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Why do we dance? Before children even learn to talk, and without having seen anyone else dance, they often express themselves naturally through rhythmic movements. Animals also dance! There are birds which actually have group dances, with circling, bowing, advancing, and retreating in unison! Primitive man first danced by himself instinctively. He found that repeated rhythmic movements produced a good feeling that they acted on his mind and emotions. This made the dance seem to have magical power, so that when he wanted to experience those feelings again, all he had to do was dance. This led to the development of group dancing. Today, there are primitive people who still dance for purposes of "magical" power. There are war dances and hunting dances, marriage and funeral dances, and planting and harvesting dances. These primitive magic dances led to the use of dancing in religious ceremonies. Dancing was used in the temples of ancient Egypt, and the Hebrews danced during their religious rites. In the Bible, it is said that King David danced before the Ark of the Covenant to express his religious feelings. The Greeks developed dancing so that it was not only a part of all religious ceremonies, but was a source of entertainment and became the basis of all theatre and drama. The word "orchestra" was first used to indicate the dancing area in the Greek theatre. The Greeks also used dancing as a means of physical training for their soldiers. The Romans imitated the Greeks, but their dances became wild and corrupt. The Christians at first used dancing as a means of worship, but because the Romans had degraded dancing, the Christians later tried to ban dancing from church services. In the Orient, too, the dance has been used for religious expression from earliest times. One of the most important forms of dance that developed over the centuries was the folk dance. This is a dance created by people in a certain region which becomes traditional and is passed down from generation to generation. Our modern dancing stems from folk dancing as well as from ballroom dancing which originated in the courts of Europe. Details
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