Modern Dance

Dance is the transformation of inspiration (usually music and/or rhythm) into movement. Dancing is a ritual, a custom, a performing art genre, a professional activity, a sport, a form of therapy, a form of social interaction, or simply an expression of feeling. Other internationally used terms for dance titles are danza and danca. Dancing has many functions in society, but can also be an end in itself or a pastime.

Ritualized dancing expresses togetherness and emotions and can accompany the acceptance of new members into a community as a festive initiation rite, for example when young girls are introduced to society at the debutante ball or when students celebrate passing an exam at the prom. Against a religious background, dance rituals honor gods or ask for assistance, while warding off or driving away evil spirits. Dancing as a sport promotes muscle development, motor skills, coordination and sense of balance. Successfully learning, planning and implementing complex movement sequences builds self-confidence and supports a healthy relationship with one's own body. As an art form, dancing serves to represent feelings and actions pictorially. Facial expressions, gestures and full-body dance movements, together with music, form the demanding working material of artistic dance, which shows the audience the elegance and expressiveness of the human body.