PATHFIT 3: DANCE AND SPORTS

HANDOUT 001
UNIT II: INTRODUCTION TO DANCE
REVIEWER
LESSON 1: History and Nature of Dance
History of Dance
➢ Dance accompanied ancient rituals, spiritual gathering and social events.
➢ Dancing remains one of the most expressive forms of communication that we know.
➢ History accounts cited that the archeological proof of dance’s first existence can be traced back to those
nine thousand old paintings in caves of India.
➢ The earliest form of structured dances was used by Egyptian priests to create and visualize storytelling
rituals both for entertainment and religion.
➢ Plays very important role to Roman and Greek ceremonies.
➢ Dance became full-blown and was richly recorded in ancient Egypt as reflected in their wall paintings,
reliefs, and in the literary record in hieroglyphs.
➢ Greeks also used dance to aid education in general as philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates
strongly supported this art as an integration of the body and soul.
➢ After the end of French revolution, new forms of dances emerged which focused on less restrictive
women’s clothing, and the tendency for skipping and jumping. These dances soon became even more
energetic in 1844 with the beginning of so-called “International polka craze” which also brought us the
first appearance of famous waltz.
➢ After those early years of the 20th century many modern dances were invented (foxtrot, one-step, tango,
Charleston, swing, postmodern, hip-hop, breakdancing and more) and the expansion of music brought
those dances into worldwide popularity.
Nature of Dance
➢ Dance teaches the importance of movement and fitness in a variety of wats through a variety of
disciplines.
➢ Barbara Mettler defined dance as an activity which can take many forms and fill different needs, it can
be recreation, entertainment, education therapy, and religion.
➢ Dance is an art of body movement.
➢ Movement set to music where there emerges organization, structure and pattern. It is a composition
that implies arrangement of parts into a form.
Dancing - Expressing of one’s emotions through movement discipline by rhythm. It is an act of moving
rhythmically and expressively to an accompaniment.
Dance /Dancing – came from an old German word “danson” which means to “stretch”.
Lesson 2: Benefits of Dance
1. Improves cardiovascular health
2. Improves balance and strength
3. Gentle on your body
 4. Boosts cognitive performance
5. Challenges your brain
6. It is inclusive for everyone
7. Increase social improvement & confidence
8. Reduces stress
9. Diminish depression

