1. WORLD DANCE 101

2. AFRICAN DANCE - ORIGIN African dance is polycentric, which sets it apart from most other dance traditions in the world. As explained by the National Museum of African Art, this means that the dancer's body is segmented into separate areas of movement, with each area being able to move to different rhythms within the music. Known as "isolations" in choreographic terms, these moves are quite complex and difficult to master. While almost all of the dances are polycentric in some way, different areas of Africa have very different dances. The Masai are known for leaping high in the air, for example, while the Kalabari emphasize hip motions. Taught to children at a young age by a “dance master.”

3. MUSIC IN AFRICAN DANCE the drum is one way to set the mood and brings everyone together as a community. However, many other instruments are used as well, such as gourds strung with beads. Clapping, stamping feet, and most of all singing also create rhythmic music for African dance. As dancers move in an expression of their inner feelings, their movements are generally in rhythm to the music. It is the sound of the music and the rhythms that are played that provide the heartbeat of the dance. The music and dance are considered inseparable.

4. AFRICAN & SOCIAL DANCE From 1891 on, there were many African-influenced dances that became popular in the years to follow. African-influenced dance trends through the present include: The Charleston Tap Dancing The Lindy Hop The Jitterbug The Twist Jazz dance Hip hop Crunking http://dance.lovetoknow.com/History_of_African_Dance

5. BHARATANATYAM the principal of the main classical dance styles of IndiadanceIndia serves the expression of Hindu religious themes and devotions, and its techniques and terminology have been traced back to ancient treatises such as the Natya-shastra, by the Brahman sage and priest BharataHinduNatya-shastra Bharata natyam was originally performed exclusively by female temple dancers and was not brought to the stage for public performance until about 1930.

6. MUSIC & MOVEMENT bharata natyam is classically clear in technique. The feet beat out complicated counter rhythms; the legs are bent in a characteristic low squat; arms, neck, and shoulders are part of the movement. In the pantomime sections, the hands tell the story through conventional gesture language, while the face expresses the mood. In the pure dance the hands are restricted to 11 mudras (symbolic hand gestures).mudras a symbolic gesture of the hands and fingers used either in ceremonies and dance or in sculpture and painting. Mudras used in ceremony and dance tend to be numerous, complicated, and often esoteric (the hasta-mudrās of Hindu classical dance can express about 500 different meanings, involving not only the hands and fingers but also the wrists, elbows, and shoulders, all in movement). Mudras in sculpture and other visual arts, being necessarily immobile, are relatively restricted in number. http://www.britannica.com