Lauren Rule- Dance and Religion (Class Reading #3)

Van Der Leeuw has a very interesting input on dance.  Dance was originally a way for people to express ritualistic or religious ideals.  I was most surprised to read about Van Der Leeuw's perspective of dance today.  He feels like there is a substantial connection between dance and culture.  Which I can see, but whether dance influences culture or vise versa is still to be determined for me.  Dance is by far the most universal art form and it is also one of the hardest to appreciate.  Van Der Leeuw notes that dance is different from other art forms because in order to understand dance one must experience it.  A poem, painting, or other form of art can be explained.  You can try to explain dance, but until a person experiences dance for him or herself, he or she will never fully appreciate its beauty.  And everyone experiences dance.  Even those people who claim to NEVER dance because there are going to be those moments when their foot begins to tap or head begins to nod or hips begin to sway.  There are many variations of dancing, but two main motivations behind dance.  Van Der Leeuw concentrates mostly on the religious aspect of dance.  'Primitive' cultures use(d) dance as both religion and art.  Dancing was a form of art, but it was also used to bring about a bountiful harvest, increase fertility, and pretty much anything the people needed.  The performance aspect of dance didn't come around until later.  I think performance dance brings out beauty in dance beyond the primal use for it.  Ballet is my favorite style of dance, but I also enjoy jazz, hip hop, and such.  The ritual dances don't necessarily care about form or steps; they are more concerned with outcome.  Performance dance takes vigorous practice to get the right extensions, turns, feet positions, etc.  I understand the beauty in performance dance, I have never experienced ritual dance and therefore cannot fully appreciate it.