Prelude
Hi y’all mellifluous musical maties. Here we are at the end of August 2024 and rapidly heading once again toward the wintry Christmas season. Yikes! The end of the month means that it is time for another arguably articulate article from your modest meanderingly‑minded author (soz – I got my alliteration addiction in early this month!) We all need a bit of energetic positivity in our lives to counteract the collective downsides of our dysfunctional existence.
You may recall that, since my ‘comeback’ to writing after a near 3‑year hiatus in August 2023, I have so far indulged in a look at three genre‑related topics. These were Dub Reggae (August 2023), Ambient Electronica (September 2023) and Heavy Metal (June 2024). These have been punctuated by other subject matters to mix things up a bit. If you feel so inclined you can access those articles here (each opens in a new tab):
Adventures in Ambient: Music of Another Dimension
So, for this and next month’s articles, I’m returning to another musical genre that fascinates me. The title above kinda gives the game away. Yep, folks, it’s back to another bit of genre unravelling with a difference – we are taking an in‑depth look at the evolution, current state and possible future of dance music. During writing, I realised that it was going to be WAY too long for an ordinary mortal to absorb in one sitting, so I’ve had to split it into two parts. Part I takes us from pre‑history to the mid‑1950s while Part II next month will bring us up‑to‑date and take a look into a speculative future.
“The dance is the mother of the arts. Music and poetry exist in time; painting and architecture in space. But the dance lives at once in time and space” – Curt Sachs (Musicologist, 1881‑1959)
Scope
If you are in any way familiar with CRAVE Guitars’ musings, my main interest in music history dates roughly from the birth of Rock & Roll through the current moment in time and with tentative hints at possible futures. Recognising that dance and dance music didn’t appear fully formed in the mid‑1950s, one also has to look further back into pre‑history, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, classical times and the rise of contemporary dance after the end of World War I (WWI), all of which provide the soundtrack to the activity known as dance music. While this earlier history isn’t the real focus of the article, it does provide a useful context.
In modern times, following on from explosion of Rock & Roll in the 1950s and the expansion of popularity of Soul and R&B in the early 1960s, something phenomenal happened. It could be argued that two related but quite discrete genres made today’s dance… well… so toe‑tappingly danceable. We are talking ‘bout Funk and Disco. These innovations in irresistibly groovy music is where this article really kicks into gear in Part II. The gamut of dance and dance music is so massive that even two articles seem insufficient to do it fair justice.
“Every music – except dance music, which is for dancing, I suppose – is for the spirit of the human being, and not for the body” – Klaus Schulze (1947‑2022)
It wasn’t only the hippie peace & love counterculture that came to the fore in San Francisco around 1967. It was back in 1967 that Californian Sly & the Family Stone recorded their second studio album called, ‘Dance to the Music’, including the hit single of the same name, both released in April 1968. Sly Stone used the album to promote his beliefs about peace, brotherly love, and anti‑racism, while appealing to a broader pop audience, Sly’s Psychedelic Soul album and single laid the foundation of what would soon become Funk. A milestone was thus laid and it seemed an apt title to semi‑appropriate for this month’s genre article headline.
Sly & The Family Stone weren’t alone, there were other influential Psychedelic Soul artists like The Temptations and The Four Tops around the same time. Following Funk’s awkward birth in the late 1960s, it would soon be reinforced by artists like the Jackson Five and James Brown. All these artists integrated choreographed dance moves into their live and recorded musical performances. Dance music would soon become unstoppable.
The main focus of this article will be delving into the sweaty world of dance music that followed. From the 1960s and 1970s Funk and Disco developed through a broad range of dance (and danceable) music, culminating in what has become generally regarded as EDM (Electric Dance Music) and its more cerebral (?!) counterpart IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) in the 21st Century. While dance music is now widely regarded as belonging to the umbrella Electronica genre, it wasn’t always thus. Far from it, in fact.
“Love is a lot like dancing; you just surrender to the music” – Pierce Brosnan (Actor, 1953‑)
One of the distinctions about modern dance music is that some tracks draw significant acclaim while the rest of an artist’s catalogue may be completely ignored. Such is the DJ’s power to commit (or permit) ‘death on the dancefloor’. The proportion of ‘one hit wonders’ in dance music is quite high, as is the attrition rate for tracks not on trend and therefore not getting exposure they otherwise might have deserved. Similarly, there is a proliferation of various artist dance music compilations that tend to exaggerate this particular characteristic. Focus on the few familiar and relegate the rest.
As with the author’s previous genre articles, there is a heck of a lot of subjectivity about genres and artists within a fundamentally flawed model of arbitrary categorisation. Omissions and inclusions are inevitable. I am certain that both the methodology and outcome will be criticised and challenged. Fair enough. I am, however, unapologetic for putting my approach out there for scrutiny.