Lesson 3: Phases of Dance Program and Purpose of Dance

1. Creative Rhythms – also called fundamental rhythms or natural dances. Is an end product of exploration
and improvisation of movements as children learn to move the parts of their body and to use them as
instruments of expression.
2. Folk and Ethnic Dance – a cultural art form handed down form generation to generation. It
communicates the customs, beliefs, rituals, and occupations of the people of the region or country. Folk
dancing belongs to the people, it emanates from them. Jotas, mazurkas, pandanggos are some examples
of folk dances. Ethnic dances of the mountain peoples of the Cordilleras, dances of the ethnic groups in
the Cagayan Valley Region and the ethnic dances in the Mindanao Regions.
3. Social and ballroom Dance – a setting social gathering with a more formal atmosphere than the simple
and informal parties in which the recreational dances are the usual forms. Generally held in the evening.
Wears in formal attire.
4. Recreational Dance – includes dance mixers, square dance round and couple dances. Have simple
patterns and combinations of walking steps, polka step and the waltz step. The setting is usually informal
gatherings and parties, reunions etc.
5. Creative Dance – the highest form of dance. Is an end-product of exploration and improvisation of
movements as the dancer or the choreographer expresses his feelings or emotions, ideas, and
interpretations. This is a dance with a definite form, a beginning and an ending. Examples are ballet, jazz,
and modern or contemporary dance.
Purpose of Dance
1. Ceremonial Dance – celebrating life events, religious rituals and other occasions reflecting cultures or
traditions.
➢ Culture
➢ Religious ritual
2. Recreational Dance – dances performed in a social setting like folk, social dancing and aerobic dance.
➢ Folk Dance
➢ Social Dance
➢ Aerobic Dance
3. Artistic Dance – performed on a stage for an audience like ballet, modern, narrative, tap, and lyrical.
➢ Ballet
➢ Modern Dance
➢ Narrative Dance
➢ Tap Dance
➢ Lyrical Dance
Lesson 4: Elements of Movement Space, Movement Qualities and Elements of Rhythm
Elements of Movement Space
❖ Direction – the line of movement taken which may be forward, backward, sideward, diagonal, upward,
or a combination of these.
❖ Level – movement through space that may be done at a high, low, or medium level.
❖ Range – refers to the area covered as the body moves.
❖ Floor Pattern – the path or design that is made while moving in space. It may take a form of a circle,
square, straight line or zigzag.
Movement Qualities
Movement expression is attained through the elements of time, force and space
Time Qualities
❖ Movement which is fast – examples are Galloping Horse, Jet Plane.
❖ Movement which is slow – examples are Flower Growing, Turtle.
Force Qualities
❖ Soft light movement – examples are Fairy, bird, butterfly.
❖ Strong, heavy movement – examples are Elephant, Bulldozer.
❖ Strong, jerky movement – examples are Kangaroo, jumping jack.
❖ Smooth, sustained movement - examples are Airplane, fish swimming.
Space Qualities
❖ Movement up and down – examples are Bouncing ball, Yo-yo.
❖ Movement across, back and forth or around - examples are Rowing Boat, Merry-go-round.
❖ Movement which is low – examples are Ant, turtle.
❖ Movement which is high – examples are Kite, cloud.
Elements of Rhythm
1. Beat – the underlying pulse of a rhythm
2. Tempo – rate of speed of a movement
3. Intensity – variation of stress of movement
4. Pitch – lowness or highness of a tone
5. Accent – emphasis on certain beats
6. Meter – the regular recurrence of beats which divides a musical design into measure
7. Phrase – measures group together
8. Bar – in music a vertical line across a staff dividing it into equal measures of time
9. Count – a pulse beat at time limit
10. Note – a printed symbol of a musical tone
11. Measure – a ground of pulse beats
12. Note pattern – refers to a note or set with or without rest used for a certain dance step.
13. Step pattern – refers to the movement/s done for each of the dance steps.
14. Time signature – composed of two numbers, the number above denotes the number of beats in a
measure, and the number below denotes the kind of note that receives on beat.
Lesson 5: Basic Natural Movements, Basic Dance Positions (Arms and Feet), and Dance Formations Commonly
Used.
Basic Natural Movements
1. Non-Locomotor Movement – movements in which the various parts of the body move in space with a
fixed base. It may be standing, kneeling, sitting, or lying. (Movements of the body WITHOUT moving
position)
❖ Flexion – bending or shortening of a body part occurring at a joint.
❖ Extension – extending of a body part occurring at a joint.
❖ Pendular – swinging or swaying of arms forward, backward or sideward.
❖ Percussive – striking and hitting; pushing and pulling.
❖ Vibratory – shaking and beating of the body.
❖ Sustained – slow, smooth flowing movement with a balance of movement throughout the entire
series.
❖ Suspended – a sharp movement followed by a series of slow or prolonged movements until a peak
is reached.
2. Locomotor Movements – movements that move the body in space in any direction with the feet as the
moving base. (Movements of body to one position to another)
❖ Walking
❖ Running
❖ Jumping
❖ Hopping
❖ Skipping
❖ Leaping
❖ Galloping
❖ Sliding
Fundamental Dance Positions of Arms and Feet
❖ 1st Position – arms: both arms raised in a circle in front of the chest with the finger tips about an inch
apart. Feet: heels close together, toes apart with an angle of about 45 degrees.
❖ 2nd Position – Arms: both raised sideward with a graceful curve at shoulder level. Feet: feet apart
sideward f about a space distance.
❖ 3rd Position – Arms: one arm raised in front as in 2nd position; another arm raised upward. Feet: Heel f
one foot close to in-step of other foot.
❖ 4th Position – Arms: one arm raised in front as in 1st position; another arm raised overhead. Feet: One
foot in front of another foot of a space distance.
❖ 5th Position – Arms: Both raised overhead. Feet: Heel of front close to big toe of rear foot.
Dance Formations Commonly Used
(Refer to handout 001)
 PATHFIT 3: DANCE AND SPORTS
HANDOUT 002
REVIEWER
UNIT III: INTRODUCTION TO HIP-HOP DANCE
Lesson 1: History of Hip-hop
Hip Hop Dance – A style of movement characterized by bounces or rocks executed to Hip Hop music.

• Emerged in Black communities living in 1970s South Bronx.

