Diano Pachote

Tomayo
Dance 353
21 September 2016
Chapman University, College of Performing Arts, Department of Dance
DANC 353- Dance in World Cultures with Professor Tomas Tamayo, Fall 2016
Unit One: Dance and Spirituality
Study Guide #1: Unit One - Dance and Spirituality (50 points)
Due: WED Sept. 21, 2016
From In-Class Lectures, daily lecture notes on blackboard, Videos, Dance Workshops,
Field Trip, Unit One Readings and Text (chapters 1 and 2):
Lecture/Text Chapters 1 and 2
1. To question or belittle other peoples dances is to challenge their right to be themselves.
2. Dance anthropology views dance in context, both socially and culturally.
3. Globally, dances performed for ancestors and deities help a community do what? Come
together in either expression, protection, or celebration

4. What was the original purpose of the Native American Ghost Dance as seen from the
perspective of the Plains Indians in the US? To call upon an earthquake that would
restore power to the Plains Indians and replenish the fields with grain. It was a way for the Indians
to band together and rebel against the US government.

5. Plato and Aristotle: How do the opinions of Plato and Aristotle concerning the place,
purpose and value of dance in their society, effect us, today, in our expression
of dance? Their values contrasted, Plato believing every educated man should be
able to dance and be ready for war while Aristotle believed only slaves and foreigners
should dance. Many places promote and encourage dancing while other environments it
is forbidden.
6.HowdoHinduandYorubatraditionsseetherelationshipofthespiritandbodyvs.Christianity?Yoruba
tradition dictates that dance is a form of direct communication with the gods while Hindu people
use dance to connect to the gods. Christian beliefs do not recognize dance as any form of
worship.

Power in Dance Video

7a. How do children find power in learning and performing dance? It gives them an
attachment to their culture and a participating role in continuing the existence of the
dance.

7b. Name the eight ways that people find power in dance? Legacy, Education, Community,
Socialization, Physicality, Theatrical Performance, Spiritual

Dances of Ecstasy Lecture/Video

8. What is the physiological process in achieving initiation, trance, etc.?
Initiate trance is achieved through the nervous system, the breath, the brain and
concurrently, the body in all forms of trance dancing.

Contemporary Artist/Healer, Gabrielle Roth in NYC said,

9a. Much of our illness is because. because our soul hasnt had the chance to respond
or to speak.
10a. We are living apart from our soul. ? yes we are living apart from our soul
11. Change the Rhythm and you Change the.. mind
Lecture/ Field Trip: Fish Inter-Faith Center
12. The Three elements of dance/art/design are? Time, space and energy
13. How is the Fish Inter-Faith Center, an example of Pantheistic Architecture?
The windows are an impressive showcase of Pantheistic Architecture, allowing light to
shine through differing colorways throughout the course of the day, changing
perspective through space in the room and time.

Lecture/Video

14. What is the goal of a Javanese dancer? To transcend and connect spiritual, and in doing so
purify themselves and fins peace.

15. How is a deity identified In the masked dances of Burkina Faso? Specific movements are
culturally attached to the deity.

16. What is the goal and purpose of the Kwaikutl Hamutsa dance? In the Hamatsu Dance, the
initiate goes into the forest to find/surrender personal spirit.

17. How is the Kahiko Hula dance form influenced by geography? It is different depending
what island you are on. Each island has a different way of doing the sacred dance.
18. Yoruba: a) a religion b) a language c) a west African regional community d) all of the
aforementioned

19. What are the Ramayana and Mahabharata Dance Dramas? They are dances supported
by chorus of energy and breath. They can be trance-inducing for the performer and the
audience.

20. Explain purpose of trance dance/possession, give examples of the initiates (dancer)
physical movement. In trance dance, a spirit can take over an initiates body.
Their physical movements would include shaking and a loss of control with loose
movements.

Additional Reading List Questions: Unit One

21a. What is a CPS (culturally patterned sequence)? A CPS is different movements or
patterns that are associated with a certain culture. They also can have a lot to do with
your cultures sense of time.
21b. Explain how CPSs make up dance phrasing in all global dance forms. CPS draw from
personal cultural experiences. This can happen through replicating familiar and
comfortable patterns or exploring new ones. Your sense of tempo, beat, and rhythm is
affected by the cultural patterns to which you have been exposed.
22. What are the differences in World Dance, Ritual/Ceremonial, Religious and/or Folk Dance?
World dance is EVERYTHING. Rituals, once privileged, private, and sacred, can now be
viewed in some form or fashion, by anyone who wants to attend. Ceremonial and ritual
dances may or may not tell a story.
Rituals have a focus but not necessarily a narrative. May be specific or cynical. May be
harmonious or ecstatic. The power comes from rhythmic repetition.
Folk dances tend to strengthen social bonds.

23. Explain the difference between Pantheism vs. Paganism? Pantheism is the belief that the
Universe is identical with divinity, or that god exists in everything. Pantheists do not believe in a
distinct person or anthropomorphic god. Paganism is a term developed among the Christian
community of southern Europe during late antiquity to describe religions other than their own or
Judaism.

Leaning into Ritual, Introduction, Rachel Kaplan

My Experience with Cancer, Anna Halprin

24. How is Halprin's dance process concurrent with other traditional

forms of spiritual dance? Halprins dance process involved a lot of imagery,
particularly of nature. The process made her feel more connected to the world around her.

The outcome was her feelings of time and place being suspended and she was left
purified. All of these elements are similar to most traditional forms of spiritual dance.

25. What are Halprin's 5 Stages of Healing? Identify the issue,

Confrontation, Release, Integrate new changes, Assimilation.

26. What are Circle the Earth and the Planetary Dance? This is a large group dance for and by
people challenging AIDS. Originally it was about the murder.

Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance and Cultural Studies,

Jane C. Desmond
27. Euro-American Cultural Studies are largely based on what? Text-books.
28. Why are some dances, some ways of moving the body, considered forbidden for
members of certain social classes, sexes and races? In most cases, dance forms
originating in lower-class populations present dances that are refined, polished, and
often desexualized. Improvisatory forms become codified to be more easily transmitted
across class and racial lines.

Bridging the Critical Distance, Marcia B. Siegel

29. How does the author explain biases and inequities in dance scholarship from an EuroAmerican centric perspective on critiquing global dance forms? Westerners view dance in an
Aristotelian way; dance is a unified entity meant to be in one form. Because of this, when
studying other dance forms, certain elements are overlooked. The author wants to rid
inequalities by recognizing and compensating as best we can for our personal biases
and lapses in information.
30. Explain Multiculturalism vs. Eclecticism? Multi-culturalism describes the existence,
acceptance, or promotion of multiple cultural traditions within a single jurisdiction.
Eclecticism is more collective and draws upon multiple theories, styles, and ideas.
Myths of Origin, Andre Grau
31. How is the language of the physical body related to our verbal languages? Physical body
movements were used to communicate before verbal languages were formed. You can
communicate to someone who speaks another language than you through physical
movements. The language of the physical body can communicate just like, if not more,
than verbal languages.
32. According to Grau, does "evolutionary theory" exist in dance culture?

According to Grau, evolutionary theory does not exist. Something so linear cannot be
applied to something as subjective and fluid as dance. Also non-western dance should
not be seen as primitive, and as something that evolved into the civilized western dance
forms.