Dance as entertainment is one of the earliest forms of expression known to man. Its written history goes back at least as far as fifth century classical Greece, where Euripides described the frenzied fertility dance in his drama Bacchae. Dance also has biblical roots. See e.g., Psalms 149:3 ("let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with timbre and lire!"); Psalms 150:4 ("Praise him with timbrel and dance. . ."). In ancient Rome, dancing was an [**15] important part of the annual festivals of Lupercalia and Saturnalia which featured wild group dances that were the precursors of the later European carnival. Eroticism in dancing also has ancient origins. The modern-day belly dance, or baladi, can be traced to the Egyptians of the fourth century, B.C. Buonaventura, W. Serpent of the Nile (1990). From these ancient roots one can trace the forms of dance native to America. Indeed dance pervades our culture, from the American Ballet Theater to Broadway's A Chorus Line and West Side Story, from Hollywood's Astaire and Rogers to the local discotheque.
-- Glen Theatre Inc. v. Civil City of South Bend
There is a lesson somewhere in the fact that the most well known case involving dance that reached the Supreme Court dealt with stripping at the Kitty Kat Lounge. The Supreme Court, unlike two appellate panels, decided that nude striptease was not constitutionally protected enough to negate an ordinance against public nudity applied against the club. The Supreme Court, including the sparring opinions of Justice Scalia and White, did provide some interesting reading. Just how the plurality holds up after its morality basis was watered down by Lawrence v. Texas and Justice Souter re-thought his opinion in a later case, is also an interesting question.
The second appellate ruling is chock fill with must read opinions as well, including the majority provided a useful brief discussion of dance, a concurring that gave an example of the "encouraging comments" of spectators ("Take it off; take it off!"), and another by Judge Posner that not only provided an extended defense of dance in all its forms, but ridiculed the brief of the state to boot ("The brief is four and one-half double-spaced pages in length, and is replete with grammatical and typographical errors."). In the midst of all this, Wendy Bonaventura had her cameo appearance, and it is her book Something in the Way She Moves (aka I Put A Spell On You) that inspired this entry.
Buonaventura argues that the "traditional benefits of dance [are] grace, skill, self-expression or improved confidence." The emotional release it provides as well as its sensuality and value as a social lubicrant makes it an important aspect of culture. Dance was often an important aspect of religious rites as well, especially given its sexual (fertility) connations. All these aspects are involved the African trance dance, which with its repetitive movements and driving rhythm leads one to "feel fully nerve-tinglingly alive and leaves you with a sense of profound well-being." One participant felt it a sort of religious experience:
"It's almost a religious experience - if a religious experience is when you let go, you feel the earth under your feet, you feel safe and secure and trusting in your body. When it really is flowing. I feel fluid, boneless. I can feel every inch of my body, every cell. I'm constantly checking in with myself. Am I here? Can I feel this? I could push this, I'll just try this a bit further. And it's not just push, push, push and beat yourself up if you don't get there. It's more a feeling of open up, softer, trust, release."
The primary function of dance is social in nature,* a way to interact with others, and release certain emotions. Thus, dance is an important aspect of culture, and the study of dance must also be a matter of social history. For example, the tango was originally a dance primarily performed by men. The ratio of men to women in mid-1800s Argentina was often quite unbalanced, and tangos often were performed by two men -- each competiting against the other, ultimately to fight over women. The intimacy of the waltz also made this seemingly quite proper dance quite controversial for some time. And, the fear of allowing women to dance in public led to the growth of the use women impersonators.
Dance's value as a social lubricant is quite important, but it is but one aspect of its many uses. Dance also is an important means of expression, both self-expression and as performance art. This is partly shown in social dancing in which cultural and other messages are also portrayed in the process. Each dance has a particular "message," even if just performed in a social context. And, not only do great dancers (including such past greats like Isadora Duncan) express themselves, but social dance is also a good opportunity for the average person to express themselves, their personality. In fact, the author has somewhat low opinion of certain sorts of "high art," such as ballet ("Danse Macabre"): "brainwashed into believing that ballet is the most beautiful and sophisticated of all dance forms, and in time pain and pleasure become inextricably linked in their psyche."
Since no post is perhaps complete without a political tidbit, I'll end with a term that is for some reason quite popular these days for the mixed up goings on in Washington --"kabuki theater." It originally came from a Japanese term meaning "outrageous" and involved a mixture of comic and erotic elements, including ridicule of religious and sexual roles (including via crossdressing). Such mock seriousness and playacting is probably a good way to explain much of what goes on in the corridors of power.
Politics ... the ultimate performance art.
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* DALLAS v. STANGLIN (1989) went out of its way to argue [the law involved regulations of teenage meeting places, regulations that arguably promoted their rights] that social dancing does not raise important issues of freedom of assembly, though two justices reaffirmed that "the opportunity to make friends and enjoy the company of other people - in a dance hall or elsewhere - is an aspect of liberty."
This is a misguided point of view given the important value such activity has to social and cultural activities. If sexual intimacy is worthy of constitutional protection, Lawrence v. Texas, surely social dancing is as well. I'll toss in that even nonexpressive athletic dancing is important to personal wellness to a degree that it is not a trivial aspect of personal freedom.