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Tomayo
Dance 353
21 September 2016
Chapman University, College of Performing Arts, Department of Dance
DANC 353- Dance in World Cultures with Professor Tomas Tamayo, Fall 2016
Unit One: Dance and Spirituality
Study Guide #1: Unit One - Dance and Spirituality (50 points)
Due: WED Sept. 21, 2016
From In-Class Lectures, daily lecture notes on blackboard, Videos, Dance Workshops,
Field Trip, Unit One Readings and Text (chapters 1 and 2):
Lecture/Text Chapters 1 and 2
1. To question or belittle other peoples dances is to challenge their right to be themselves.
2. Dance anthropology views dance in context, both socially and culturally.
3. Globally, dances performed for ancestors and deities help a community do what? Come
together in either expression, protection, or celebration
4. What was the original purpose of the Native American Ghost Dance as seen from the
perspective of the Plains Indians in the US? To call upon an earthquake that would
restore power to the Plains Indians and replenish the fields with grain. It was a way for the Indians
to band together and rebel against the US government.
5. Plato and Aristotle: How do the opinions of Plato and Aristotle concerning the place,
purpose and value of dance in their society, effect us, today, in our expression
of dance? Their values contrasted, Plato believing every educated man should be
able to dance and be ready for war while Aristotle believed only slaves and foreigners
should dance. Many places promote and encourage dancing while other environments it
is forbidden.
6.HowdoHinduandYorubatraditionsseetherelationshipofthespiritandbodyvs.Christianity?Yoruba
tradition dictates that dance is a form of direct communication with the gods while Hindu people
use dance to connect to the gods. Christian beliefs do not recognize dance as any form of
worship.
7a. How do children find power in learning and performing dance? It gives them an
attachment to their culture and a participating role in continuing the existence of the
dance.
7b. Name the eight ways that people find power in dance? Legacy, Education, Community,
Socialization, Physicality, Theatrical Performance, Spiritual
Lecture/Video
14. What is the goal of a Javanese dancer? To transcend and connect spiritual, and in doing so
purify themselves and fins peace.
15. How is a deity identified In the masked dances of Burkina Faso? Specific movements are
culturally attached to the deity.
16. What is the goal and purpose of the Kwaikutl Hamutsa dance? In the Hamatsu Dance, the
initiate goes into the forest to find/surrender personal spirit.
17. How is the Kahiko Hula dance form influenced by geography? It is different depending
what island you are on. Each island has a different way of doing the sacred dance.
18. Yoruba: a) a religion b) a language c) a west African regional community d) all of the
aforementioned
19. What are the Ramayana and Mahabharata Dance Dramas? They are dances supported
by chorus of energy and breath. They can be trance-inducing for the performer and the
audience.
20. Explain purpose of trance dance/possession, give examples of the initiates (dancer)
physical movement. In trance dance, a spirit can take over an initiates body.
Their physical movements would include shaking and a loss of control with loose
movements.
23. Explain the difference between Pantheism vs. Paganism? Pantheism is the belief that the
Universe is identical with divinity, or that god exists in everything. Pantheists do not believe in a
distinct person or anthropomorphic god. Paganism is a term developed among the Christian
community of southern Europe during late antiquity to describe religions other than their own or
Judaism.
The outcome was her feelings of time and place being suspended and she was left
purified. All of these elements are similar to most traditional forms of spiritual dance.
26. What are Circle the Earth and the Planetary Dance? This is a large group dance for and by
people challenging AIDS. Originally it was about the murder.
According to Grau, evolutionary theory does not exist. Something so linear cannot be
applied to something as subjective and fluid as dance. Also non-western dance should
not be seen as primitive, and as something that evolved into the civilized western dance
forms.