The devil in the dance Dance of the world Dance of the egg Dance of the fools
The origin of dance must be sought in the natural tendency to use gestures either to complement or replace speech. Strong emotions, in particular, bring the organs to a point of exaltation that spontaneously manifests itself through more or less rhythmic movements that constitute what could be considered primary or natural dances. But just as language soon developed into poetry and song, so these bodily movements gradually develop into the art of dancing. Both spontaneous and artistic dance can be described as: “an expression of feelings through body movements more or less controlled by a sense of rhythm” (J. Milllar), and are practiced to some degree by all towns. The Hebrews were no exception; their language contains no less than eight verbs to express the idea of dancing. However, many of the allusions found in the Bible point to mere spontaneous expressions of joy, jumping, spinning or other movements. Probably from this description were the dances of Mary and the women of Israel after the passage of the Red Sea (Exodus 15,20), of the people around the golden calf (Ex. 22,19), of the daughter of Jephthah arriving to meeting his father after his victory (Judges 11,34), of the inhabitants of the cities on the way of the army commanded by Holofernes (Judith 3,10), even of David before the Ark (2 Sam. 6, 14). From these different places it can be deduced that the dance was a customary display of jubilation exhibited by women, and we know how David, on the aforesaid occasion, incited Mikal’s astonishment. Time later, it was positively considered that the dance was unseemly in men; that was also the opinion in Rome, where the saying was spread that a man, to indulge in dancing, had to be intoxicated or crazy.
Dance as an art was useful for various purposes. Its use as an aid to enhance the splendor of religious ceremonies should be examined first. The religious dances consisted mainly of slow and majestic processions through the streets of the city or around the altar. Almost always, they were celebrated by colleges of priests; but sometimes citizens of both sexes and station took part in these exhibitions, without any disregard for the dignity of their characters or the dignity of their position. (Liv., I, XX; Quintil., I, II, 18; Mac-rob., Sat. II, 10). However, not all religious dances were performed with the gravity mentioned above. In Rome, the Salian priests (salii), carrying the sacred shields through the streets, jumped and jumped clumsily “like kicking fullers” (Senec. Ep. XV). Likewise, the Bible describes the priests of Baal limping (thus Heb.; VD “jumping”) around the altar (1 Kings 18:26). Throughout the East sacred dances were a prominent feature in religious worship. In Egypt, even female institutes of singers and dancers were attached to certain shrines. It is probable, from Judges 21,21, that in early times this dance was also an accompaniment to the cult of Yahweh, which is clearly evidenced in Psalms 149,3 and 150,4 for the time after the captivity. It also seems that the texts indicate that, in the second Temple, the people dedicated to dance and sing in honor of God formed choirs similar to those of the pagan rites. (Cie., Phil., V, 6; Virg., En., VIII, 718; Hor., Od., I, I, 31).
The war dances, so common among many peoples, and often introduced to enhance the parades of public festivities among the Greeks and Romans, have left no trace among the Hebrews and their neighbors, though they are not unknown to the inhabitants. modern Palestine and Arabia. Mimetic dances were as little known in the East as those of a military nature. They consisted of expressive movements of certain parts of the features of the face, body, arms and hands, executed with musical accompaniment and intended to vividly represent historical or fabulous events and the actions and passions of well-known characters. To what extent such performances were enjoyed by the Romans we know from many passages in Latin writers, such as: Macrob., Sat. II, 7; Suet., “Calig.”, 57, “Nero”, 54, “Tit.”, 7; Ovid, “Ars Am.”, I, 595, etc.
Stage dance enjoyed much more favor in Rome and Greece. It consisted of harmonized movements mainly of the arms, body and feet, intended to show all the flexibility, strength, agility and grace of the human body. Such displays were usually performed for the pleasure of guests, at large banquets, and performed by professional dancers hired for the occasion. Female dancers were preferred, although there were also male dancers. They were generally persons of great beauty and indifferent morality, and their performances were calculated to expose all the charm and attractiveness of their graceful figures, even at the cost of modesty, which mattered little to them. This class of people, common in ancient Greece and Italy, was not altogether unknown in Palestine, at least in recent times, if we believe the indication of | Eclo. 9.4. The author of Ecclesiastes, personifying Solomon, relates that he had procured for his own enjoyment “singers and singers” (2,8), that is, most likely, dancers, since singing and dancing were scarcely different. In any case, the performance of the daughter of Herodias (Salome), recorded in Mt. 14,6, and the pleasure that it produced for Herod and his guests, demonstrates how, in the time of Christ, the Greek and Roman corruption advanced among the higher classes of Palestine.
