Summerhays 1 Eliza Summerhays Ed Austin Dance 261 14 April 2014 Dance is a Breath of Fresh Air Art has always

had an impact on the society, whether negative or positive. One characteristic of art is that it provides an aesthetic experience for the viewers. An aesthetic experience can be defined as something that moves the audience emotionally or transports them somewhere, away from their current circumstances. Dance, like many art forms, is an extreme sense of emotion and reality. It can be moving or disturbing. People dance for various reasons, so not one reason can be crowned the most prevalent or most important. Dance has an effect on people, though, that no other art forms are capable of. In the course of this paper, I will explore different aspects or characteristics of dance to come to a better understanding of dance as a whole and why it is important for our culture to dance. First, in order to philosophize about dance, I need to pinpoint what it is. Dance is a series of movements and shapes created by the human body. Many have claimed that things other than the human body can dance, but in fact it is the movement we see in the flowers, trees, animals and other surroundings resonates as a dance to us. The trees and plants dont have the conscious intention of dancing as they blow in the wind, etc.; they are simply a series of cause and effect. Likewise, our every day movements, such as moving a chair and picking something up off the floor, are not considered dance unless the dancer or choreographer intends those movements to be part of a dance. Thus, dance has intention as well as physical movement.

Summerhays 2 Continuing with the definition of dance, it is executed to the rhythm of accompaniment, whether that is of music, beats of a drum, breath, or even a heartbeat. Dance can be aesthetically pleasing or purposely unsettling to portray a message. Dance can be used as nonverbal communication or to tell a story. The main concept of dance is that it is open for interpretation. There is no concrete definition of dance because it is perceived differently by each individual. Therefore, the definition previously given is simply opinion-based and might be completely different from someone elses definition of dance. Just as there are many interpretations of the definition, there are many reasons to dance. A lot of dancers argue about what the most common reason to dance is, but the truth is there is not only one right answer. People dance for recreation, exercise, as a means of expression, to feel/look beautiful, to be social, to follow in the footsteps of a role model, to feel accomplished, to become disciplined, to be more spiritual, to convey a message, etc. I personally dance for exercise and as an escape from lifes responsibilities. When I am dancing, I dont have a care in the world. I have never been good at speaking my mind or expressing my emotions through words, so dance also provides an outlet for me to explain exactly how I feel with movement instead of words. Dance has a language of its own. I also dance because it makes me feel good about myself. It is uplifting and encourages me to try my best every day. These are only a few of the reasons why I dance. A Persian poet, Rumi, encouraged all mankind to, Dance when youre broken open. Dance if youve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when youre perfectly free. Dance doesnt have to be about the emotional connection to a partner or to oneself or the music. As Rumi stated, dance is appropriate in all situations and aspects of life and is even encouraged as an outlet for any situation one may find him/herself in.

Summerhays 3 One of my strongest opinions about dance is that it is embedded in our DNA. It may not be the sophisticated, ballet technique that people can receive training for at a school or studio, but there is something within every human being that gives them the urge to move to rhythm and beat of music. An example of this is a YouTube video of two babies sitting in high chairs during a mealtime. Their dad starts playing the guitar and singing to them and both instantly rock back and forth to the music with big grins on their faces. Another example is one of my nieces is just over a year old and has just discovered that bouncing up and down to the music is not the only dance move she is capable of. She has started shaking her hips from side to side and moving her hands and arms to the beat. No one has taught her how to do these moves; she is in tune with the spiritual and intellectual aspects of dance and discovery. Even people who are claimed to have two left feet or have never been trained in any sort of dance in their lives begin to bob their heads or groove to the rhythm of the music. There is something embedded in our DNA that causes our bodies to react to music with movement. In other words, it is a natural reaction for human beings to begin dancing when they hear music. Think of every sports event where the jumbo-tron cameras always catch at least a handful of people breaking it down to the music. They arent necessarily dancing because they have been trained to. They dance because some form of motivation inside them urged them to move to the music. There is something achieved by dancing that cannot be fully achieved through any other art form: It brings an awareness of the whole mind, body and spirit. Dance is physical in that the medium is the body. The spiritual side of dance is the connection between movement and the way it affects the human soul. It is the feelings you experience amidst the dance, or what it makes you feel as you reflect on the dance. Susanne Traub, a German curator and dramaturg, shared the following thoughts on dance:

Summerhays 4 Dance turns out to be a model path for thinking itself; dancing and dance-seeing are a kind of knowledge of the sensory effects of movement in generaldance no longer serves as a metaphor for thought, but rather presents itself as a sensuous and intellectual thinking in a body. Dance is therefore a kind of knowledge on the basis of which man can be understood. Dance shows in the clearest possible way how meaning emerges situatively and performatively in the sensuous (perceptible). The body has the ability to think and to produce and represent meaning: a reflective and thinking body is constantly dancing its becoming, writes Jean-Luc Nancy (Traub). As Susanne stated, dance requires all three parts of the whole, where as other art forms lack one or more parts of the whole. In dance, the entire mind, body, and spirit are completely immersed in the work. In conclusion, dance is not just a frilly and sparkly thing for little girls to do around their houses when they are little. Dance is a deep intellectual, physical, and spiritual combination of the human mind and body. Dance brings a complete-ness to human beings that other fine and folk arts cant. There are countless reasons why people dance and what they think dance is, but the most important thing to remember is this: Just dance. Dance even if you think you cant or dont know how or are not good enough. Dance despite your physical, mental, or spiritual limitations. Dance for what you think dance is. Dance influences all ages and generations, not just the young audiences, so dance with your grandma and youre baby nieces or children or cousins, etc. Discover for yourself what dance has to offer, and then never avoid the chance to dance.

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Sources: Traub, Susanne. "Philosophy and Ethics in Germany. Goethe Institut. Goethe-Institut e.V., Internet-Redaktion, Web. 12 Apr 2014. <http://www.goethe.de/ges/phi/eth/en8820849.htm>.