Also, as with all my other articles, this is not an academic thesis; the intention is to entertain, rather than educate, although I hope there is something new, thought‑provoking and of interest herein.
As with other genre articles, genres and sub‑genres have been capitalised for clarity and convenience, rather than being typographically and grammatically correct. A great deal of research went into this article – all hard work – no AI shortcuts here.
Right. Time to get into the groove. Let’s hot step onto the virtual dancefloor.
“Do it big; do it right; and do it with style” – Fred Astaire (1899‑1987)
What is ‘Dance’?
Dance, usually accompanied by some form of rhythmic backing, originated in early pre‑historic human communities (and therefore undocumented). We can suppose that dance was used to communicate with spirits, intimidate competitors, celebrate victories, mourn losses and to bind tribal/social relationships. Dance has changed beyond all imagination and adapted to societal change over the millennia, through many different ‘phases’ or ‘eras’. Dance and dance music endures in a diverse range of forms to the current day. Each new genre innovation complements, rather than replaces, what went before, thereby growing appreciation over time.
While it may be obvious, it is worth a quick definition (or two) of ‘dance’ for clarity:
- As a verb, to dance means ‘to move rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps’.
- As a noun, dance is ‘a series of steps and movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music’.
There you go. Now we have a general vague idea of what dance is, how does it manifest? Whether it’s an elegant slow waltz, joyous foxtrot, graceful ballet, catchy country line dance, raving at a festival, headbanging in a heavy metal mosh pit, embracing passionately in a ballroom, writhing sensuously in a dark nightclub, jigging at a Celtic céilídh, boogying to funk, voguing at the disco, following cultural tropes in a tradtional folk dance, swinging to jazz, jiving to Rock ‘N’ Roll, moonstomping to Jamaican Ska or dad dancing at a wedding, it really doesn’t matter a jot. Dancing is an integral part of our diverse and colourful human condition. What you dance and how you dance doesn’t matter; the act of dancing seems to be a fundamental part of what it means to be a human bean.
“Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!” – Constanze Mozart (1762‑1842)
Why Dance?
Dance music is unusual in that it serves an actual purpose other than the music in and of itself. Dance is prevalent in every country and predates human history, so there must be a common bond that unites humans in this unnatural form of movement and outward expression. Dancing is predominantly a social activity; other than practising to perfect a skill, it is rarely, if ever, done in isolation.
People have probably been dancing as long as humans have existed as a sentient, cognitive species. Dance has been, and is, inherent in every human civilisation. Dance does, however, vary depending on time and place. Such pervasive prevalence does beg the question of why humans have felt the imperative need to dance over many millennia in every part of the world.
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music” – Friedrich Nietzsche (1844‑1900)
Dance music has one and only one primary function, which is to get humans to move physically in time to the music being played. Beyond movement, we also listen to dance music because the rhythms engage some primordial need to match the beat, as well as to communicate and express emotions but that’s not really the point.
So, why do we dance? Dancing is a physical activity that triggers the brain’s reward and pleasure centres, and bestows a feeling of elation and euphoria. Dancing enhances our emotional, mental, spiritual and physical well‑being.
Dancing is a heuristic skill, learned through doing. Some are good at it, others less so but most of us do it to one degree or another, even if it just matching patterns of movement to music by tapping a foot or drumming fingers to the rhythm.
“Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion” – Martha Graham (choreographer, 1894‑1991)
As we grow and learn, dance helps us sense our surroundings, respond appropriately to external stimuli in a safe way and to build physical and psychological experience. Neuroscientists are taking an increasing interest in dancing and its potential health and well‑being benefits.
Some dances are used to tell stories or to confer allegorical meaning. Like many other forms of artistic endeavour, dance music can be used to provoke a physical and emotional response from a willing participant.
“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams” – Albert Einstein (1879‑1955)
Music – the Basics
We really don’t need to go into the fundamentals of music here. The topic has been pretty well covered in previous CRAVE Guitars articles. In January 2017, we looked at ‘Why music affects us in the way it does’. We also took a 14‑part look at ‘The Story of Modern Music in 1,500+ Facts’ from March 2019 to May 2020. In those 15 articles, one should be able to establish a solid foundation on the musical context side of things. These articles are all available via the CRAVE Guitars website for those that might like to explore the topic further.
In very broadest terms, and apologies for a sweeping generalisation to make a rather vague point, music can exist in the absence of dance, while dance is normally dependent on music. In contemporary times, a great proportion of dance music tends to rely on rhythm and beat, rather than melody or harmony. The definitions of dance above both count on ‘rhythm’ and therefore dance music relies on instruments that emphasise rhythm. Early dance rhythm and beat were provided by percussive instruments, rather than devices that produced musical notes, which probably developed much later. Chanting and/or singing would often accompany persistent drumming.
“No matter what culture you’re from, everyone loves music” – Billy Joel (1949‑)
For clarity, another couple of helpful musical definitions:
- Rhythm is defined as, ‘a strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound’.
- The beat is defined as, ‘the basic unit of time and the rhythmic pulse that gives a piece of music its tempo and flow’.
Like dance, music is a way of establishing social cohesion, a form of ‘tribal’ social structure that, through innumerable generations of tradition, has persisted over the generations up to today. Dance music is a genre of music that exists primarily for dancing and secondarily for listening. As the author gets older (sadly, I don’t care for this ageing lark one iota), the balance between dancing and listening has moved irrevocably along a continuum from the former to the latter. Having said that, I still enjoy listening to dance music and I dance in my mind, if not with my body.
That’s enough generality and presumption for now. Time to delve a little bit deeper, as long as you have the stamina. Next up, it is time to link dance and music together.
“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul” – Plato (c.427‑348BCE)
Music and Dance
Dance music is either live or recorded music that has been composed specifically to enable or accompany the art of dance. Dance doesn’t stand still (sic!), it is a progressive form of expression that continues to evolve across its manifold forms.
Dance music, like other forms of music, has the ability to affect the soul and evoke profound emotional responses. Dancing can therefore be considered an inward and outward expression of the human spirit. Dancing is generally a joyous activity that is not normally engaged in when one is feeling depressed, angry, ill or anxious.
Possibly, the most important element of dance is music, and it is rare, at least in modern times, for dance of any kind – social, theatrical, performance or religious – to develop without some form of musical or percussive accompaniment.
“I’m dancing to the music of the madness inside me” – George C. Wolfe (Playwright, 1954‑)
The Science of Music and Dance
There are anthropological, sociological psychological, physiological and medical science behind the act of dancing.
Neuroscience explains that dancing changes the physiological structure of the brain in unique ways. It has long been understood that music has a positive effect on mental health. Likewise, dancing also engages overlapping brain networks, including common regions involved in perception, action, movement, and emotion. Dance connects the brain’s cognitive processes to motor functions of the body.
An additional benefit is that the physical activity improves co‑ordination, stamina, balance, fitness, muscle tone and weight control. Both music and dance stimulate the release of serotonin and endorphin hormones, which act on the pleasure and reward centres of the brain. Both hormones act as natural remedies, which are known to reduce anxiety and to work as a natural anti‑depressant.
Psychologists suggest that there are additional health and wellbeing benefits to dance and music. Dancing enhances motivation, mental acuity, improved behaviour, mood and social bonding. Dancing positively affects cerebellar functioning and cognitive processes. Dancing enables people to congregate socially, to belong to a like‑minded community and to share a common purpose, thereby helping to overcome feelings of exclusion, isolation, introversion, shyness and loneliness. Psychologists even extrapolate their findings so far as to suggest that dance is essential to human survival as a species. Maybe that sounds a bit far‑fetched but, who knows, they may be right.
Dance is sometimes used today as a form of therapy. Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) and Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) involve the psychotherapeutic use of music, movement and dance to support intellectual, emotional, and motor functions of the body by examining the correlation between movement and emotion.
Neuroscience suggests that music stimulates a wide range of regions across the brain simultaneously, including faculties such as memory, emotion, movement and reward. Through repetitive overexposure, the brain uses deep encoding to store into, and recall from, memory things like lyrics, melody and movement. Deep encoding in the brain results in what we commonly call ‘familiarity’ and helps us to repeat actions in order to experience previously experienced rewards. The brain tends to remember emotional events more effectively than non‑emotional events. Deeper emotional processing of a stimulus facilitates deeper encoding in the mind leading to stronger, more evocative memories. This effect tends to be strongest between the ages of about 10‑30, resulting in what we call long‑term nostalgia and reminiscence during later stages of life.
Muscle memory, or motor learning, is the ability of our bodies to remember and repeat specific dance movements without conscious thought. Repetition creates a fixed design of the dance steps being learned. The pattern of movement is then stored in the brain so that the dancer doesn’t consciously need to process each move.
It is not just the brain’s auditory cortex processing sound when listening to music, people remember better because emotion‑related areas in the brain are also being activated. Emotions are evoked when listening to music because it stimulates more than one part of the brain. The brain’s motor regions are also stimulated, meaning that people remember movement associated with music and recall wanting to dance along to it.
In addition, the physical exertion of dancing reduces the health risks of a sedentary and indolent lifestyle. Anthropologists and sociologists refer to the process of social synchronisation as ‘collective effervescence’. All good then.
“Dance music is like a virus: it has affected so many different genres” – Avicii (1989‑2018)
The Science of Music, Dance and Sex
Dance also has a strong sexual element. Dance BPMs (Beats Per Minute) of around 120‑130 tend to correspond to the rhythm of human sexual motions. History suggests that the connection has always been present. Before the 1920s, traditional dance sexuality was present but largely implied and unspoken. The ‘flappers’ during the post‑WWI 1920s brought sex and dance out into the open.
Since Rock & Roll erupted in the post‑WWII boom of the mid‑1950s, puritans and moral conservatives have denounced modern popular dance music as ‘the devil’s music’, heralding depravity and debauchery resulting in the breakdown of established austere social structures. For them, the end definitely seemed nigh.
Once the contraceptive pill acted as the catalyst for the sexual revolution and the women’s liberation movement during the 1960s, the links between music, dance and sex became inseparable. The cannabis, speed and acid‑fuelled peace and love hippie counterculture of the late 1960s took promiscuity to its most liberal, orgiastically permissive level. Since the 1970s, sexual dance seems to have become accepted as a way of life and no longer a noteworthy (or newsworthy) issue.
There is a wealth of research to support the argument that music, dance and sex are closely related. Neuroscience suggests that there is an evolutionary link between music and sex. In the same way that Charles Darwin suggested that bird song is a function to attract mates, he also posited that music has evolved with corresponding changes in human sexual courtship and display behaviours. Darwin called the effect of music on sexual behaviour and social bonding as, ‘sexual selection’.
Experimental psychobiology asserts the notion that music serves a reproductive function. Chemicals used in neurotransmission associated with the human brain’s ability to process music are also present in the brain’s instinctive process of sexual attraction and sexual performance. Neurobiology is developing a greater understanding that music and sex may have common effects on the brain including hormonal stimulation such as pleasure and reward systems.
Research has indicated that music and dance has the potential to:
- Diminish or relax sexual inhibitions
- Enhance sexual arousal by elevating the mood
- Indirectly enhance sexual arousal and pleasure by reducing stress
- Reduce concerns about body image or performance
- Enhance confidence
- Enhance the focus on the sexual act
- Heighten the sense of partner bonding and intimacy
- Create a synchronicity between the musical and the movement rhythms that aids sexual performance and satisfaction
There you have it, music and dance can act as a powerful aphrodisiac and there is a logical rationale behind what we intuitively know be the case. Time to get it on!
“When the music and dance create with accord…their magic captivates both the heart and the mind” – Jean‑Georges Noverre (Ballet dancer, 1727‑1810)
The Economy of Dance Music
Dance music is important to the global economy. MIDiA Research suggests that the global valuation of the dance music industry rose to $11.3 billion, a 16% net increase over its pre‑COVID pandemic levels.
The IMS Business Report claims that the dance music industry grew 34% in 2022 based on dance music data from the previous year. Live music performance is the industry’s biggest driver, showing that revenues increased 65% over the previous year to $4.1 billion. When looking at events, EDM genre’s share of festival circuit bookings rose 6% year‑on‑year to 39% of total festival bookings. Impressive.
In addition the supply chain up and down stream is also crucially important, the contributory value of which is much harder to determine. Everything from music teaching, musical instrument and gear manufacturing, studio recording and production, logistics and distribution, merchandise, second hand market, etc. etc. It is safe to assume that there is an overall economic multiplier effect.
A recent study by the Journal of International Marketing hypothesised that recreational dance influences productivity and performance in the workplace due to employees’ higher intrinsic motivation and subjective wellbeing, as well as lower absenteeism.
“I play a lot of hard, uncompromising dance music; it can be anything from dance to rock to reggae” – Peter Hook (1956‑)
The History of Dance and Dance Music Eras
There have been a number of dance ‘eras’ over the millennia. So, let’s start with a broad description of dance music over human history and then we’ll dig a bit deeper to see what is really going on today. The history of dance and dance music is massive and highly complex, reflecting and influencing the cultural and social evolution of human civilisation. As with a similar approach taken to the Heavy Metal genre, the 6‑era model used here is the author’s arbitrary construction.
Part I of this article covers the first four eras covered below. Part II, next month, will cover the last two eras.
Era #1 – Ancient Times
- Prehistory: Dance and music have been intertwined for as long as Homo Sapiens have been around (approximately 300,000 years), although there is little or no documented evidence to support the assumption. Dance has been an integral part of human development, indicated by cave paintings such as the Bhimbetka rock shelters in India, dating back around 10,000 years.
- Ancient Civilizations (3100BCE‑395CE): In antiquity, Egyptian dance was integral to religious rituals, spiritual worship and social celebrations. Ancient Greek societies used dance in theatrical performances and social gatherings, evidenced by images on Greek vases depicting dancers and musicians. In Ancient Rome, dance was used in religious ceremonies, political events and social gatherings.
Era #2 – Middle Ages to the Renaissance
- Medieval Period (500‑1500CE): Dance in medieval Europe was often associated with religious and folk traditions. The earliest Western dance music that we know can be reproduced faithfully includes medieval dances like carols and estampie.
- Renaissance (15th‑16th Century): The Renaissance period saw the rise of formal European court dances, such as the 16th Century slow processional dance, the pavane and the physical galliard, which were performed widely in England, Portugal, France, Spain, Germany and Italy.
Era #3 – 17th to 19th Centuries
- Baroque Period (1590‑1750): Dance became more formalised with the prominent development of Ballet in the French noble courts. The classical music minuet was used for a popular social dance of the same name.
- Classical Era (1750‑1829): The ballroom waltz emerged in Austria and Germany, alongside other nationalistic dances like the mazurka and polonaise from Poland.
- Romantic Era (1800‑1850): Ballet continued to evolve, with famous works like ‘Giselle’ and ‘Swan Lake’ emerging during this period.
Era #4 – 20th Century (First Half)
- 1900s and 1910s: The early part of the Century saw the rise of modern dance, with pioneers like Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham breaking away from classical ballet to explore new forms of artistic expression through dance. Ballroom dancing gained popularity, and dance music became a significant part of social life.
- 1920-1940s: Dance music saw a major post‑WWI boom with the rise of Jazz, Swing, Tap and contemporary dance. Big band music became popular in the period before WWII broke out.
Era #5 – 20th Century (Second Half)
- 1950s: Following WWII, the cultural explosion that accompanied the Rock & Roll phenomenon became the dominant dance music from the mid‑1950s.
- 1960s: The late 1960s saw the emergence of, R&B, Soul and Funk. The use of electronic alongside traditional instruments began to influence music creation and production. Artists began experimenting with analogue synthesizers and complex studio recording techniques.
- 1970s: The mid‑late 1970s Disco movement reinforced dance as an integral part of mainstream popular culture. Artists pioneered electronic dance music, influencing a diverse range of genres like Hip‑Hop, Techno and House.
- 1980s: With the wide availability of synthesizers, sequencers and rhythm machines EDM sub‑genres such as Synth Pop and Europop began to develop, resulting in diversification and experimentation with dance styles. In discotheques and nightclubs, genres like House, Techno, Trance and Garage began to dominate dance floors.
- 1990s: The appeal of Rap and Hip Hop in the 1990s saw the growth of urban street dance, such as breakdancing. EDM coalesced and evolved with groove‑centric genres such as House and Techno becoming a staple in nightclubs and (both legal and illegal) raves.
Era #6 – 21st Century
- 2000‑today: EDM rose to become a global phenomenon and dominant force, with numerous subgenres and a significant presence in mainstream music. Dance music continues to evolve reflecting changes in technology, culture, and social trends. The rise of social media and digital streaming has also played a significant part in popularising dance trends.
Dance and dance music remain a powerful form of expression and a vital part of civilisation’s cultural heritage worldwide. The model above isn’t the only way of looking at things. As we will see shortly, some forms of dance and dance music transcend time periods, geographical boundaries and genre categorisation.
“There may be trouble ahead – But while there’s moonlight, and music, and love, and romance – Let’s face the music and dance” – Irving Berlin (1888‑1989)
Dance and Dance Music – Digging Deeper
Now we’ve defined five broad dance music eras, let’s take a look at some of the alternative perspectives. First, we’ll take a quick look at long‑standing dances that have endured anywhere from ancient times right through to today.
“Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching” – Leroy Robert ‘Satchel’ Paige (Professional baseball pitcher, 1906‑1982)
Traditional and Folk Dance (pre‑history to today)
There are innumerable cultural dances from every corner of every country of every continent in the world, many dating back to time immemorial. These dances tend to fall into two broad groups, informal folk dances and formal classical dance. The former tends to be more social and the latter comprise symbolic artistic performance dance.
“Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order” – Samuel Beckett (1906‑1989)
Here are just a few (40!) of the more notable regional dances to demonstrate the diversity that has survived to the current day (presented in alphabetical order).
- Aboriginal dance (Australia) – The ceremonial dance has held a very important place in the culture of the indigenous peoples of Australia for thousands of years
- Apsara (Cambodia) – Aspara is one of the formal traditional dances of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia with ornately designed costumes and dancers depicting celestial spirits
- Ballet (Italy) – Classical ballet is a performance dance that has its origins in the Italian Renaissance Courts of the 15th Century, being refined in France, England, and Russia
- Belly Dance (Egypt) – A Middle Eastern dance, originally called ‘danse du ventre’ (‘dance of the stomach’) originated some 6,000 years ago to celebrate pagan female fertility
- Bharatanatyam (India) – Indian classical religious dance originating from the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu
- Bolero (Spain) – A Spanish theatrical dance popular in the 18th and 19th Centuries, originating from the Castile region around 1750 to 1772
- Cajun Jig/Jitterbug (USA) – The Cajun one‑step jig was popular in Louisiana in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The two‑step Jitterbug is considered a cowboy‑style swing dance
- The Can‑Can (France) – Originating in Paris during the 1830s and 1840s as a salacious risqué dance in Parisian dancehalls such as the (in)famous Moulin Rouge. The Can‑Can became a symbol of the French cultural Belle Époque (‘beautiful era’) as well as of women’s liberty and emancipation
- Capoeira (Brazil) – A dance based on martial arts begun by African slaves arriving in South America in the 16th Century
- Cossack (Russia) – A.k.a. Hopak, originated in Southern Russia and Ukraine in the 17th Century by East Slavic Orthodox Christian warriors. Their dance is characterised by its high jumps, squatting, and intricate footwork
- Court Dance (Korea) – A formal court dance in a tradition that dates back centuries for the entertainment of the royal family, court officials and foreign envoys
- Dragon Dance (China) – Dancing with symbolic dragons dates to the Han Dynasty of 180‑230CE. The dance is supposed to banish evil spirits and expel bad luck. It is particularly important during Chinese New Year celebrations
- Ewegh (North Africa) – Traditional dance of nomadic Tuareg culture deriving from North Africa. Men stand in a line, making facial expressions while wailing
- Flamenco (Spain) – Flamenco dance and music originated in Andalusia with influences including Arabic, Roma, Christian and Jewish elements
- Haka (New Zealand) – A traditional Maori war dance intended to intimidate opponents. It has become a symbol of the Kiwi All Black rugby team
- Hula (Hawaii) – A Hawaiian dance accompanied by chanting or singing. It evolved in the Hawaiian Islands around 400CE by Native Hawaiian settlers. Through tourism, film and theatre, the Hula changed significantly in the 20th Century with its familiar grass skirts
- Indlamu (Southern Africa) – A tribal dance most often associated with Zulu culture of southern Africa and the war dances of its fearsome warriors
- Innuit Drum Dance (Greenland) – Drum dancing and singing are forms of traditional indigenous Inuit artistic expression and music from Greenland
- Irish Step (Ireland) – A step folk dance with intricate footwork rooted in ancient Celtic tradition which remains popular in Irish communities today
- Jarabe Tapatio (Mexico) – A traditional Mexican dance with women dressed in china poblana dresses and men wearing charro suits
- Kabuki (Japan) – The classical stylised Japanese dance‑theatre dates back over 400 years. Kabuki blends music, dance, and mime, as well as making use of elaborate costume and makeup
- Kathak (India) – An ancient classical dance originating in northern India traditionally associated with the tales of roaming bards known as Kathakers (storytellers)
- Line Dancing (USA) – A modern American dance popular in the 1990s in which a group of people dance to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. It is a social dance in country & western dance bars, social clubs, dance clubs and ballrooms
- Maasai Dance (Kenya) – The traditional Maasai ‘jumping dance’ involves male villagers leaping into the air as a show of strength and stamina
- Maypole (Sweden) – Originating in Germanic pagan fertility rituals, maypole dancing dates back many centuries to celebrate the arrival of summer in England, Germany and Sweden.
- Morris Dance (England) – The skipping, stick wielding, handkerchief waving ‘Moryssh daunsers’ began in the cobblestoned streets of London during the mid‑15th Century, eventually migrating to rural communities
- Native American Indian dance (USA) – A diverse range of tribal ceremonial dances dating back centuries before North American colonisation. Dances include the deer dance, pipe dance, rain dance, dog dance and scalp dance
- Polka (Bohemia, now Czech Republic) – Polka is a popular dance in 2/4 time, particularly common throughout Europe and the Americas
- Salsa (Cuba) – Cuba’s distinctive casino dance blends African drums with Spanish guitar, brass and percussion. It was exported from Cuba in the early 20th Century and became popular in New York City in the 1940s and 1950s, growing into a global phenomenon
- Samba (Brazil) – Samba originated in the Afro/Brazilian communities of Baha and Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It plays an important part of Rio’s annual Carnaval
- Stick Dance (Portugal) – The ‘dança dos paulitos’ is an age‑old dance where dancers brandish sticks to emphasise the rhythm. It is performed by pauliteiros that takes place in Miranda do Douro, in Portugal’s north east Trás‑os‑Montes region
- Schuhplattler (Germany) – A Bavarian courtship dance dating back to the mid‑19th Century and is popular at Munich’s annual Oktoberfest, typified by the wearing of iconic lederhosen
- Square Dance (USA) – A broad group of dances for couples, arranged in a square, with a couple on each side facing the middle. The form includes, barn dances, English folk dances and Irish ceilidh dances
- Tango (Argentina) – A highly complex and passionate dance, originated in the 18th Century barrios of Buenos Aires in Argentina
- Tanoura (Egypt) – On the surface, the spinning tanoura has some similarities to Turkey’s Whirling Dervish. Egypt’s tanoura dancers, though, wear multi‑coloured skirts
- Tinikling (Philippines) – The ‘Bamboo Dance’ emulates the movements of a bird as it walks through grass stems or over broken tree branches
- Waist Drum Dance (China) – An ancient ritual originating from North West China over 1,000 years ago with performers beating waist drums as they run and leap in formation
- Waltz (Austria) – From the 17th Century, the polite society waltz was popular in the Habsburg Court and now the annual Vienna Opera Ball
- Whirling Dervish (Turkey) – The spinning move by male dancers wearing voluminous skirts dates back over seven centuries to the Sufism and the Mevlevi Orders
- Yaake (Niger) – Traditional African dance by young Wodaabe males during the Gerewol festival emphasising flamboyant dance moves to attract available females
“Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance” – Confucius (c.551‑479BCE)
These really are just the tiny tip of a very, very large iceberg. There are thousands of national, regional and local dances and this is just a taster, hopefully to inspire further exploration. Apologies to any historic communities who might feel that their traditions are unintentionally under‑represented.
