Dance and our lives have a very close connection. Early in the morning, in the city's street park, a group of middle-aged and elderly people, some with the drums and gongs in the twisting "rice-planting songs", some follow the rhythmic music dance "disco", there are people in the beautiful melody of the "fitness dance"; evening, in the theater you can enjoy the performance of the dance or dance drama works, you can also go to the ballroom or the gala to dance; festivals can also be in a number of parks and other tourist attractions During festivals, you can also see folk dance performances in some parks and other tourist spots. If you have the interest and need, you can also go to various dance training classes to learn ballet, folk dance, and national standard dance ...... to improve your dancing skills.
In simple words, dance is an art of human movement. However, this human movement must be the human movement that has been refined, organized and beautified - the human movement that has been danced. In addition, there are many kinds of art belonging to the category of human movement, such as acrobatics, mime, human sculpture, rhythmic gymnastics and so on. Therefore, dance is different from other human movement art is the main aspect: it is to dance movement as the main means of artistic expression, focusing on the expression of language and text or other means of artistic expression is difficult to express people's inner deep spiritual world - delicate emotions, profound ideas, distinctive character, and man and nature, man and society, man and man and the conflict between people and the people themselves, to create a vivid dance image that can be perceived by the people. To create a vivid dance image that can be perceived by people, in order to express the aesthetic feelings and ideals of the dance authors (choreographers and dancers), and to reflect the aesthetic attributes of life. In addition, due to the human body movements without stopping the flow of the characteristics of change, it must be in a certain space (stage or square) and a certain amount of time; and in the dance activities, generally have to be accompanied by music, to wear a specific costume, some dances but also to hold a variety of props, if it is performed on the stage, the lights and scenery is also indispensable. Therefore, it can also be said that dance is a spatial, temporal and comprehensive dynamic modeling art.
Second, the characteristics of dance -- dance and other arts what **** the same? And what are the differences?
Art is a large family of human aesthetic activities, its members are literature, art, music, dance, theater, film, opera, acrobatics and so on. Each category of art is to reflect the social life and expression of people's thoughts and feelings, but the reflection and expression of art, not the general concept of abstract reflection and expression, but individual concrete image and aesthetic reflection and expression. The so-called aesthetic reflection and expression, is the artist according to their own aesthetic interests, aesthetic ideal, social life selection, generalization, processing, and according to the characteristics and laws of art to be creative reflection and view.
In the historical development of society, people have created a variety of art forms, the main difference between these art forms is that each has its own material carrier and different means of artistic expression. The material carrier of literature is language, words; the material carrier of art is paper, canvas, paint, oil, its main means of expression is color, line, composition and modeling; the material carrier of music is sound; the material carrier of the drama is the action of the people on the stage (performance activities), in addition to the dance drama, the main language, singing and action as the main means of expression. The material carrier of the movie is people's performances through scientific and technological methods on film, with electric light on the screen; the material carrier of the opera is one to two, three people on the stage performance, the main means of expression is to say and sing. Acrobatics and dance have **** the same material carrier - the human body is the main tool of artistic expression, most acrobatic varieties and dance, the same as the human body movement, posture modeling and composition changes as the main means of expression. Acrobatics is also a kind of performing art, and the actors also shape certain roles, but it is not like the dance that focuses on the development process of the character's emotion, generally does not have a plot event, but through the performance of difficult skills, showing a generalized bravery, perseverance, wisdom and strength of character. Therefore, acrobatics has more ornamental and entertaining. Dance movements in dance works should also have a certain degree of skill, and dancers should have the ability to jump, rotate, tumble, soften, control and other difficult skills, but performing difficult skill movements in dance works is not an end in itself, but a means to express characters' thoughts and feelings, and to shape characters' character and spirit. If, in a dance work, the means as the end, the actor's skill is not to reflect life, the expression of the character's thoughts and feelings as the prerequisite for its existence, or not to the content of the dance from the selection of the appropriate dance movement skills, but to show the actor's mastery of the dance skills to start, then the dance work due to the disconnect between the content and the form, or the lack of artistic integrity, and fall into the failure of the dance work, the actor's skill itself is also a means of expression, but also a means of expression of the character's thoughts and feelings. The dancer's skill itself is reduced to acrobatic skill performance, and lost the basic character of dance art.
