Primitive dances are followed by dances of antiquity. In archaic times, dance was part of choral lyrics, the main attribute of various cults (the cults of Demeter, Dionysus, Apollo). In the classical period of Ancient Greece, the place of dance is ancient Greek tragedy, where it is: a means of increasing the tension of dramatic action (Aeschylus);), an expression of emotional reaction to unfolding events (Sophocles);), viewed as pantomime, depicting feelings and accompanying the performances of the chorus (Euripides); ). Dance acquires a new function - accompaniment of speech. In comedies, dance becomes an independent means of expressing various feelings, including erotic and overtly sexual ones.
It is known that in Greece the muse of dance and choral singing Terpsichore was included in the pantheon of deities. The Greeks understood dance very broadly, considering it both as gymnastics, a means of healing the body, and as a mimic art. The dances included the procession of the playwright Sophocles at the head of a procession of naked youths through Athens after the victory at Salamis, juggling and acrobatics, military drill, funeral and wedding processions and measured, strictly simultaneous gestures and movements of the choir in tragedy.
The greatest satirist writer and thinker of late antiquity, Lucian, in his works devotes a separate chapter to dance, “On Dance,” in which he describes the various advantages of this art form.
The chapter of the book is written in the form of a dialogue between two friends: Likin and Kraton. Craton considers dancing “ridiculous entertainment.” Likin wants to prove to his friend that dancing is “...an activity that is divine in origin and involved in the sacraments, dear to many gods, performed in their honor and delivering at the same time great joy and useful edification.”
According to Lucian, dancing is a complex art that “requires an ascent to the highest levels of all sciences”: music, rhythm, geometry and philosophy, “both natural and moral”, rhetoric, “since it strives for the same the goals of the speakers: to show human morals and passions”, painting and sculpture.
Lucian considers dancing from the point of view of physical training, as having a beneficial effect on the health of the dancer: ““The intense movements of the dancer ... for himself turn out to be an extremely healthy activity: I, at least, am inclined to consider dancing the most beautiful of exercises and, moreover, excellently rhythmic. Giving the body softness, flexibility, lightness, agility and variety of movements, dancing at the same time gives it considerable strength.”
On the other hand, the author compares the dance with a medicine for the viewer: ““The dance has such charms that a person who comes to the theater in love comes out rational, having seen how often love ends in disaster. Possessed by sadness, he returns from the theater, looking brighter, as if he had drunk some kind of medicine that gives oblivion, “healing pain and calming bile.”
““The main task of a dancer is to master a unique science of imitation, depiction, expression of thoughts, the ability to make even the hidden clear.” Here we can recall the words belonging to the stranger: ““Having seen the five masks prepared for the dancer - the performance consisted of so many parts - and seeing only one actor, the stranger began to ask: who will dance and play the rest of the characters? When he found out that the same dancer would play and dance for everyone, he said: “I didn’t know, friend, that, having this one body, you have many souls.”
The need for dance is determined by the very nature of man, his internal rhythms, but the Greeks also strived for ideal beauty, which was achieved through stylization. In addition, there are warlike dances - ritual and educational; , cult dances; , orgiastic; , dances of public celebrations; , dances in everyday life (at birth, wedding, funeral, folk).
An example is the war dance (pyrrhic), described by Homer and known from surviving reliefs and vase paintings. Another example, also from Homer, is a funeral dance, the purpose of which is to breathe new life into a dead body through a burst of physical activity of the dancers. This dance comes from the island of Crete and is characterized by sharp movements of the arms and rhythmic strikes of swords on shields to scare away evil spirits.
Since the Greeks believed that dance was gifted to people by the gods, they showed great interest in esoteric cults in which dance played a significant role. In addition to orgiastic dances associated with certain rituals, the ancient Greeks loved solemn processions, especially paeans, which were a kind of rhythmically organized procession in honor of a particular deity with the singing of solemn hymns. The big festival was Thesmophoria - actions in honor of the goddess of agriculture Demeter and her daughter Persephone. Dancing played an important role in the Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries.
Orgiastic dances in honor of the god of fertility Dionysus gradually developed into a specific ceremony - Dionysia. Dancers who portrayed maenads and dancers who portrayed satyrs were specially trained for them; according to myth, this was the retinue of Dionysus. The common dance - the dithyramb, performed in Dionysian festivals, became the source of ancient Greek tragedy.
In dance, the development of dance within the framework of ancient Greek tragedy is distinguished, there are several periods corresponding to different stages of development of dramaturgy itself. For Aeschylus, dance is a means of increasing the tension of dramatic action. Sophocles interprets dance as an expression of emotional response to unfolding events. In Euripides, the chorus pantomimically depicts feelings corresponding to the plot. The dance as part of the tragedy (emmelia) was quite slow and majestic, and the gestures in it (chironomia) were wide, large, easily perceived by the public in large arenas where tragedies were staged. The dance in the old comedy was called kordak and was, in accordance with the spirit of the performance, unbridled and indecent. The dancer twisted his stomach, hit his heels and buttocks, jumped, hit his chest and thighs, stomped his feet and even hit his partner. Sikinnis, a dance of satyrs, rich in acrobatic elements, surpassed the kordak in outright shamelessness. With the spread of Christianity, both dances disappeared.
The favorite entertainment of the ancient Greeks was meals in a friendly circle - symposiums. Professional dancers took part in them. Greek vase paintings depict courtesans (heterae) dancing to the sound of a flute, while spectators watch and even join in the dance.
