Dance

By Mandy Leach

Preview• Popular culture and dance• Dance history• Tango, swing, ballet, break dance • Dance movies• Dance movies and popular culture• Dance TV shows: So You Think You Can Dance,

Americas Best Dance Crew, Dancing with the Stars

Intro

• What sport is continually becoming more and more well known recently through TV shows and movies?... This sport is dance.

• Dance plays a huge role in popular culture with its interesting history, many movie, and its new TV shows.

Popular Culture and Dance

• Popular culture: contemporary lifestyle and items that are well known and generally accepted, cultural patterns that are widespread within a population.

• Dance fits well because for many, dance is a lifestyle and the general public normally accepts dance as it appears in everyday life.

Dance History

• Throughout time, dance has had various different trends and styles.

• Goal of almost all dancers, no matter what time, is to give a performance requiring strength, agility, and skill, while making it look effortless.

• In history there has been several different dance styles that have been very popular throughout time; some include tango, swing, ballet, and break dance.

Tango

• Became popular in the early 1900s.

• Said to be started with the gauchos (Spanish cowboys) of Argentina.

• Meant to be very flirty, with sharp movements and a strong connection to the music.

Swing

• Dates back to the 1920s.

• First, some dance schools did not accept it, but it later became well known.

• Fun dance style with many tricks.

Ballet

• The core of all dance forms.

• Many athletes have taken ballet classes to improve their balance and performance.

• Requires very strict training and is a very graceful and technical dance.

Break Dance

• Becoming way more common today.

• Experts trace break dance back to a Russian folk dance influenced form of martial arts dance.

• Today’s form came along in 1970.

• Includes sharp movements and ground work.

Dance Movies• Number of dance movies seem to

increase more and more as time goes on.

• 1980s: Footloose, Dirty Dancing• 1990s: Shall We Dance, Swing

Kids• 2000- today: Center Stage, Save

the Last Dance, Chicago, Honey, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Take the Lead, Step Up, Stomp the Yard, Hairspray, Step Up 2: The Streets

Dance Movies and Popular Culture

• Increased number of dance movies from 2000- today have shown how dance has become a larger part of popular culture.

• Have good ratings.• More people wanting to take dance classes.• People view and accept the many

commercials for dance movies and TV shows.

Dance TV Shows

• Recently, many new dance TV shows have have become extremely popular.

• Shows include So You Think You Can Dance, Americas Best Dance Crew, & Dancing with the Stars

• Shows bring in good ratings and have had multiple seasons.

• Have helped break down barriers, while attracting huge audiences.

So You Think You Can Dance• Very popular and has helped people to

appreciate all types of dance. • Judges choose top 20 finalists, dancers

learn dances each week from pro choreographers, voted on by viewers.

• Different dance styles on show require dancers to be very versatile in their dance abilities.

• Just finished 4th season and prepares for a 5th

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At9ZQtgaoSY&feature=related

Americas Best Dance Crew• Attracts attention of teens and young adults.• Host: Mario Lopez; Judges: Shane Sparks, Lil Mama, and JC

Chasez.• Different dancing “crews” competing against each other to

advance to next round.• Viewers choice• Mainly street styles like hip hop and break dancing.

Dancing with the Stars• Has had over 20 million viewers in

past seasons.• Each celebrity is paired with a pro,

learns a dance, performs it the next week, and viewers vote.

• Grabs attention to watch various celebs perform

• 13 new celebrities are getting ready to dance in season 8, including Shawn Johnson, Lil Kim, Jewel, Lawrence Taylor, Denise Richards, Steve-O, and several others.

Conclusion

• Dance has definitely become a great part of popular culture and is continuing to grow.

• With its interesting history, several movies, and exciting TV shows, dance has become a huge part of popular culture.