Three, the origin of dance - where does the art of dance come from?
According to art historians, the earliest art produced by mankind is dance. In the ancient times before the human race has not yet produced language, people use the movement, gesture expression to convey a variety of information and emotion, the exchange of ideas. Later, after the development of various sounds into language and tones, poetry and music were produced one after another. In labor, due to the manufacture of tools, the human hand gradually became dexterous and clamped, and the birth of painting and sculpture. With the evolution of mankind, the ability to think and the level of knowledge of things improved, music, novels, drama and other arts have been created one after another. So, dance as one of the oldest art, its source from where?
Myths and legends of ancient China and ancient Greece say that human beings learned dance from the emperor of heaven, or human beings were inspired by the goddess in charge of dance to create dance. We know that the ancient ancestors did not understand the concepts of God and man as clearly as modern people do. At that time, people often regarded people with extraordinary talents, people with wisdom and strength beyond the average, or people who made great contributions to mankind as the incarnation of gods or people who could communicate with the gods. Now, we know that all kinds of gods are created by human beings through imagination based on their own images. It is God who creates dance, and in the final analysis, it is we, the human beings, who create dance. So how did man create dance?
Some scholars believe that people by the instinct of imitation, dance is a rhythmic movement of various beasts of action and habit of imitation. Some dances are also imitations of the dynamic images of some natural scenes, such as the swaying of willow branches, the tumbling of the waves, the wind's fluttering and rotating, etc., and people can imitate them to dance.
Some scholars believe that, in the origin of art, imitation, though important, is not the real cause, and that the cause of art is the "impulse to play," and that play is a manifestation of the human nature of confession. Play is the expression of a confessed humanity. It is also the sign of man's final departure from the animal kingdom. The playfulness here refers to man's aesthetic needs, that is, to take pleasure in illusion. For example, man imitates the dance of animals, it is through this game of illusion to get pleasure and vent their emotions.
Other scholars believe that, due to the thinking of primitive people can not distinguish between subjective and objective boundaries, that all natural objects are the same as their own souls, which gave rise to totem worship, primitive religions, sorcery rituals, etc., and these activities are inseparable from the dance, and even the dance is a sorcery activity of the main content and the most important means of expression. Therefore, it has been asserted that "all dancing is originally religious".
Many scholars from the primitive people in order to survive the need to reproduce the next generation as a very important thing, and the dance is the choice of spouse, courtship and love training of the main ways and means, so that the dance originated in sexual activities. Some scholars, however, believe that dance not only expresses human love, but also people's various emotions and activities of great significance in people's lives, all of which are viewed through dance. There is no other art behavior, can transfer and excitement of all human beings like the dance, China's ancient music and dance theory: "clear move in the line in the words, the words of the lack of so contempt; contempt of the lack of so singing; singing of the lack of, I do not know the hands of the dance of the feet of the dance of the also." This also vividly illustrates the dance is the expression of people's most excited emotion product.
There are many scholars in China who advocate the theory that dance originated from labor, because labor is the first need for human survival and development, and it is also labor that creates human beings themselves, it is labor that makes human beings detached from the animal world, and it is labor that creates human society. In the dance of primitive people, the expression of hunting and planting and all kinds of labor life occupies the largest proportion.
We believe that the above theories of the origin of the dance, have some truth, but are not very complete and comprehensive, because the dance activity is a social phenomenon in human life, its origin and the composition of all things in the world are not a single, but with a variety of factors, so people advocate the "labor synthesis", that is, the dance originated in the survival of mankind, the development of labor practices and a variety of other life practices, the dance is the origin of human society and the development of human society. Labor practice and a variety of other life practice needs, if a little more detailed, the dance originated in ancient mankind in the survival and development of labor production (hunting, farming), sex, fitness and combat drills and other activities simulation reproduction, as well as totem worship, sorcery, religious rituals and performance of their own emotional thought of the inner impulse of the need. It is one of the earliest forms of art in human history, combined with poetry and music.
Four, what kinds of dance?