The Romans made a great contribution to the history of world dance as the creators of pantomime. Pantomime - This is a highly stylized sequence of movements, usually by one performer, with the main role played by gestures. The pantomime was usually accompanied by a small orchestra. Famous pantomimists were Bafillus from Alexandria, who preferred comedy, and Pylades from Sicily, who gave pantomime tragic pathos. Pantomime as a performance was first performed publicly in 23 BC. e. Over time, this art degenerated into an openly erotic and vulgar spectacle, which the Christian church fought against.
Although pantomime prevailed in Ancient Rome, ritual dance was not forgotten there either. There were many dance processions for different occasions. For example, members of the priestly college of the Salii, priests of the god Mars, performed their cult military dance - tripudii, that is, a dance in three-beat time. Throughout the Italian peninsula, priests performed rituals associated with ancient fertility cults. Temple rituals of this kind gradually developed into folk holidays. For example, the famous Saturnalia, held at the end of December, became a folk carnival, with dancing in the streets and mutual gift-giving. Subsequently, the spirit of Christian Christmas holidays absorbed many elements of the ancient Roman saturnalia.
Choreography as a unique and synthetic art form
Introduction
Medieval dances are a reflection of the dark period of the Middle Ages. Court dances and their historical significance.
4. Folk and court dances of the Renaissance. The emergence of Ballet and its influence on social and political life. Artistic design of Medici era ballets
5. Dance art of the 17th-18th centuries. Louis XIV and ballet. The emergence of ballet music and story ballets. Court dances at the assemblies under Peter 1. Dancers-reformers Maria Camargo and Auguste Vestris. J.J. Nover and his reforms.
The era of romantic ballets of the 19th century and its representatives. Ballets of Arthur Saint-Leon, and their historical significance. Marius Petipa and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky are the creators of masterpieces of classical ballet. New trends in dance art of the late 19th century
The development of dance art from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.
Conclusion
Introduction
Choreography and dance have their own centuries-old history, described by historians and theater experts based on the memories of eyewitnesses and contemporaries, images of artists and numerous legends about dance and dance art. Dance art is unique because it reflected and reflects the life, morals and customs of people through the mysterious language of plasticity and gestures. The uniqueness of choreography also lies in the fact that it combines the art of dance, theater, music and fine arts, if we are talking about a dance performance.
Subject and object of research. Choreography as a unique and synthetic art form that closely interacts with music and visual arts.
Purpose of the study. Determine the uniqueness and significance of dance art at each stage of historical development, and also analyze the relationship of choreography with other forms of art.
The relevance of research. The art of choreography is of interest even now, in our time. Therefore, the question of the uniqueness of choreography, its significance in people’s lives and in history, and its relationship with other forms of art cannot but be relevant.
My research reveals the essence and meaning of dance over a huge period of time - from the ancient Greek period to the present day. The dance accompanied the magnificent celebrations and holidays of Ancient Greece and Rome, medieval balls and knightly tournaments, luxurious theatrical performances during the reign of the French kings, and, finally, turns into a separate and special form of art - the art of choreography.
Also during the study, you can notice how important historical events influenced the art of dance, and the art of dance influenced fashion, culture, customs and even the political life of a certain period in history. This was especially noticeable during the reign of Catherine de Medici and King Louis 14.
The origin and significance of dance in history. Dance art as an important component of the theater of Ancient Greece and the life of the ancient Greeks
The roots of dance art go back to the distant past and originate from the era of primitive communal times, when dance and gestures played a significant role in the life of ancient man, as methods of communicative communication before the appearance and development of sound speech.
Later, the dance acquired ritual significance - people turned to dancing during weddings and religious ceremonies, military rituals, rites of the change of seasons, the birth of children or funerals. Dancing united people and was not only a way of communicating with each other and entertainment, but also a means of expressing their state of mind, thoughts and emotions. Under the influence of changing historical events, in connection with the advent of new spiritual and cultural values and new aesthetics, the meaning of dance and its main functions are gradually changing.
Let's start our excursion into history by studying dance in Ancient Greece. What was unique about the dance art of Ancient Greece? And what importance did dance play in the life of the Greeks?
It is known that the Ancient Greeks left their tangible mark on the history of world art and culture. We know the names of the great ancient Greek playwrights - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes. We admire the majestic arches and columns, caryatids, statues of gods and heroes of ancient Greece. It was then, in those distant times, that special attention was paid to the beauty and aesthetics of the human body, movements and poses, and, of course, dance.
Dances in Ancient Greece were divided into ritual (sacred, ceremonial), social, stage and military. Thus, stage ancient Greek dances were part of theatrical performances. All Greek youths were required to learn the art of military dance.
In Greece, everyone danced, regardless of age and social status, and loved holidays and entertainment, which were often accompanied by theatrical performances, songs, dances and playing musical instruments.
The holiday in honor of the god Dionysus or Great Dionysia was celebrated several times a year in Athens. The holiday lasted several days: the temple of Dionysus was decorated, large processions were organized, songs of praise were sung, and theatrical competitions were organized for the authors of drama, tragedy and comedy. Author-poets were also directors, choreographers and even, not rarely, actors in their works.
Dance in the sanctuary of Dionysus. Attic vase of the 5th century. BC.
"There are young men and blooming maidens, desired by many,
They dance in a circular choir, kindly intertwining their hands.
