Dance

                         Danceis aperformance artformconsisting of purposefully selected sequences ofhuman movement. This movement hasaestheticandsymbolicvalue, and is acknowledged as dance by performers and observers within a particularculture.[nb 1]Dance can be categorized and describedby itschoreography, by its repertoire of movements, or by itshistorical periodorplace of origin.An important distinction is to be drawn between the contexts oftheatricalandparticipatorydance,[4]although these two categories are not always completely separate; both may have special functions, whethersocial,ceremonial,competitive,erotic,martial, orsacred/liturgical. Other forms of human movement are sometimes said to have a dance-like quality, includingmartial arts,gymnastics,cheerleading,figure skating,synchronized swimmingand many other forms of athletics.

                         Theatrical dance, also called performance or concert dance, is intended primarily as a spectacle, usually aperformanceupon astagebyvirtuosodancers. It often tells astory, perhaps usingmime,costumeandscenery, or else it may simplyinterpret the musical accompaniment, which is often specially composed. Examples are westernballetandmodern dance,Classical Indian danceand Chinese and Japanese song and dance dramas. Most classical forms are centred upon dance alone, but performance dance may also appear inoperaand other forms ofmusical theatre.Participatory dance, on the other hand, whether it be afolk dance, asocial dance, agroup dancesuch as aline,circle,chainorsquare dance, or apartner dancesuch as is common in westernWestern ballroom dancing, is undertaken primarily for a common purpose, such associal interactionorexercise, of participants rather than onlookers. Such dance seldom has any narrative. A group dance and acorps de ballet, a social partner dance and apas de deux, differ profoundly. Even asolo dancemay be undertaken solely for the satisfaction of the dancer. Participatory dancersoften all employ the same movements and steps but, for example, in therave cultureofelectronic dance music, vast crowds may engage infree dance, uncoordinated with those around them. On the other hand, some cultures lay down strict rules as to the particular dances in which, for example, men, women and children may or must participate.
                             Archeologicalevidence for early dance includes 9,000-year-old paintings inIndiaat theRock Shelters of Bhimbetka, andEgyptiantomb paintings depicting dancingfigures, dated c. 3300 BC. It has been proposed that before the invention of written languages, dance was an importantpart of the oral and performance methods of passing stories down from generation to generation.[5]The use of dance inecstatictrance statesand healing rituals (as observed today in many contemporary "primitive" cultures, from the Brazilianrainforestto theKalahari Desert) is thought to have been another early factor in the social development of dance.