Art is made up of different varieties of art. Dance, as one of the arts, is also a very wide world, and it is also composed of different kinds, styles and styles of dance. According to the function and purpose of dance, dance can be divided into two categories: life dance and art dance. Life dance is a dance activity that people perform for their own life needs; artistic dance is a dance that is performed for the audience to enjoy.
Life dance includes: customary dance, religious ritual dance, social dance, self-entertainment dance, sports dance, educational dance and so on.
Customary dance, which can also be called festival and ritual dance, is a variety of mass dance activities held by many ethnic groups in our country during marriage, funeral, planting, harvesting and some other festivals. In these dance activities, the table view of the customs and habits of various ethnic groups, social style, cultural traditions and national character traits.
Religious and ritual dances are dance forms for religious and sacrificial activities. Mainly used to pray for divine blessings, remove disasters and illnesses, turn misfortune into good fortune, animal and human prosperity, a bumper crop, or to thank the gods for their gifts; ritual dance, a ceremonial dance form of ancestor worship. In the past, people used to express their nostalgia for their ancestors or hope for the blessings and blessings of their ancestors and gods.
Social dance is a dance activity for people to socialize, promote friendship and contact. Generally refers to a variety of social dance in the ball. In addition, many of China's ethnic minorities in a variety of festivals carried out by the mass of the dance activities, mostly young men and women for social interaction, free choice of spouse social activities, therefore, can also be said to be the social dance of the various ethnic groups.
Self-indulgent dance is a dance activity in which people entertain themselves for the sole purpose of self-indulgence. Use dance to express and vent their inner emotional impulses, so as to obtain the full satisfaction of aesthetic pleasure.
Sports dance, is a combination of dance and sports, artistic and aesthetic way to exercise the body, so that the physical and mental development of the new varieties of dance. Such as a variety of fitness dance, rhythmic gymnastics, middle-aged and elderly disco, ice dance, water dance, as well as China's traditional martial arts in the sword dance, sword dance and symbolic simulation of a variety of animals, a specific image of the Elephant Boxing, Five Animal Dance, etc. are.
Educational dance, refers to schools, kindergartens and other aesthetic education dance activities, as well as the opening of the dance course, used to cultivate and beautify human thought and feelings, moral sentiments, cultivate human unity and friendship, strengthen etiquette, as well as to promote physical and mental health, can play a role in the subtle.
Artistic dance refers to the professional or amateur dancers, through the observation of social life, experience, analysis, concentration, generalization and imagination, artistic creation, so as to create a distinctive thematic ideas, rich in emotion, the form of a complete, with a typical artistic image, by a small number of people on the stage or the square performances for the public to enjoy the dance works. Because of the many varieties of artistic dance, according to the different artistic characteristics, can be roughly divided into three categories.
The first category, according to the different styles of dance features to distinguish, there are: classical dance, folk dance, modern dance, contemporary dance and ballet.
Classical dance: on the basis of national folk dance, through successive generations of professional workers to refine, organize, process and create, and after a longer period of artistic practice, the test, passed down, is considered to have a certain exemplary significance and classical style characteristics of the dance. Many countries and nationalities in the world have their own unique style of classical dance. Classical dance in Europe generally refers to ballet.
Folk dance: it is a form of dance created collectively by the masses of the people in the course of long-term history, accumulated, developed and formed, and widely circulated among the masses. It directly reflects the thoughts and feelings, ideals and aspirations of the people. Due to the differences in the way of life and labor, historical and cultural mentality, customs and habits of the people of various countries, nationalities and regions, as well as the natural environment, thus forming different national styles and local characteristics.
Modern dance: a dance genre that emerged in Europe and America at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Its main aesthetic point of view is to oppose the classical ballet's tendency to stick to the old ways, detach from real life and purely pursue the formalist tendency of skills; advocate getting rid of the classical ballet too rigid action program, the boundaries of the natural movement of the law of the dance movement, free to express people's true feelings, and emphasize that the art of dance to reflect the life of the modern society.
Contemporary dance (new dance): that is, different from the above three styles of new styles of dance, it is often based on the content of the performance and the need to shape the characters, unconventional, borrowing and absorbing the various styles of various dance genres, a variety of dance means of expression and performance methods, and eclecticism for my use, so as to create a variety of dance styles different from those already formed with a unique new style of dance.