Virgins in linen and light clothes, youths in vestments
They are lightly dressed, and their purity, like oil, shines;
Those - lovely wreaths of flowers decorate everyone;
These are golden knives, on silver belts over the shoulder.
They dance and spin with their skillful feet,
As easy as turning a wheel under the experienced hand,
If a poor person tests him to see if he can spin easily;
Then they will develop and dance in rows, one after another.
(Homer "Iliad", translation by N.I. Gnedich)
The theatrical dances of ancient Greece include emmelia, cordac and sikkinida. Dance as part of a tragedy ( emmelia) was quite slow and majestic, and the gestures in it ( chironomy) - wide, large. The kordak consisted of inserted comic scenes, a kind of choreographic buffoonery. This dance was quite obscene, performed at a rapid pace, with squats, jumps and “heels in the sky.” The chorus in Aristophanes' comedy "Wasps" accompanies this violent, unbridled dance with these words:
Spin faster and faster!
Phrynic's dance!
Throw your feet higher!
Let the audience gasp: “ah, ah!”
Seeing heels in the sky.
Spin, somersault and hit yourself in the belly!
Throw your legs forward, spin like a top...
Kordak. Vase painting, 5th century. BC e.
The dance of satirical drama - Sikinnis, which was oriented towards the tastes of ordinary people and often represented a parody of many aspects of public life, had much in common with it.
Dance of two satyrs. Vase painting, first half of the 5th century. BC e.
Complex dances, with acrobatic elements and tricks, were performed by professional dancers, acrobats, and jugglers. They were accompanied by playing musical instruments. Lucian described in his treatise: “And on Delos, even ordinary sacrifices could not be done without dancing, but were accompanied by it and performed to music. The youths, gathered in a round dance, performed rhythmically in a circle to the sounds of the flute and cithara, and the dance itself was performed by the best dancers selected from among them. Therefore, the songs written for these round dances were called “dance choruses,” and all lyric poetry is full of them.”
Once every four years, a holiday was celebrated in honor of the goddess Athena - the patroness of the city of Athens - Greater Panathenaea. The holiday consisted of a torchlight procession to the statue of Athena, offering numerous and rich gifts to the beloved goddess: clothes, works of art, sacrificial animals, flowers, and was also accompanied by war dances. Pyrrhiha belongs to the most striking military dances.
Pyrrha, warrior dance
According to one legend, the first performer of the pyrrhic dance was Pallas Athena. She danced it in honor of the victory over the Titans. Another legend claims that it was invented by King Pyrrhus. Most researchers are inclined to think that the name comes from the word “pira” - “bonfire”, around which Achilles danced at the funeral of Patroclus. For the pyrrhic dance, the dancers wore warrior costumes. In their hands they had a bow, shield, arrows or other weapons. They galloped forward, jumping from one leg to the other; then various military movements and combinations were carried out - they attacked each other in straight ranks, closed in a common circle, jumped in groups, knelt, etc.
A Greek wedding was also accompanied by dancing, singing and certain rituals. Here is how Homer describes the wedding process: “There, brides are escorted from the palaces, bright lamps with brilliance, wedding songs with clicks, through the city’s hundred squares. The young men dance in choruses, cheerful sounds of lyres and pipes are heard among them; respectable wives look at them and marvel, standing on the gate porches. The bride's mother lit a torch from her hearth and followed the cart along with relatives and guests. Some carried torches to illuminate the road, others carried gifts, as well as a special type of tripod, lutrophor and kalpides for wedding rituals, many sang wedding songs and danced to the accompaniment of aulos and lyres, exclamations addressed to Hymen sounded all the way to the groom’s house.” .
Dance in ancient Greece was complex, virtuosic, and certainly aesthetically developed. This is evidenced by ancient Greek frescoes and drawings, which depict pronounced movements and poses, emphasizing the beauty of the lines of the human body and the “turnout” of the legs.
Ariball painting, Jumping dancers, late 6th century. BC e.
Dancers and acrobats. Work of the circle master Polygnotus, ca. 430 BC e.
The high level of development of ancient Greek dance is also evidenced by the reasoning of philosophers about dance. And this was not surprising, because dance in Ancient Greece was part of the philosophical sciences - it was studied in gymnasiums, along with music, philosophy and other subjects. Numerous treatises were written about the connection between dance and philosophy by ancient Greek philosophers - Plato, Plutarch, Xenophon, Lucian and others. Philosophers were not only interested in the art of dance, but also loved to dance themselves. Xenophon wrote: “Even the wise Socrates loved the dance of Memphida, and often when His acquaintances saw him dancing, he told them that dancing is an exercise for every part of the body.”
The beauty of ancient Greek dance, its meaning, history of development and relationship with music is described by Lucian in his treatise: “I will say that dance not only delights, but also benefits the audience, educates them well, and teaches them a lot. The dance brings harmony and measure into the soul of the beholder, delighting the eyes with the most beautiful sights, captivating the ears with the most beautiful sounds and revealing the beautiful unity of mental and physical beauty. And if, in conjunction with music and rhythm, dancing achieves all this, then for this it deserves not censure, but rather praise... Dancing is not a new activity, it did not begin yesterday or the third day... For example, from the time of our ancestors or from their parents - no: people who provide the most reliable information about the pedigree of the dance will be able to tell you that simultaneously with the origin of the first principles of the universe, the dance also arose, which was born along with it, the ancient Eros. Namely: the round dance of the stars, the interweaving of the wandering luminaries with the fixed ones, their harmonious community and the measured order of movements are manifestations of the primordial dance. Afterwards, little by little, developing continuously and improving, the dance now seems to have reached its final heights and has become a diverse and harmonious blessing, combining the gifts of many Muses... But since the dancer’s art is imitative, since he undertakes to depict the content of the song with his movements, “The dancer must, like orators, practice, achieving the greatest clarity, so that everything he depicts is understandable, without requiring any interpreter.”
