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Dance, in or out of step

POETRY often frames several profound questions within its metrical feet.

Dance, in or out of step


Ratna Raman

POETRY often frames several profound questions within its metrical feet. In fact, the poetic metre sets up a momentum which is akin to the movement and rhythm that characterises a dance. When we read a poem, the words make up the song to which letters dance and create a world of meaning. In similar fashion, human feet dance to song, music or beat.  

‘Dancing’ (v) or ‘dance’ (n) uplifts the spirit, and enhances physical and holistic well-being. Dancing waves sweep away what is written on sand, newly built  sand-castles and the wet sand one stands upon, at the beach. Trees dance in the wind. People dance in the rain. The peacock pirouettes (term from ballet) and unfurls its tail feathers at the sight of overcast skies.

The Lipizzan horses of Vienna bred by the Habsburg monarchs are fabled horses known for their graceful dance-like movements. Dancing seals, bears, elephants and horses form part of circus troupes.

 Most creatures, if we are to believe the animators of The Jungle Book, delight in movement.  Existence itself is often described as the dance of life.  

 The verb ‘dance’ came into the English language in the middle ages from the French ‘dancer’ (v) and the German ‘danson’ (v) and ballroom dances formed part of aristocratic traditions. Ballet, a classical dance form from Europe, synthesises dance, drama, music, costume, acrobatics and representation. Classical Indian dances were also part of high culture and involved stylised movements.  One or a group of trained dancers performed to a story set to music, onstage, for a select audience. Several Indian classical dances date back to the Natya Shastra (400 BCE), the source book of  ancient Indian dance and theatre.

Odissi, Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathakali evolved out of sacred musical theatre traditions. Kathak (courtly culture in North India),  Ghoomar (Rajasthan), Sattriya (Assam), Thang Ta (Manipur) and  Chhau (Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand) are among well-known Indian classical dance forms. 

Folk dances, often presented onstage in modern times, evolved across cultures amidst ordinary, everyday events occasioning mirth and gaiety. Mazurka (Polish), Polka (Bohemian), Farandole (Provence), Rhumba (Cuban with Spanish and African influence), Morris (English), bhangra and giddha (Punjab), Kolattam and Kummi (Tamil Nadu) are folk dances from different parts of the world. 

Jigs, rock and roll, belly dancing (Mid-eastern, Arabic), hip-hop  (freestyle), Salsa (Latin American influence), gagnam (Korea) and Yangko (China) are modern dancing styles that originated in urban cultures and spread subsequently to different parts of the world. The rich repertoire of dances highlights the significance attached to dancing as self-expression, aesthetics, martial arts, and its central role during festivals and weddings.

Yeats’s poem, “Sailing to Byzantium” raises a pertinent question:  “How can we tell the dancer from the dance?”  

Dance sequences highlight the fluidity of motion and excitement of moving at energetic tempos. The dancer is deeply immersed in dancing. The dance itself exists only while the dancer performs.  

It is for this reason that dance and music are described as ‘performative arts’. Yesterday was International Dance Day, celebrated by dancers across the world. This weekend, we can dance to our own tunes and rejoice, for this time the world dances with us.

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