Ballet
Ballet: It is a kind of highly programmed theatrical dance refined and processed by professional dancers in the court." The word "ballet" is originally from the word "ballet". Ballet" this word is the French "ballet" phonetic translation, meaning "jump", or "dance", its original meaning is only to legs, feet for the movement parts of the action of the general term. French court dance masters in order to rebuild the ancient Hitchcock integration of poetry, music and dance in one of the theater ideal, created a "ballet" such a blend of dance movements, mime gestures, facial expressions, theatrical costumes, musical accompaniment, literary tableau, stage lighting and scenery and other ingredients in one of the comprehensive form of dance theater, in the Western theater dance art dominant position for more than 300 years, has been four centuries. In 1958, the Beijing Dance School was established to introduce Russian ballet, and it has been more than 40 years since then.
The second category, according to the characteristics of the dance expression to distinguish, there are: solo dance, duo dance, trio dance, group dance, group dance, song and dance, song and dance theater, dance theater and so on.
Solo dance, performed by a person to complete a theme of the dance, mostly used to directly express the thoughts and feelings of the characters and reveal the inner world of the characters.
Participant dance, performed by two people *** with the completion of a theme of the dance. Mostly used to directly express the exchange of thoughts and feelings of the characters and show the relationship between the characters.
Trio dance, by three people to perform a theme of the dance. According to its content can be divided into three different categories, such as expressing a single emotion and a certain plot, as well as showing the dramatic conflict between the characters.
Group dance, where more than four people dance can be called group dance. Generally for the performance of a generalized complex or to shape the image of the group. Through the dance formation, the picture of the iteration, change and different speed, different strength, different amplitude of the development of dance movements, gestures, modeling, can create a deep poetic mood, has a strong artistic infectious force.
The group dance is a relatively large-scale dance work composed of several dances. Each of these dances has relative independence, but they are unified in the **** the same theme and complete artistic conception.
Song and dance, is a combination of singing and dancing form of artistic performance. Characterized by singing and dancing both long in lyricism, but also good at narrating, can watch characters complex, delicate thoughts and feelings and a wide range of life content.
Song and dance drama is a comprehensive form of performance in which singing and dancing are used as the main means of artistic expression to display dramatic content.
Dance drama, dance as the main means of artistic expression, and a combination of music, stage art (costumes, sets, lighting, props), etc., to show a certain dramatic content of the dance works.
V. Dance Appreciation
Dance Appreciation is a kind of spiritual activity produced when people watch dance performances, and it is the whole process of feeling, experiencing and understanding dance works. Therefore, it is essentially a cognitive activity. But it is different from the general cognitive activity, but a special cognitive activity of the dance works. Dance appreciation, that is, the audience through the dance works portrayed in the dance image, specific awareness of its reflection of social life, the thoughts and feelings of the characters, as well as the dance author of the aesthetic evaluation of this phenomenon of life. Audience in the process of appreciating the dance works will often be linked to their own life experience, cause emotional ****ming, stimulate the memory of the relevant impression, experience. As well as a series of imagination, association and other image thinking activities to enrich and supplement the dance image in the dance works, making it more complete, vivid and distinct. Thus, we can experience a broader life content and deeper ideological meaning in the process of watching dance works.
People dance appreciation of this dance aesthetic activities, first of all, must have certain subjective conditions, that is to say, to have a certain dance knowledge, dance appreciation level and cognitive ability, dance appreciation activities can be normal and smooth. This is as Marx said, "If you want to get the enjoyment of art, you yourself must be a person with artistic cultivation."" Only music can stimulate a person's sense of music; the most beautiful music is meaningless to an ear that does not recognize meter, music is not an object to it,......," so it is very necessary for us to understand the characteristics of the art of dance, the relationship between dance and other arts, the various factors that make up the image of the dance, and the process of its production, and so on. In the previous we have talked about, dance is after refining, organizing, beautifying the human body movement as the main means of expression, expression of people's feelings and thoughts, reflecting the social life of a kind of art. From the dance works resort to the appreciation of the sensory characteristics, it is a synthesis of auditory (temporal) and visual (spatial) performing arts. Dance`