In general, dance and the dance art of Ancient Greece played an important role in the life of the Greeks. Filling and enriching life in a spiritual and aesthetic sense, dance becomes an integral part of religious holidays and rituals, wedding ceremonies and military rituals, as well as part of the culture and art of Ancient Greece. The beauty and aesthetics of ancient Greek movements, poses and gestures are confirmed by numerous drawings of Ancient Greece, the impressions of contemporaries and treatises of philosophical thinkers. The dance art of Ancient Greece, like other forms of art, undoubtedly influenced the development of world culture and art, theater and ballet. Many directors, dancers and choreographers turn to ancient dances and ancient culture. The great American dancer Isadora Duncan borrows ancient Greek poses and gestures for her improvisations, and also uses the ancient Greek tunic as the main type of costume for her performances. Choreographers J. J. Nover, M. Graham, G. Aleksidze, Y. Posokhov and others turn to the plot of the ancient Greek legend about Jason and Medea.
Even before the birth of the most ancient civilizations of mankind, dance entered into everyday life of archaic people, as a means of expressing their emotions, as part of entertainment and other events. Even a person’s funeral was accompanied by special ritual dances. The history of ancient Greek dances originates in mythology, according to which the goddess Terpsichore taught people the art of dancing.
Worthy of attention is the legend of how the Kurit dance appeared. Sometime in prehistoric times, the god Uranus was dethroned from his throne by his son Kronos. Kronos, in turn, understood that his descendants could do the same to him, so he ate them all. But when Zeus was born, his mother, the goddess Gaia, hid the baby in one of the Cretan caves, and fed her husband a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. To divert attention from the screams and cries of little Zeus, Gaia ordered the warlike spirits of the Kurites to dance loudly and hit their shields with spears . Since that time, the priests of Zeus performed this dance during ceremonies dedicated to the supreme deity.
The bearers of Minoan culture on the island of Crete paid great attention to dance. A variety of Minoan dance was the famous “dance with the bull.” His performance was difficult and dangerous, because the fearless young man or girl had to literally take the bull by the horns and do a somersault through it. The dancing was accompanied by playing string instruments. The main ones were the cithara and the lyre, without which ancient Greek mythology cannot exist. In those ancient times in Crete there was no clear division between dancers and musicians. The islanders called everything together the word “musiki”.
The word “choreography” comes from the Greek word dance (“horos”). In ancient times, sacred dances were widespread, performed by Bacchantes and Corybantes, military dances (dances with weapons), mimic and theatrical, wedding and salon dances. An interesting fact is that in Ancient Greece, men and women danced separately, unlike the Minoan dances where men danced with women. In most Greek city-states, dances were of a sacred, everyday and entertaining nature. The inhabitants of Sparta danced warlike dances, thus cultivating fearlessness and contempt for their enemies. These dances were accompanied by the roar of timpani, the noise of weapons and the tapping of wood. In coastal cities, dances were accompanied by musical instruments made
Monasteries in Meteora
Greek Meteora is a rock complex of indescribable beauty in the town of Kalambaka. Today, the six Greek Orthodox Monasteries of Meteora rightfully occupy a place among the top ten attractions of Greece. The monasteries got their name from the Greek. "Meteora" (Μετέωρα), which means "between heaven and earth", which perfectly describes these majestic structures. In the 11th century, the sandy peak on which the monasteries are located was a place of solitude for Byzantine hermits.
Pythagoreanism. Philosophy of Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism (more common name Pythagoreanism) is a moral and philosophical doctrine that arose in the 6th - 4th centuries BC. e. in Ancient Greece. The father of this philosophical movement is Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher, mystic and mathematician.
Mediterranean diet
The significance of Georgios Papanicolaou's discovery for modern medicine.
Rosary “Tears of the Virgin Mary” - a gift of salvation from Greece
How often do we evaluate our actions and look to the future by looking back at the past? According to statistics, every third inhabitant of the Earth, who has always condemned the cult of something, after a certain time, returns to spirituality. Atheists ask the Lord God for enlightenment, those who did not believe in holy attributes, over time began to understand that the healing power of faith helps to recover from illnesses and improves well-being.
Evidence is in sculpture and vase painting, in the works of poets, writers, and artists. Division into participants and spectators, free in their desire - to dance or not to dance, to watch or not to watch. The ritual began to be replaced by the physical and entertainment. The whole life of Greece is permeated with eurythmy. Dancing was one of the educational disciplines, and adults and full-fledged citizens continued to study. Dancing is for spectators, not for the pleasure of jumping and not for your own entertainment. All citizens possessed some dance technique. Five groups: war dances - ritual and educational; cult moderate ones - emmelia, dance of the veils and dances of the caryatids, as well as dances at birth, wedding and funeral; orgiastic dancing; public dances and theatrical dances; dancing in everyday life. Sacred dances reflected certain days of the working calendar year. There are two main dance cults: “light” in honor of the god Apollo and “dark” in honor of the god Dionysus. Military dances in Ancient Greece played a big role in instilling courage, patriotism, and a sense of duty in youth ("pyrrhichion", "pyrrhich") Social and everyday dances (home, city, rural) accompanied family and personal celebrations, city and national holidays. Stage dances Dr.Gr. were part of theatrical performances, and each genre had its own dances: emmelia is characteristic of tragedy, cordak is characteristic of comedy, and sikkanida is characteristic of satirical drama. Dance of the veils and dance of the caryatids. Sikkanida Kubiki - acrobatic dances. Mina mima.
