The Power of Dance from Gerald Jonas

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The Power of Dance from Gerald JonasDancing

• Edited by Dr. Kay Picart
• and Jessica Labbé
• Based on a presentation
• by Juan Baez

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Aims

• To show that All dance is charged with power.
  (17)
• To illustrates why dance is a powerful tool
  within a social context.
• To illustrate why and how dance holds a unique
  and central power in various world cultures.
• To learn about the history and personality of
  other cultures through the art of dancing.

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Discussion Question

• What role do you perceive dance playing in your
  society, if any?

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Key ThemeThe Power of Dance

• The impulse to move is the raw material that
  culture shapes into evocative sequences of
  physical activity that we call dance (12).

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Review Questions

• Why does Jonas refer to Yeats quote How can we
  know the dancer from the dance? (12)
• What does this mean?

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Discussion Question

• How is Jonas definition of dance similar and/or
  different from the previous articles we have
  discussed in class?

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Review Question

• What examples does Jonas use to illustrate the
  cultural impact of dance within Cambodian
  society?

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Discussion Question

• What other examples provided by Jonas illustrate
  the importance of dancers in Cambodia?

From the Cambodian Dance Robom Pream http//www.ne
taxs.com/tskramer/reptoire.html
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Review Question
Briefly describe what is unique about Cambodian
Dance.
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Understanding Dance

• Dance anthropology explores dance within its
  social and cultural context.
• Encoded in form, technique, and structure of
  every dance are meanings and values of importance
  to the dancers and to those who share their view
  of the world. (17)

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Review Question

• Name some rituals that have a dance-like element
  to them.
• Discuss the role of dance in these rituals.

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Review Question

• Give examples of how descriptions of other
  cultures dances reveal imperialist frameworks.

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Discussion Question

• Is it possible for us to study another culture or
  society without projecting our own morals and
  beliefs on it?

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Review Question

• Explain the genesis and symbolisms embedded in
  ballet as a form of court entertainment.

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Discussion Question

• What are the implications of Western European
  Dance changing from participatory entertainment
  to visual entertainment?

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Review Question

• What is unique to Native American Dances such as
  the Snake Dance and Ghost Dance?

Native American Fancy Dance http//library.thinkqu
est.org/3081/fancy.htm
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Review Question

• What are the main characteristics and functions
  of trance and spiritual communication in relation
  to dance?

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Review Question

• Why are the Pullavas outcasts within a society
  that deems them so important?
• What purpose do they serve?

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Final Question

• As is the case with any mode of expression, do
  you think that dance can be a manipulative tool
  in/on a society? Why or why not?