In 2003, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) included dances (along with music and theatre) as performing arts under the International convention of ‘intangible cultural heritage’. There are many traditional dance forms listed by UNESCO, including ballet, belly dancing, flamenco and rumba.
“Music and dance are all you need” – Moliere (Playwright, 1622‑1673)
Conventional Dance – Roots of contemporary dance in blues, jazz and country music (1910s‑1950s)
In previous music history and genre articles, the author has suggested that the majority of modern, contemporary musical styles from the mid‑1950s onward stem from the three pillars of Blues, Jazz and Country music. For continuity, consistency and simplicity, I’m sticking to that basic structural set of influences here.
“Part of the joy of dancing is conversation. Trouble is, some men can’t talk and dance at the same time” – Ginger Rogers (1911‑1995)
While there are inevitable overlaps and cross‑fertilisation as trends grew and faded, particularly during the inter‑war period, there are a few notable dance genres. Dance styles associated with the development and fusion of Blues, Jazz and Country include:
- Ragtime – Syncopated African/American ragtime music played on piano or banjo originated in St. Louis, Missouri and influenced social dances in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, as well as influencing the development of jazz. Dance styles used to ragtime included, the turkey trot, the bunny hug and the shimmy.
- Jitterbug – Jitterbug is a generalised umbrella for swing dances, covering a range of styles including the lindy hop, jive, west and east coast swing, collegiate shag and balboa.
- Charleston – A social jazz dance of the 1920s, named after the harbour city of Charleston in South Carolina. The Broadway show, ‘Runnin’ Wild’ (1923) used a tune called ‘The Charleston’. It was popularised by young women nicknamed ‘flappers’ and young men of the so‑called post‑WWI ‘Roaring Twenties’.
- Tap – Tap dancing is an American performance dance from the 1930s combining African and Irish influences that uses the percussive sounds of tap shoes with metal plates (‘taps’) on the toes and heels striking the floor, often accompanied by popular band music. It started as a street dance and became popular as a performance art form on Broadway and in Hollywood film.
- Swing – Swing represents a group of social dances that developed alongside swing Jazz music from Harlem in the 1920s to the 1940s, after which WWII reduced its popularity. Two discrete forms were the west coast swing and east coast swing. After WWII, bebop and jump blues styles became commonplace.
- Jive – Jive is a social swing dance style with its roots in African/American communities in the early 1930s. Its name comes from the vernacular slang of the time. Jive included elements from including Salsa and Tango and continued in popularity during the Rock & Roll years.
- Lindy Hop – Lindy Hop is an American dance originating from the African/American communities of Harlem, New York City in 1928 and has evolved over time, proving to be popular during the big band swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy Hop was the first partner dance ever to feature acrobatic elements and laid the ground for Rock & Roll dance.
“Since the beginning of time mankind has used music and dance to commune with the Spirit of Nature and the Spirit of the Universe…” – Goa Gil (Musician, 1951‑2023)
Ballroom Dance
A number of dance styles have become semi‑formalised under the banner of ballroom dance by the World Dance Council. Many of the ballroom dances are based on either older traditional (pre‑20th Century) dances or contemporary (20th Century) dances. There is therefore some overlap between formal ballroom styles and the original forms of dance that inspired them. Ballroom dances are generally split into two broad types; Standard/Smooth and Latin/Rhythm, including:
Standard Ballroom
- Waltz/Viennese Waltz – The former is known as the English or slow waltz, while the latter is the up tempo European waltz. Recognisable by its ¾ time signature.
- Tango – Derived from the Argentinian original (see above) incorporating American and European influences adapted for the ballroom.
- Foxtrot – An English ballroom dance with roots in American Jazz and Ragtime band music. Now one of the internationally recognised ballroom dances popular at competitive dance events.