Dance technique of H. Limon.
Jose Arcadio Limon was born on January 12, 1908 in the Mexican city of Culiacan and was the eldest of twelve children in the family. In 1915, at the age of 7, he emigrated with his parents to the United States, to Los Angeles.
After graduating from Lincoln High School, Limon entered the University of California at Los Angeles to study fine arts. In 1928 he moved to New York, where he began studying at the New York School of Design. In 1929, after seeing Rudolf von Laban's students Harold Kretzberg and Yvonne Giorgi perform, Limón became interested in dance.
Having started studying at the school of Doris Humphrey] and Charles Weidman], a year later he made his debut on Broadway. At the same time, Limon first tried his hand as a choreographer: he staged “Etude in D Minor” for himself and Laetitia Ide; the “extras” were his classmates Eleanor King and Ernestina Stoddel.
Throughout the 1930s, Lemon danced with the Humphrey-Weidman troupe, participating in productions by Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, and also worked on Broadway: in 1932-1933 he performed in the revue Americana and in the musical by Irving Berlin As Thousands Cheer(choreography by Charles Weidman), collaborated as a choreographer with the New Amsterdam Theater.
In 1937, Lemon participated in the Bennington Dance Festival program. At the 1939 festival, held at Mills College, he created his first major choreographic work, Mexican Dances ( Danzas Mexicanas).
The following year, Lemon performed as a soloist in the revue “Don’t Walk on Lawns” (choreography by George Balanchine).
In 1941, he left the Humphrey-Weidman troupe to collaborate with May O'Donnell]. Together they staged works such as War Lyrics And Curtain Riser, however, he then returned to Humphrey and Weidman. Around this time he met Pauline Lawrence and they married on October 3, 1942. That same year, together with Mary-Ellen Moylan, Lemon danced in the musical Rosalind (choreographed by George Balanchine), which became the last show on Broadway with his participation.
Then he created numbers on classical music and on folklore themes at the Studio Theater, until in April 1943 he was drafted into the US Army Special Service], created in 1940 specifically to maintain the soldier’s spirit during the war. During his service, he collaborated with composers such as Frank Loesser and Alex North], and created several productions, the most famous of which is Concert Grasso.
After completing his military service in 1946, Limón received American citizenship.
In 1947, Limón created his own troupe, the José Limón Dance Company ( José Limón Dance Company), the artistic direction of which he offered to Doris Humphrey (thus, Limon's troupe became the first US modern dance company whose artistic director was not at the same time its founder). The troupe, whose dancers included Paolina Kohner, Lucas Howing, Betty Jones, Ruth Carrier and Limón José himself, made their Bennington College Festival debut in productions by Doris Humphrey Lament And The Story of Mankind.
Dancer and choreographer Louis Falco also danced with the company between 1960-1970, and in 1974-1975. performed in "The Moor's Pavan" directed by Jose Limon together with Rudolf Nureyev. While working with Humphrey, Lemon developed a repertoire and laid down the principles of his own style. In 1947, the troupe made its debut at New York's Belasco Theater with Humphrey's production of Day on Earth. In 1948, the troupe first performed at the Connecticut College American Dance Festival, and subsequently took part in it for many years. After staging "The Moor's Pavane", Limón received Dance Magazine's annual award for outstanding choreography. In the spring of 1950, Limon and his troupe performed in Paris with Page Ruth, becoming the first representatives of American modern dance in Europe. During Limon's life, his troupe toured the whole world and continued its activities after his death.
In 1951, Limon joined the faculty of the Juilliard School, where a new direction of dance was created. He also accepted an invitation from the National Institute of Fine Arts of Mexico City, for which he created six productions. Between 1953 and 1956, Limón choreographed and performed the roles in the show Ruins and Visions And Ritmo Jondo Doris Humphrey. In 1954, Limón's troupe became one of the first to take advantage of the US State Department's International Student Exchange Program and toured South America. They soon embarked on a five-month tour of Europe, the Middle East, and, again, South and Central America. During this time, Lemon received his second Dance Magazine Award.
In 1958, Doris Humphrey, who had been the artistic director of the troupe for all these years, died, and Jose Limon had to take his place himself. Between 1958 and 1960 there were joint productions with Poalina Koner. During this time, Lemon received an honorary doctorate from Wesleyan University. In 1962, the troupe performed in Central Park to open the New York Shakespeare Festival. The following year, under the auspices of the US State Department, the troupe made a twelve-week trip to the Far East, performing in the production The Deamon, the musical accompaniment of which belonged to the composer Paul Hindemith. Hindemith personally conducted the premiere.
In 1964, Limón received the company's award Capezio and was appointed artistic director of the American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center. The following year, Limón appeared on a national educational television program called José Limón Dance Theatre. A few years later, he founded the Jose Limon Dance Foundation, and received another honorary doctorate from the University of North Carolina. In 1966, after performing with the troupe at the Washington Cathedral, Limón received a government grant of $23,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The following year, Limón worked on choreography for the production Psalm, which earned him an honorary doctorate from Colby College. He and his troupe were also invited to perform at the White House for President Lyndon Johnson and King Hassan II of Morocco. José Limón's last stage appearance as a dancer was in 1969, when he performed in the Brooklyn Academy of Music productions of The Traitor and The Moor's Pavane. That same year, he completed two more works and received an honorary doctorate from Oberlin College.
