a muscle mass practice
that helps reduce osteoporosis by improving
and maintaining bone mass (Keller, 2007)
(Keller, 2007).
 Across time, dance therapy has been used in a
variety of medical areas. After an accident, it
helps in the recovery of balance and other
musculoskeletal abilities (Dance Your Way to
Fitness, 2007; Chowder, 2013)

B. Mental/Emotional
 Dance may be used as an aid in mental health nursing, according to Ravelin et al. (2006, p. 312).
Dance may be an appropriate solution to eliminate negative thoughts, according to the
researchers. Given that most of the mental health issues of nurses are related to their patients,
dance was recommended as useful for the promotion of non-verbal interaction through a
simple framework to be with each other.
 When opposed to other types of movement, dancing has additional potential health effects. A
new research released in the publication "Neurobiology of Aging" contributes to the large body
of knowledge that workout will help the mind razor-sharp (Keller, 2007; Childs, 2007; Ravelin et
al., 2006). In their research, Vorghese et al. (2003) found a reduction in the prevalence of
cognitive impairment, like Alzheimer's disease, among people whose only daily physical
exercise is dance.
 The impact of aerobic exercise on physiology and mental health were also investigated by
Gondoh et al. (2009). Their results indicate that cardiovascular exercise can help to stabilize the
 amount of brain tissue in the parietal lobe (a location implicated in multisensory cognitive
control and plays a vital role in the development of emotional states in response to stressful
activation) (Gondoh et al., 2009). “[It] reduced major depression and improved the personality
of the relay team compared to control category,” the investigators discovered in this report
(Gondoh et al., 2009).
 There was a presumption that physical exercise and body surveillance are connected. Dance,
according to -, is a good way to improve somebody's body confidence. As a result, dance is an
excellent way to boost one's self-esteem.

C. Social
Dance promotes deep, constructive social engagement and
reciprocal interactions in a group making it a rare platform for
active group participation. It leads to each association's ability for
the achievement of ego in culture, they claim (Kraus and Gaufman,
1981). Dance also fosters a feeling of belongingness in a group.
Various dance-based community exercise models have been
developed and are in high demand in recent years. The growing
call for and social interaction among the sexes in the modern era
has been one of the factors for the rapid expansion of dance-
based fitness routines. (Childs, 2007).

D. Cultural
Dance celebrates a place's or country's rich culture by

showcasing various cultural dances. Via the traditional dances of a

single region, people all over the world gain a “closer

understanding of the lives of the people represented and an

awareness of their particular cultural practices” (Duggan,

Schlottmann, Rutledge, 1948). Appreciation of one's heritage may be achieved by studying their native
dance movements.
 FRIENDLY REMINDERS WHEN DANCING
Like other aerobic exercises and activities, dancing also requires proper precautions to prevent
injuries. Since it also involves movement, dancing requires specific skills that need to be improved and
taken care of. The following are simple reminders to keep ourselves safe while enjoying and
performing a dance.
1. Assess yourself on what dance styles you can perform based on the level of your fitness.
2. Consider the attire suitable for the dance styles you will be performing. Professionally wear the
clothes prescribed.
3. Don’t forget to have a warm up before you start and cool down after the dance. Always consider
stretching.
4. Bear in mind the proper techniques and correct posture and skills in dance styles you are about to
perform.

UCSP

 An ethnic group refers to a specific group of people with similar characteristics and a distinct cultural identity,
which distinguish them from other groups in the community or society.
 Ethnicity denotes the shared culture of these groups, which includes cultural heritage, language or
dialect, religion, traditions and rituals, norms, values, beliefs, and other practices.
 Race is a socially constructed category attributed to people with the same biological traits or attributes.

 Ethnolinguistic groups are

ethnic groups with their own language.
o Ifugao

o Itneg

o Kalinga

 Religion is a system of beliefs, worldviews, and practices related to humanity and spirituality.
 Animism is the belief that spiritual forces reside in natural elements of the physical world (e.g., trees,
oceans, wind).
 Social Implications of Diverse Ethnicities
o Prejudices

o Stereotypes

o Minority Groups