Dance in World Cultures

This semester has been a good start. I am getting into the full swing of things with my classes along with all my activities outside of class. One class in particular that has stuck out for me is Dance of World Culture. Initially I was very nervous about this class as it didn’t seem very interesting to me. The only kind of dance that I really cared to focus on was the Texas Two-Step. I knew how to dance it and that was the one that actually entertained me. I came into the class just expecting to go through the motions, pull out the A, and continue forward with my education. However, along the way I have found that it can be very enjoyable. Dance is unique. There are so many different kinds of dances that actually influence how people do things in different parts of the world. I never realized how powerful dance could be until taking this class. Governments would literally ban dances in fear that revolutions could break out because of this. That intrigued me and made me really focus on what I was learning about in this class. I grasped how important dance really is to society. We recently did presentations over different dance forms in comparison and presented them to the class. My group did the waltz and the Texas Two-Step. It was really fascinating to find out that the waltz was a lower-class dance before it ever appeared in extravagant ball rooms. Plus the fact that two-step was created for blue collar workers to socialize and have a good time was really interesting to put together. It didn’t stop there. I was able to listen to many different presentations. They covered flex dance and hip hop that originated in the Bronx. From there it covered dances found in places such as the Middle East, India, South America, and Japan. My mind was shocked by what these dances all meant to these places and how they came about. What else has been cool about this class is that we actually dance in it. Its one thing to learn about these dances in textbooks and lectures but to actually get up and dance the basic parts of these dances bring a new understanding that I don’t think is realized otherwise. Some dances are much more difficult than I could have imagined while others are easier to pick up than expected and actually fun to dance. I’m excited to see what the rest of the semester has to reveal in this class but I have enjoyed almost every moment in it and have learned a lot.