This quick sketch of the history of dance does not pretend to cover the entire history of the development of dance art. It should rather be viewed as a collection of images of dance poses, since it is impossible to give a comprehensive idea of dance through illustrations.
The text offered to the reader contains only minimal explanations, because a thorough analysis of the material would require many years and tons of paper. In general, the description of ancient dances is a topic for endless conversations. For example, two separate authors needed to release 4 volumes to tell only about 800 dances.
It was very exciting to get at least some idea of the dance art of the Egyptians and ancient Greeks - after all, they often write about it due to the fact that the melodies of these peoples were lost, and therefore all attempts to revive this art were unsuccessful. Even in fast-paced modern life, which has changed greatly since the time of Lully, the revival of ancient dances is considered unlikely.
The authors hope that this work will be useful as a survey of images of dance costumes, poses and accessories throughout the centuries. For those readers who wish to thoroughly explore the work in this area, a bibliography is included at the end.
Chapter first. Egyptian, Assyrian, Phoenician dance to contents
Egyptian, Assyrian, Israeli and Phoenician dances.
Ritual dance in Ancient Egypt.
Examples of dances from the tomb of Ur-ari-en-Ptah, 6th Dynasty (now in the British Museum).
Description of the dance given by Sir G. Wilkinson.
About Egyptian pipes and hieroglyphs of dance.
Phoenician circle dances depicted in limestone in Cyprus, and bronze decoration from Idalium (Cyprus).
Dance is one of the oldest forms of art. After all, there is no doubt that since man became a man, he began to gesticulate, change his facial expression, move his arms and legs. Now no one can say how long it took to develop random movements into an art form - probably no less than a thousand.
Therefore, in works devoted to dance, scientists often include descriptions of various gestures and movements, explaining whether this or that movement is characteristic of a slow march or a fast gallop, and there may even be steps that are now classified as acrobatic. You will not find them in this book, just like descriptions of the sensual body movements of the dances of the East and late antiquity.
As a rule, ancient dances were associated with the performance of religious rituals and were intended to please the gods. A similar connection between dance and ritual existed until the 16th century, and in some countries it still exists.
In the earliest sketches of dances that have come down to us, participants held hands and moved like stars around an altar or a person representing the sun. At the same time, they either gestured very slowly or very quickly, as required by the ritual.
Dance, music and poetry were inseparably linked. Dance is the poetry of movement, and its relationship with music - the poetry of sounds - has been noticed by people at all times. Even now, musical periods are called by the names originally given to dances: for example, there is the era of the waltz, the era of the gavotte, the era of the minuet.
Of the most ancient dance manuals, the most understandable are Egyptian images that demonstrate poses (Fig. 3,). Each had its own meaning, so it is believed that they were the original phrases of the ancient dance art. They were widespread not only in the early period (Fig. 1), but also much later. Having arisen 3 thousand years before the new era, they “took root” and were thus passed on to all subsequent generations (Fig. 2). The above illustrations from Egypt and Ancient Greece give us an idea of the true state of affairs at that time. The dance in which the dancers hold hands is of a completely different type.
The oldest accompaniment was clapping hands, sounds of pipes, guitars, tambourines, castanets, cymbals, and drums.
The following text on Egyptian dances is taken from the book Ancient Egypt by Sir Gardiner Wilkinson.
“The dance mainly consisted of a sequence of figures in which the dancers had to show a wide variety of body movements. Men and women danced sometimes together, sometimes in turns, but preference was often given to the latter for their inherent grace and elegance. Some danced to slow music, adapting their movements to its rhythm. Their movements were in no way inferior in grace to the Greeks. Praise should be given to the master who captured this scene in one of the tombs of Theba (1450 BC, Amenophis II). Others preferred to take quick steps to the appropriate tune. The men danced with great fervor, barely touching the ground. (This manner is more reminiscent of European dances than oriental ones). In such cases, music was composed for a few instruments: generally, women struck with cylindrical batons or occasionally snapped their fingers instead of striking cymbals or banging castanets.”
“Graceful poses and gestures made up the entertainment of the dance, but, as in all other countries, the style of performance here depended on the status of the spectator and the skill of the artist. The dance in the clergyman’s house was different from the dance of the clumsy peasants.”
“It was indecent for representatives of the rich segments of the population to dance at public or home celebrations. And poorer people actively participated in dance meetings.”
“Out of fear that dancing could corrupt the morals of people who were naturally cheerful and cheerful, considering that it was a completely optional part of education that did not form healthy desires, the Egyptians forbade their nobility to have fun with dancing.”
“Many of the pirouettes of Egyptian dance remind us of the steps of modern ballet, but they were performed and admired by audiences 3,500 years ago.”
“Women’s dresses were light-colored, made from the best fabrics. They were loose flowing ankle-length capes, which were sometimes belted.”
“Later, dresses became more transparent, decorated with folds. The dancers performed the dances in pairs, holding hands, or performed the entire sequence of movements one at a time. Sometimes someone else would sing along with the music and clap their hands.”
“A favorite dance figure throughout the country was one in which two partners, most often men, stood opposite each other, face to face, on one leg and demonstrated a series of movements. They walked away in different directions, still holding hands, and finally turned to each other. This pose was widespread, as evidenced by the presence of a special hieroglyph depicting it and meaning dance.”
Many of the poses described in G. Wilkinson’s book are still found today.
The Assyrians danced no less than other peoples, but among the discovered ancient monuments there are almost no images of dancing. It seems that the Assyrians were much more proud of their military campaigns and hunting successes than their dancing skills.
Severe and strong, they certainly loved to dance, although we know very little about this. From the Phoenicians, neighbors of the Assyrians, images of dancing Assyrians have come down to us. Their dance was performed in a rather serious manner, as evidenced by the example given (Fig. 5). This Cypriot painting depicts three caped dancers moving to the sound of pipes. This is a circular dance typical of Cyprus.
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| Rice. 5 Figures of Phoenician dancers made of limestone in Cyprus. About 6 ½ inches tall. A similar group, also found in Cyprus, is in the British Museum. The clothes of the dancers (mantles with hoods) testify to the antiquity of the image. |
Rice. 6 A Phoenician design from Idaleum depicts the performance of a ritual religious dance before a goddess in a temple around the emblem of the sun. |
Rice. 7 Figure of a woman smelling a lotus. From an image in the British Museum. |
It is also depicted on a bronze ball, symbolizing the sun and planets dancing before the goddess in the temple. Basically, it was the sun that was the object around which they danced to the accompaniment of pipes, harps, and drums.
The religious rituals of Egypt differ only in details from those of Assyria. In particular, the Assyrians show the goddess smelling a lotus flower (labeled A in Fig. 6), and in an Egyptian painting (British Museum) she holds it in the same way (Fig. 7).
From the Phoenicians we have come down to us with illustrated examples of dances and no records, while their neighbors, the Israelites, left us extensive records - the Bible, and no images. It seems that their dance was typical of all the peoples who peacefully neighbored them or from time to time captured them. So the Philistine (Fig. 6) dance was probably similar to the one that the Israelites danced around the golden calf (Apis) in the desert (Exodus, XXXII, V. 19).
“And Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women came out after her with tambourines and rejoicing” (Exodus, X V, V. 1).
King David not only danced before the ark (2 Samuel V1, V. 16), but also wrote about dancing in Psalms 149 and 150. The dancing of the Israelites was supposed to testify to their joy, since it is said “there is a time for weeping, and there is a time for dancing” (Eccl. III, V. 4), “we played for you on the pipes, but you did not dance” (Matt. , XI, V, 17). These dances were performed by the whole people, and not by special artists.
Rice. 8
Ornament depicting the dance of the Bacchae. Created by the pottery master Hieron. British museum.
Chapter two. Greek dances to contents
Greek dances.
Dances of the Bacchae, depicted by the master of ceramic writing Hieron. Description of such Greek dances as Corybantium and Hormos.
A dancing bacchante and a sculpture of a dancer made of terracotta depicted on a vase.
Dances in which participants
holding hands and Panatheon dance on ceramic dishes.
Dance of warriors from the Vatican sculpture and Greek dancers with castanets.
Drawings of cymbals and pipes kept in the British Museum.
Chorus.
Greek dancers and acrobats.
In Greece, dance was a major component of religious ritual; Along with music, he contributed to the development of lyrical art. The Greeks used the term “dance” to describe various movements of the body, arms and legs, walking, acrobatic stunts, changes in facial expression and facial expressions.
Historians believe that the Greeks dedicated all their dances to deities. In Homer, Apollo appears as orchestras, or He is an excellent musician and dancer, so among the most ancient dances there is one dedicated specifically to this beautiful god. It's called Hyporchema(Hyporema). In general, Hellenic dances can be divided into: 1) religious dances, 2) gymnastic dances, 3) mimic dances, 4) theatrical dances performed by a choir, 5) dances of a mixed nature - partly social, partly religious, for example, a mating dance, 6) chamber salon dances.
Adult women and men did not dance together, but boys and girls could participate together, for example in chain dances (Hormes, Geranos) (Fig. 11).
| Rice. 9 Dancing Bacchante. Vase in the British Museum. |
Rice. 10 Dancing Greek woman. Terracotta vase, ca. 350 BC e. British museum. |
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| Rice. eleven Geranos. Vase in the Borbonico Museum, Naples. |
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| Rice. 12 Panathaean dance. OK. 4th century BC e. |
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Many researchers believe that one of the oldest dances of the first variety was Alons (Aloenes), performed to the accompaniment of a flute by the priests of Cybele, who dedicated their dance to Cybele’s daughter Ceres. There were many dances dedicated to Ceres: Antema, Bookolos, Epicredos, and many others - shepherds, peasants, artisans, etc.
Dancing in honor of Venus, the patroness of beautiful and decent dancers, was widespread. Dionysian or Bacchic dances, which were opposite in meaning, also developed. They usually ended in a celebration of debauchery and obscenity.
The time for the Epilenios dance came when the grapes in all the gardens were collected and squeezed - the dancers imitated these processes with their movements. And when the wine was ready and poured into the vats, the Antisterios (Fig. 8, , ) and a dance dedicated to Bacchus - the Bacchanalia (Bahilicos) were performed, accompanied by the sounds of cymbals and tambourines, and usually ending in orgies.
Karenos originally originated in Delos. It was believed that it was invented by Theseus to perpetuate the memory of his successful return from the Cretan Labyrinth (Fig. 12). It was performed by men and women holding hands. The dance was led by a musician playing the lyre - he symbolized Theseus.
