Dancing: A Universal Pop Culture Language of Connection and Interconnection

 

Dancing: A pop culture language of the world.

This blog is about dance as a language spoken by all cultures irrespective of the different regions and ethnicities we belong to. It is one of the most defining subjects that unite us all and is most often cherish by all who witness it. Dance is a universal form of expression that can unite and connect people across cultures and is often a part of popular culture. It can be a way to share stories, traditions, and ideas, and can help people overcome language barriers. As is a worldwide language that precedes our time, it is mostly acceptable everywhere we travel as there isn't a single culture that entirely prohibits dance, and it can be addictive too. Dance can quickly attract attention and change the mood of people. There is a reasonable estimate of thousands if not tens of thousands of distinct dance movements, taking into consideration the distinction across diverse cultures and dance genres, only a few religious sects discourage it.

The African culture is predominantly known for dance in all its cultural practices and celebrations. They have a deep love for dance and feature it profoundly in their rituals festivities and daily lives demonstrating their rhythms and cultural pride through diverse dance styles. 

 Asia with its diverse cultures, traditions and religions, dance is basically a means of communication through movements mirrored not only in their lifestyle but also in their art forms. As a mystic continent, Asia is a treasure trove of diverse cultural varieties and rich oriented essence mostly reflected in their dance performances. These dances include traditional dances from India, China, Thailand and the Philippines among others and they often incorporate music, drama and colorful costumes.

 In North America, dance is basically a variety of social performances and native dance. The popular ones celebrate their cultural roots and vibrant communities with hip hop leading in ranking. The American social dance is a blend of African, European and Latin American traditions which serves as a means of community interaction whereas the American Modern dance developed in the early twenty century was pioneered by Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Doris Humphery and Martha Graham. It is a breakaway from the European classic forms that accentuates emotions and movement from the center of body.

South America Dance

 European Dance

Australian Dance

 In many cultures dance is used as a symbolism for cultural heritage, joy, festivities, connection, expression of emotions and a way to communicate stories or narratives without words, frequently and profoundly interlink with rituals and ceremonies, signifying everything from spiritual connection to celebrating life milestones and conveying personal feelings through movement. Dancing antedate our time as it is mentioned many times in the Bible both New and Old Testaments. As early as in Exodus 15:19-21; Mariam led women dancing and singing after crossing the Red Sea. Moreover, God seems to be the author of dancing. In Zephaniah 3:17; it is written that: He (God) will dance for joy over you with singing. Undoubtedly, dancing is a powerful act of cultural acceptance for all peoples irrespective of our differences because it is part of our essence. Moreover, it can reflect the culture of a group of people, including their music, traditions, and storytelling and can also reflect the period it’s from.  

 Like good and evil have affected everything in our world, dance can be good or evil.  An example of a good dance in antiquity is found in 2 Samuel 6:14–22, David dances before the Lord with all his might, providing us with a wonderful example of what it truly means to surrender to God in worship. On the other hand, it can be bad such as a grotesque dance that emulates evil spirits with dark expressions and aggressive postures conveying menacing feelings.

David Danced before the Lord

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 Devilish Dance