Although perhaps less common, and certainly less elaborate than our own, social dancing nevertheless seems to have been a pleasant diversion in ancient times, at least among the Jews. Well, understood in the light of Judges 21,21, statements like those of Isaiah 16,10 and Jeremiah 25,30 indicate that the harvest season was one of public joy manifested in the dances. Most people, even the most serious (Bab. Talm., Ketuboth, 16b), danced at weddings and the Feast of Tabernacles. Men and women danced separately, as is still the custom in the East.
Social dancing has undergone considerable development in recent centuries, both in terms of prevalence and complexity. The introduction into current fashion of so-called circle dances has quickened interest in the age-old question of the morality of dancing. As an exercise in physical culture, apart from the generally unsanitary conditions of dance halls, dancing can have advantages; It should not surprise us, therefore, that from this point of view Plato would recommend it. From the moral point of view, the religious and military dance has never met any criticism. On the contrary, the mimetic spectacles, which mostly represented love stories and mythological themes, were sometimes so offensive to modesty that even the pagan emperors considered it their duty to repeatedly banish them from Italy. In no better way, as has been shown above, were the stage dances; and male and female dancers were considered a lower and degraded class in Rome, as are almehs, bayaderas, and geishas today in Egypt, India, and Japan. Under Roman law, such people were infamous. The Church Fathers raised a strong voice against his interpretations.
The decrees went further, prohibiting clergymen from attending any mime or histrionic exhibitions and by decreeing that any clergyman who takes an active part in them must lose all his privileges, and that all persons who participate in professional dance, mime performances or histrionic, they will incur in irregularity and consequently must be forever excluded from the clerical state and become incapable of receiving orders. As for the social dance, now so much in vogue, while in itself an indifferent act, moralists are inclined to put it under ban because of the various dangers associated with it. To be sure, the ancient national dances, in which the performers stand apart, barely, if ever, holding hands with their partners, rarely come under ethical censure any more than any other kind of social interaction.
But, apart from the details – place, late hours, necklines, companions, etc. – common to all these shows, the circle dances, although they can possibly be performed with decorum and modesty, are considered by moralists, by their very nature, as fraught with the greatest danger to morality. To them, but doubtless still more evidently for masquerade balls, must be applied the warning of the Second Council of Baltimore, against “those fashionable dances, which, as at present performed, are repugnant to all sense of delicacy and decorum. ”
To them, perhaps, but certainly still more evidently to masquerade balls, the Baltimore Council’s warning against “fashionable dances, which, as they now perform, are repugnant to all sentiments of delicacy and decorum” must be applied. ”. Needless to add, decency and the oft-repeated decrees of particular and general councils forbid clergymen to appear, in whatever capacity, in public ballrooms.
Bibliography: READ, Characteristic National Dances (London, 1853); TRISTRAM, Eastern customs; RICH, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (London, 1884), sv Saltatio, etc.; DARENBERG AND SAGLIO, Dictionnaire des antiquites grecques et romaines (Paris); MASPERO, Histoire ancienne des peuples de l’Orient (Paris, 1895), I, 126; II, 220; DALMAN, Palaestinischer Diwan (Leipzig, 1901); FERRARIS, Bibliotheca canonica (Rome, 1886), sv Choreae, Clericus, Irregularitas; Acta et Decree Conc. Baltimor. II, Pastoral Letter; Dec. n. 472.
Source: Souvay, Charles. “Dancing.” The Catholic Encyclopaedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. Aug. 23, 2012
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04618b.htm
Translated by Daniel Wiegering. lmhm
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia