One of the best ways to understand and know a country is possible, not only through music but also through the movement it inspires. Around the world, dance has been used as a form of artistic expression and storytelling since time immemorial. The various forms of dance are an active part of history with dance in all its glory. If you thought that dance is boring, wait till you learn about the different types of dance here.
Pow-Wow
A Pow-Wow isn’t just a form of dance, but it is like a dance competition where performers from a variety of Native American traditions such as prancing, leaping and performing cultural rites. The dance form with its steps and incorporation of headdresses, and long fringe represents the natural world.
As they spin around, putting in stylized steps in a rhythmic fashion accompanying melodic singing in local languages, the dancers certainly add to the atmosphere. The Pow Wow includes dances such as dozen hoops, jingle dance, and more. Pow Wow is native to New Mexico where around 800 North American native communities join the jamboree by including things like dancing, singing, and drumming.
Haka
Haka is a dance form rooted in Maori mythology, and it is one way of celebrating life. Haka is more like a war dance, where different types of steps are included such as grunting, stomping, accompanied with chanting, tongue lolling, and shouting. It holds its own place of pride as New Zealand’s national rugby union team adopted a version of the dance, named Kapa O Pango, and performs it haka before matches. There are different variations to this native dance, including a more energetic version and another more subdued version which is performed before funerals.
Tinku
The Tinku dance form hails from Bolivia. In fact, it is said to be the country’s national dance. It is a way of dancing that helps release tensions. Although it began as a dance form, it transformed into a ritualized brawl. The Tinku is a dance form where people move around and form circles and the dancers are segregated by gender. It starts with a fast pace, moves into a stomp, and eventually settles down to a ritualized combat. In the olden days, the dance form used to get so dangerous that it even caused deaths. However, The modern-day Tinku, however, looks like the original practice as there is none of that blood and gore of the days of yore.
Bhangra
Dance is a form of joy and nothing embodies joy as much as bhangra does. It comes from the fields of Punjab, India, and it was originally meant for celebrating the harvest season and beating the boredom with its energetic dance moves. The farmers performed this type of dance form in cultural festivals to celebrate the harvest season. The dance includes a series of kicks, leaps, and bends to form a rhythmic form accompanying the beats of the dhol or double-headed drum.
Bhangra has emerged to be one of the most popular forms of dancing. It is no longer a men’s domain, now women enjoy it as much as men. You may find it a big part of the Hindi film industry. Since it is so energetic it is also being used as a form of workout. Browse through any of the YouTube videos and search with the keyword Bhangra workout. You’ll be flooded with a number of results and perhaps you can master a move or two right within the comfort of your home.
Eskista
Eskista is another vigorous bouncing shoulder dance having its roots in Ethiopia. This form of dancing mimics the movements of a snake’s neck. It is as difficult as it looks. Eskista is a highly technical dance where you need to roll the shoulder blades, thrust the chest, and pop your shoulders while keeping a balance of the rest of the body. This form of dance can be performed at the beats of pop music and played to the beat of the music videos. It’s traditionally set to the beats to the Ethiopian folk music played along with the sound of instruments such as aerophones (wind instruments), chordophones (stringed instruments), drums, and rattles.
Have you heard about this kind of dancing before? Would you like to share about any kind of dancing native to your town? If yes, write to us in the comments section below.
