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10,000 BCE
Paleolithic age
The Paleolithic age was also referred to as the old stone age. This was the time before agriculture was learned, actually this is the time where men would hunt, using only axes, scrapers or hammer stones. -
Period: 10,000 BCE to 4500 BCE
Neolithic Age
This period was the end of the stone age and was actually the start of the agricultural practice, where humans didn't need to depend on hunting. Also, a lot of new equipment and tools were created during this time, such as bows and arrows. -
Period: 700 BCE to 480 BCE
Ancient Greece
In the Ancient Greek times, dancing was a lot of the time for religious purposes. Apollonian was the genre they called this form of dance that had to do with religion. -
Period: 27 BCE to 476
Ancient Rome
Dances from Rome were influenced by Greek dancing. For instance, Pyrrhic dances was first created by the Greeks, but were then made popular by the Romans. -
Period: 476 to 1450
Medieval Era
Some of the most common dances during the Medieval Era were the Egg Dance, Quadrille, Pavan, Farandole and Burgundian dance. Often they would each hold hands in a circle and move in a clockwise direction. -
1500
Early Ballet
Early Ballet looked entirely different than the modern version of ballet, their costumes are different, they look more like court dancing. When thinking of the ealry ballet you are to remember Marie de Camargo, a ballerina of the Paris Opéra who lived during the 1700's. She became the first woman to execute the entrechat quatre. She shortened her costume so that the audience could see her footwork. -
Period: to
Baroque Era
Most dances in the Baroque Era were done as couple dances. Baroque dance is really just basic natural movements, such as walking, running, jumping, turning, or even falling. -
Tap
Tap dance emerged in the southern United States in the 1700s, it originated in the U.S, when slave owners took away traditional African instruments, so slaves turned to dancing to express themselves and maintain their cultural identities. William Henry Lane is said to be the father of tap dance. -
Jazz
Jazz originated from African American culture, but became well known in American soon after. Jack Cole tried his best to merge modern dance practices with jazz style dance, he was the first to make a technique that was able to be displayed in theatres throughout the 1940s and 1950s. -
Period: to
Romantic Ballet
Romantic ballets have a powerful aim on displaying a tone and cast of various roles to tell a story. Romantic ballet consisted of weightlessness, soft, rounded arms and a forward tilt in the upper body. -
Period: to
Early Modern Dance
Early Modern dance was characterized by the work of Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis. Modern dance includes characteristics like fluidly free style. Also using emotions and moods to develop movement in the dance. Isadora Duncan developed modern dance, she'd move her arms and legs in very smooth motions and wore very thin clothing. -
Classical Ballet
Classical Ballet is a very popular form of ballet, some famous ballets are Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty. Classical Ballet contains very graceful movements and has a focal point on telling a story, which is attained through striking visuals and intricate choreography. -
Contemporary Modern Dance
Contemporary dance originally came from Europe. Contemporary dance combines components of several dance forms and lets dancers communicate emotionally through actions. Isadora Duncan was one of the earliest known contemporary dancers as well as Martha Graham. -
Musical Theatre
Musical theatre isn’t like dramatic theatre, it blends songs, dialogue, and dance to tell a story. It's artistic and can use multiple techniques like elements of physical theatre, still image and ensemble acting. It's said that musical theatre began in ancient Greece. -
Neoclassical Ballet
Neoclassical ballet first came to be in the 1920s. Neoclassical ballet has conceptual components, and doesn’t contain precise scenery or plot, or even specific costumes for that matter, and slight set design. It removes the customs and opens up to modern methods and thoughts. -
Hip-Hop
Hip Hop was initially inspired by the movements of African dancing, Hip Hop includes characteristics of modern dance, tap, and swing, combining music and intricate techniques to construct originality. Hip-Hop first appears in the Bronx. The Father of Hip-Hop is known to be DJ Kool Herc. -
Classic Moderns
Modern dance is a dance type that concentrates on an artist's personal understandings instead of formal moves. Dancers refuse the restrictions of traditional ballet and prefer movements resulting from the appearance of their internal sentiments.