Among the dances of the second variety, gymnastic, the most important were the dances of warriors, the invention of which was attributed to the goddess Minerva. The most impressive of them was Corybantum. This Phrygian dance was of a mixed nature: it exhibits features of martial, religious and mimic dances. Armed dancers jumped up and down, throwing their weapons into the air and clanging them. So they imitated the Corybantes, who tried to drown out the cries of the newborn Zeus in Crete.
The choir participating in the Dionysian rituals numbered up to fifty people, whose singing was accompanied by the sounds of a cithara rather than a flute. And by the time Sophocles’ plays were staged, the choir had been reduced to fifteen people, led by a professional singer. The history of the formation of the choir is generally quite complex, and therefore it is not possible to understand it on these pages.
Public dances and those danced in honor of the seasons and the elements of fire and water were very numerous and for the most part varied greatly depending on the region of performance. Chamber dances performed by professional dancers, such as Kotabos, are described in detail by many authors. Links to their works can be found in the “Bibliography” section of this publication.
Readers will probably be very surprised that the dances of tightrope walkers and acrobats, performed with knives and swords, were very revered in Ancient Greece. The Greeks even taught animals such as elephants to dance and walk on tightropes.
Ritual dances, as a rule, were not thought out in advance, but were performed right on the spot by amateurs. Even the greatest people of that time were not shy about showing their feelings through dancing. Evidence of a dance competition between Sophocles and Salamis, judged by Epiminondas, has reached us. Good dancers existed both among kings and among the poor. In the latter case, they could gain a high position thanks to a successful marriage. Philip of Macedon took in his wife the dancer Larissa, and the dancer Aristodemus was a prominent dignitary at his court. They must have been able to amaze with their skills at holidays and festivals (Fig. 9, , )!
Chapter three. Dance of the Southern Etruscans and Romans to contents
Etruscan dances.
Dancing in southern Italy and Rome.
Illustrations from Grotta dei Vasi, Grotta della Scimia, Grotta del Triclinio in Corneto.
Funeral dances of Albanians, Capuans, Pompeians.
Romans, dances of the Salians.
Social significance of dancing.
Chorus.
One of the most curious peoples of antiquity are the Etruscans, who owned the territory between Lombardy, the Alps, the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.
Servius Tullius, the founder of the Roman Tullian dynasty, was an Etruscan. His real name sounded like “Masterna” in Etruscan.
However, let's move on to dancing. Almost no one now doubts that dance was a custom among the Etruscans. Archaeologists have found many Etruscan tombs with dance depictions on the walls. But we do not have verbal descriptions of their dances - their language remains dead and incomprehensible to us.
According to Gerhardt, what is certain is that for the Etruscans dance was one of the symbols of the joy a person finds after death. That's why they buried their dead with music and dancing. They were accompanied by the sounds of lyres, wooden and steel pipes, and copper castanets. All this can be seen in the drawings of surviving monuments.
The relics found indicate that the Greeks and Phoenicians significantly influenced the Etruscans for some time (Fig. 20). This is also evidenced by the image of a dancer on the tomb at Vasi Dipinti, Corneto. Mr. Dennis dates it to the archaic period - about the 6th century. BC e. It shows a stronger strong Greek influence than other surviving images. In Fig. 21 shows a war dance performed to the sound of pipes, found in the Grotta della Scimia in Corneto. It has a more pronounced national character.
Very curious is the lovely dance scene from the Grotta del Triclinio in Corneto, a full-scale copy of which is now in the British Museum. Its creation dates back to the later period of Greco-Etruscan interaction (Fig. 22).
The peculiarity of the movements of this dance lies in the height at which the performers hold their hands with their fingers tightly pressed to each other. Interestingly, the modern Japanese dance demonstrated by Madame Sadi Yacca includes this same movement. But whether it is an element of an ancient tradition or its late revival cannot be said with certainty.
Just like the Etruscan ones, the images found in tombs in Campania and Southern Italy, which was once part of the great Hellas, are worthy of attention. A funeral dance performer moving to the accompaniment of double pipes is painted on the wall of a tomb dating from the 3rd century. BC e., near Albanella (Fig. 23). Rice. 24, taken from a tomb near Capua, belong to the same period. These Samnite dances look completely different from the Etruscan ones. They are more solemn and thorough, although the Greek and Etruscan influence is obvious. The difference stems from their peculiar national customs.
It is quite likely that Etruscan, Sabelian, Oscan and Samnite dances had an influence on the art of Ancient Rome. But the pomp that distinguished Roman dances reduces all similarities to nothing.
Rome, a militant and powerful empire, represented the diverse characteristics of the peoples of the whole world. Therefore, Roman dances are very numerous. Among the above images, many were previously kept in Rome.
At the dawn of the empire, only sacred dances were performed, most of which were of Etruscan origin. For example, Lupercalia, Ambarvalia, etc. At first the dancers were half-naked shepherds, later processions of real dancers passed through the meadows and valleys.
A significant ceremonial dance was that performed by the Sullians, the priests of Mars, the twelve with the elected patricians. During their procession on March 1 and on the following days, they danced, sang songs and hymns, and then followed to a feast in the temple of the god Mars. The Etruscan origin of this tradition is evidenced by the letters found on the gem under the image of armed priests carrying shields. The Sally women had the same custom.
The war dance introduced by Romulus to commemorate the abduction of the Sabine women was the Saltatio bellicrepa ( Saltatio bellicrepa) .