- Quickstep – Another international standard ballroom dance that combines up tempo elements of the Foxtrot and the Charleston. Known as the ‘dance of joy’.
Latin Ballroom
- Pasodoble – An 18th Century fast‑paced, dramatic and theatrical double‑step in 2/4 time, turned into a Latin ballroom social dance inspired by Spanish bullfights.
- Rumba – Rumba is a standard ballroom dance that has its roots in the American east coast during the 1930s, combining American band music with Afro‑Cuban rhythms.
- Samba – The ballroom version of the Samba in 2/4 time varies significantly from the original Brazilian regional folk dance (see above).
- Cha‑Cha – The Cha‑Cha Latin American ballroom dance of Cuban origins, dating from the 1950s and deriving from the 1940’s Cuban mambo.
- Bolero – Bolero is a Spanish/Cuban dance in ¾ time popular in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries (see above), with the ballroom form differing from the original Cuban variety.
- East Coast Swing (ECS) – ECS is a social partner dance and has several variations based on fast American swing music, such as big band, Rock & Roll, Rockabilly and Boogie‑Woogie.
- Jive – Jive is a ballroom dance style with its roots in the social swing dance of the early 1930s (see above). In competitive dance, Jive is more closely associated with swing, rather than other Latin dances.
“The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word” – Mata Hari (Dancer, courtesan and spy, 1876‑1917)
Intermission
Right. That’s the end of the first Part of this 2‑part dance music genre article. The advantage of Part I is that it is relatively short (for me) and, I hope, reasonably digestible.
At this point, from around the mid‑1950s onward, dance styles tended to migrate from identifiable dance styles accompanied by music to identifiable music genres and sub‑genres (with a few notable exceptions) with dances to match.
As mentioned at the start, my original plan was for a single‑part article. On reflection, I took the difficult decision to split it into two for easier reading. This point seems a logical place to stop for now and we will reconvene shortly in Part II.
Next month, we’ll resume with the modern evolution of dance and dance music from the mid‑1950s. As the article was originally written as a single piece of work, there hopefully won’t be a long wait for Part II. There is more to come folks, much more.
“The truest expression of a people is in its dances and its music. Bodies never lie” – Agnes de Mille (Dancer and choreographer, 1938‑1993)
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
The honour this month goes to a favourite funk/disco dance music studio album. Why this particular choice? Well, it was released during a particularly emotionally traumatic period of my life and one that I never wish to repeat. I don’t do regrets but if I did, there are some things I’d like to do over again and be a better person second time around. I won’t divulge details other than to mention that, when one is feeling desperately down, there is nothing like a bit of bouncy dance music to boost serotonin levels as an antidote for, and natural relief from, the all‑consuming darkness of depression. Even the album’s title is appropriate.
The Brothers Johnson – Light up the Night (1980). This 9‑track release was the 4th studio album by the American brothers – George and Louis Johnson – produced by the great Quincy Jones, and released in April 1980 by A&M Records. While pretty much a strong dance oriented album throughout, it is the opening track and hit single, ‘Stomp’ that really provides necessary dose of natural anti‑depressant. Particularly impressive is the great bass playing of the late Louis Johnson and his Music Man Stingray Bass. ‘Stomp’ represents 384 seconds of joyous, funky groovy goodness. The album’s release came just at the end of the height of the organically analogue Funk/Disco boom and all the better for it. Evocation can be a powerful thang.
No other studio album by the brothers quite matched ‘Light up the Night’ in my opinion. Perhaps it was timing and genre that were just what I needed at a vulnerable point in my growing up. However, there was an awful lot of great party music using traditional instruments from the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool & the Gang, Parliament/Funkadelic, Chic and The Gap Band around the same time, before the whole Synthpop scene took off over the next decade or two. Today, dance music is synonymous with EDM and we seem to have lost some of the organic nature of music from the peak of funk and disco.
“Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance” – Oprah Winfrey (1954‑)
Tailpiece
Phew! I’m out of breath, not from all the dancing, just the exertion of completing only half of another lengthy genre article. The trouble I’ve found with research and writing is that it is not only addictive but also essentially a sedentary activity, with not much of in the way of exercise other than to get up and make the occasional cup of tea/coffee.
Still, I hope you found something to revel in and, perhaps, to explore some of the musical delights covered herein. As always, when I do these research projects, I’ve learned something from the task and reignited an interest in all things dance music. Please come back next month and lap up some more dancey stuff in Part II of this terrifically tuneful tome (ending as I started with terrible alliteration). As a bonus, you won’t have to wait a whole 4‑and‑a‑bit weeks, for reasons to become clear in time, I am planning for Part II to be published early in September. Watch this space.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “In the absence of truth, just what are we supposed to believe?”
© 2024 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.
