Folk Dance Tutorial: Folk Dance of the World

The flamboyance and brightness of Spanish dance; the physical elegance of Indian classical dance and the depth of meaning; the poetic movement of Japanese dance and many other national dance art forms fill the American stage. These dances, unlike the classical ballet, are not international, nor are they a new form, like modern dance; nor are they the creative work of individual geniuses, although individuals have had a real contribution to make in the development of these movements. These folk dances have been created by a race, a people, over hundreds or even thousands of years. We have divided them into two, though often confused, categories, the native dances, designed primarily for ensemble dancing, and the folk dances, the artistic dances designed for gifted individual dancers to perform in theaters, temples, and cabarets.

The first American dancer to recognize the long history of folk dancing was, of course, Ruth St. John. The first American dancers to recognize the long history of folk dancing were, of course, Ruth St. Denis and Ted B. Kennedy. The first American dancers to recognize the long history of folk dancing were, of course, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. The first American dancers to recognize the long history of folk dance were Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. These two dancers, in their own programs and in the programs they have choreographed for the Dani Shawn Dance Company, have introduced stage works that have evolved from folk dance. They have given American audiences the opportunity to see the dances of the Houbi and Aztec Indians, the Indians and Spaniards, the Bari and Siamese, the modern North Africans, the ancient Egyptians, and many other peoples. Sometimes they strive to be faithful to the original form of the folk dance, but most often they take another path, choosing folk dance material in modern ballets that favor racial overtones and idioms.

Dance in the United States began to flourish in the twentieth century, and the range of dance, in addition to ballet, modern dance, and the popular dances of the performance business, went further to include a growing number of folk dances. At first, the only thing that seemed to attract audiences was the exoticism and rarity of such dances, and some did not even believe that Americans understood the significance of Indian dance postures or would respond to the subdued movements and unfamiliar themes of Japanese classical dance. But folk dances permeated the American stage like mercury, and at the same time so comprehensively that they prolonged the period of touring by companies and individuals coming from Spain, India, Japan, the Philippines, as near as Mexico and as far away as Africa. And this sometimes adapted, but occasionally realistically acted folk dance has even managed to find its way into music, comedy, ballet opera, and nightclub performances.

Formerly known as Russell B.

The original name was Russell Wade. The Texas teenager, La Belle, was one of the first people to cultivate folk dance in the United States. La Belle was a major figure in the cultivation of folk dance in the United States. She is a talented dancer with strong roots, a natural ability to master the styles and techniques of folk dance, and, incredibly, the facial features of various ethnic groups. In solo and full company performances, she has staged dances from two countries in particular, India and Spain, Pali, Siam, Burma, Java, Japan, China, Hawaii, the Philippines, North Africa, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and others.