Contemporary Dances from around the World

Nobody knows how it feels like to get a glimpse of a good dance till they have lost the opportunity to see it in person. If you cling to the popular belief that dance stands as a metaphor for life – an animated expression of an animated being – I suggest you read on, acquainting you here with four major dances randomly chosen from around the world:

Chinese Lion Dance (aka Wushi)

The respect that Chinese people have had for their ancestors is evident in the homage they pay to their traditional rituals in general and this dance in particular. Early Chinese folk dances, like other forms of primitive art, were essentially ceremonial depictions of superstitious beliefs performed in the appreciation of a good harvest, or in the hope of a plentiful harvest the following year.

According to traditional Chinese belief, the lion signifies courage, stability and superiority. Garbed in a fancy costume, the performing acrobats mimic the leaps and bouncing motions of such a mighty creature, acting or believing to chase away ghosts and evil spirits. And since these evil spirits despise noise, every movement of the lion synchronizes with the rhythm of firecrackers and gongs.

Tourists who have availed cheap flights to China under special deals to attend major festival events come across the Lion Dance as one of the ‘mascot features’ for any of the events. Whether it’s the celebration of official banquets or the New Year’s Eve, the lion dance is a must, so much so that countries neighbouring to China have also adopted the tradition and its appeal among the tourists is ever-increasing. It is a tradition worth preserving.

Flamenco

The persuasive rhythms, festive outfits, rapid-fire footwork and the dramatically fluid arm movements, more pleasant to be seen than related, characterize this style which originated among the Gypsies in Andalusia, Spain. Just give these dancers a reason to perform and they’ll conquer the entire scenario; such is the extent of its seduction, even more to entice you to book Spain flights at the earliest.

Flamenco is a swirl of colours and sounds, that promises to leave its impression to the very marrow of your bones. Expect fireworks, red robes and lots and lots of clapping and applauses. Zoom in on the dancer as she slackens and mends her pace and try to fathom the performance.

Time seems to fly by as you lose yourself to the raptures of the act. With so much globalization underway, it’s hard for a culture to not propagate beyond borders, and Flamenco is no exception to this rule. In Japan alone, there are more flamenco academies than there are in Spain!

Belly Dance

The last few decades have been a bonanza time for belly dancers, from those native charmers waving rhythmically in the Arabian oases to those western enthusiasts turning and tossing on the European stages, ‘Raqs Sharqi’ or ‘Belly dance’, as it has now come to be known, is a trendsetter. Behold these representatives of feminine charms garbed in their typical flowing robes, with eye makeup caked on for full kohl effect and glittery accessories, all there to entice every eye, every member of the audience.

Smoking a shisha with your eyes fixated on the dancer while her essence and soul reaches out and touches yours, leaves no doubt in an ecstatic experience for any lover of choreography. Adding to it, background music suitably adapted to both exotic and erotic sentiments the dance has to convey leaves every attendant in a rhythmic trance.

Obviously, this suggestion is made through intense observation of the dominant aspect of the entire performance, but it deserves it nonetheless. Perhaps it is the unification of mind and body behind those hip jerks and belly crunches that amaze us or it could be the look on the dancer’s face that says she loves what she’s doing. The efficiency in movement, doing more with less, and the most subtle changes of reflexes in the abdomen are what bring the murmurs of appreciation from an educated audience.

Tango

“Passion” is the keyword for describing this dance. By no means is it just a series of steps and movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music; No no no. There is passion in the spirits, a vigorous aura around it and the mutual commitment of the dance partners to carry the performance to an artistic frenzy. Conceived in the dazzling ballrooms of Buenos Aires in the late 1800s, it soon fanned out in all directions owing to the fact that it is a dance that can stand on its own in terms of technique and intricacy.

Characterized by the footwork which included lots of interlocking legs and complex syncopation, Tango was the first couple dance ever seen in Europe that involved improvisation. Before its arrival, couple dance was sequence based, with every couple on the floor dancing the same steps at the same time. It was the arrival and popularity of Tango that really defines the beginning of couple dance as we understand it.

The finishing touch is the endless variety of tiny movements of the feet, called chinches, which embellish a step and can fill a moment of stillness with a musical flutter of controlled passion. Coupled with the Tango dance is the Tango music which brings this art into life and shows its commitment to the physical aesthetics of the display. Like the music, the feelings are also amplified and the pauses between the dance bouts are meant to be filled with your applause…