Importance of Dance

Importance of dance
Dance is a health-promoting physical activity which many people worldwide incorporate

into their lifestyles today. This physical activity appeals to some who may not typically be
active and therefore may be another alternative of exercise. Dance for health has become
an important factor in the prevention, treatment and management in several health
circumstances. It can benefit both physical and mental health and subsidizes social
communication. Dance is an art which is learned in and shared between many cultures.
Types of dance can entail body movements, expression and collaboration. The
correlation between dance and health has been subject of a number of research studies
that show dance to be a largely healthy exercise.
Dance plays an important part in the PE curriculum because it will allow students to
experience cultures from the different and around the world, able to work in groups with
others to achieve different types of challenges, such as creating dance variations and to
learn about body movement while being motivated by the power of music.
Dance is masterful movement in a rhythmically coordinated, and expressive way. It is a

vital part of a child’s movement education. When students apply the aspects of the
movement framework to create dance sequences they are learning how to dance.
Creating dances means exploring the movement framework, selecting movement

elements and refining dance sequences. Here, learning is on a higher level than simply
repeating a dance that was created by another. It is important to note that “traditional”
dances such as square, folk, and social/ballroom do have an important place in physical
education. These dances can be broken down, by the teacher or the student, into body,
space, effort and relationship aspects. Students can use these pieces of dances to create
their own unique dance.
Students participate in three types of learning experiences during dance: creating,
performing and responding.
While creating, students use the cognitive

processes of application, analysis, synthesis
and evaluation to create dances.
During performance, students recall and

reproduce movements from existing
dances.
When responding, learners observe,

interpret, analyze, and evaluate as they
describe movement, qualities of
movements, compositional structures and
their feelings and understanding of a dance.
Finally, students can also assume the

responsibilities of a performer, creator or observer during a dance lesson.
Dance and the Movement Framework
Rudolf Laban created a structure for organizing human movement in order to guide
teaching and learning in dance. This framework includes four aspects: body, space, effort
and relationships.
Body Aspect
Beginners should spend much time using whole body actions such as curling, twisting
and stretching, walking, running, galloping, skipping, and jumping. We can encourage
more expression by using such action words as shiver, melt, collapse and slither. Non-
locomotor movements such as gesturing, rising, sinking, opening, closing and stillness
can be used by dancers to communicate their ideas and feelings. A gesture (a movement
of a body part that does not support body weight) for example, is an important part of a
dancer’s message. Stillness can signal the beginning or end of a performance. Dancers
should be mindful of which body parts lead a movement, support weight, or move in
isolation. Further, the flow of movement from one body part to another contributes to a
dancer’s performance. Students can also use body shapes to tell their story. A twisted
shape, for example, could communicate inner turmoil.
Effort Aspect
Early in Laban’s study of dance he suggested that dance students focus on effort after
the body aspect. Here, students can explore time, weight, space and flow. In other
words, they should have experiences moving: suddenly and sustained; strongly and
lightly; directly and flexibly; and freely and bound. A lesson on bound flow might include
words and images such as trudge, plod, stiffen, grind or like a robot. The purpose of
using such words and images is always to focus students on an inner attitude toward
movement. Here, the attitude is toward bound flow.
Space Aspect
Dancers should move in general and personal space through different pathways,
directions, levels, planes, areas and extensions. Varying the ways, we move through
space adds interest and meaning to dances.
Relationships Aspect
Most dancers must maintain important relationships as they move. These relationships include
maintaining a proper position in relation to a partner or a group. Dancers must also be able to
lead, follow, mirror, match, copy and move in unison and canon. Moving toward and away from
another or a group is a common element in dance choreography. Dancers must always move
in relation to a rhythm or a sound (beat competence). Here, students can move a body part or
the whole body in relationship or agreement with a beat. These experiences should begin with
a slow and regular beat like that of a drum. The tempo and drum beat pattern should increase
in difficulty with student proficiency. Students could also choose movements to interpret stories,
poems, aspects of science and visual art work. Last, dancers should place body parts carefully
in order to create body shapes and tell a story through movement.

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Importance of dance

Dance is a health-promoting physical activity which many people worldwide incorporate

Dance is masterful movement in a rhythmically coordinated, and expressive way. It is a

Creating dances means exploring the movement framework, selecting movement

While creating, students use the cognitive

During performance, students recall and

When responding, learners observe,

Finally, students can also assume the

Dance and the Movement Framework

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