• The beginning of this dance form date back to the 1960s and 70s.
• U.S Department of State describes Hip-hop as “The center of mega music, dance and fashion industry
around the world”.
• National Geographic recognizes hip-hop as the “World’s favorite culture”
• American and Latino youths were surrounded by drugs, crime, poverty, gang violence and overall
struggle and was neglected by mainstream institutions. To escape their everyday struggles, they
invented their own art forms. (They way they dressed, talked, move, and expressed themselves, soon
became a lifestyle. And this lifestyle and culture became known as Hip-hop.
• Hip-hop started as a performative, but informal, dance culture.
• B-boys and B-girls (Term introduced by DJ Herc) invited to show off their move by other people on the
street, on the basketball court, or wherever the group happened to be. It was often danced as a “battle”
or one-on-one face-off in a circle of cheering fans.
Elements of Hip-hop
❖ Deejaying (turn tabling)
❖ Emceeing (rapping)
❖ Graffiti (writing/art)
❖ Breaking (dance)
Phases of Hip-hop
1. Old School Hip Hop
Old School hip hop typically dates from the origination of the movement in the early 1970s up until the
mid-1980s.
❖ DJ Kool Herc – was the first major hip hop deejay – mixing percussive beats with popular dance
songs. He was instrumental in developing the sounds that became synonymous with hip hop.
Drum beats and record scratches. Developed new turntable techniques such as needle dropping
and scratching.
❖ DJ Kool Herc also popularized rapping.
❖ Towards the end of the school hip hop era, the movement began to gain national recognition.
2. New School Hip Hop (Mid-1980s)
❖ Run-D.M.C, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy are the names that headed up hip hop
into the new school.
❖ Run-D.M.C – brought hip hop to a larger audience through performances on MTV.
❖ The Beastie Boys – pushed deejaying further with their digital sampling.
❖ LL Cool J – brought romantic themes into hip hop.
 ❖ Public Enemy – used rap to push forward political ideology.
❖ Queen Latifah, Who, Salt-n-Pepa brought women into the genre.
❖ As hip hop grew in popularity, it expanded beyond its regional roots, too.
❖ N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton became the most prominent hip hop album to emerge from
somewhere besides New York City in 1989. Hip hop became a worldwide phenomenon at this
point.
❖ By the turn of the century, hip hop was the best-selling music genre in the U.S.
3. Hip Hop in the 21st Century
❖ The 21st century was a tough time for the music industry.
❖ Building off of the original four pillars that defined the genre, hip hop artists touch every part
of American culture, from dance (think Beyonce’s show-stopping productions) to fashion (where
artists like Kanye West have launched lines) to politics (Barak Obama referenced Jay Z several
times during his 2008 campaign).
Lesson 2: Prominent People and Groups in Hip Hop
1. DJ Kool Herc
- AKA the Father of Hip Hop.
- West Bronx AKA the birthplace of Hip Hop
- Is a pioneer in developing hip hop music dubbed the hip hop dancers as “break-boys (b-boys)”
and “break-girls” (b-girls)
- Breaking – slang for “getting excited” and “acting energetically”
- He created a music system where music became isolated and repeatedly plays musical breaks
which later called the “Merry-Go-Round Theory”
2. Afrika Bambaata
- Founded the “Zulu Nation” – a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists and rap
musicians. It means to drew teenagers out of gang life, drugs and violence.
3. Rapper MC Hammer
- One of the most famous hip-hop artists and dancers of all time.
- 80s and 90s where he showcased his dancing skills across many platforms; creating a following
of the Hammer Dance, the Running Man and The Butterfly.
- Founder of the culture “Hyphy” which is short for hyperactive – was coined to describe the music
and culture associate with urban hip-hop.
4. Michael Jackson
- King of Pop.
- Has a style of funk, soul and electric boogaloo to create a unique blend of pop, and hip-hop
worthy dance.
- Unique style and fashion of dancing which revered worldwide.
5. Soulja Boy
- “Crank That” – Soulja Boy’s debut song and eventually introduced which has become a keystone
of his career.
- Won the 2007 BET Best Hip Hop Dancer award.
6. Grandmaster Flash
- Invented the cuing system or likely to be called the “Peek-A-Boo System”
- Also known for his music “The Message” that voices out their living situation to public.
 7. Grand Wizzard Theodore
- Accidentally invented the “Scratch” in DJ in the age of 12 as an aspiring DJ.

8. SugarHill Gang
- First hip-hop music group that was able to produce an official recorded music and be able to
release to the public music charts.
- “Rapper’s Delight” paved the way to the public and the start of hip-hop music all over the world.
9. Philippine All-Stars
- Was formed in 2005 by 12 friends who had the same goal: to raise the country’s flag by
representing it in the prestigious World Hip-Hop Championships in the US.
- Took part and emerged victorious in different competitions such as Word Hip-Hop
Championships, Kenya Street Dance Africa, UDO World Street Dancing Championships, and the
World of Dance.
10. A-Team
- Another homegrown group that has consistently made the PH proud with its achievements.
- Take home the gold in the biggest dance competitions such as the World of Hip-Hop Dance
Championship in Las Vegas, USA.
- Hosted workshops in countries like Singapore, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Russia, and USA.
11. UPeepz
- From University of the PH
- Triumphantly put Filipino talent on the map
- A back-to-back championship in Hip Hop International’s World Hip Hop Dance Championship.
- Led by legendary choreographer Chips Beltran
- Competed in NBC’s ‘World of Dance’ where they sealed their legendary status.

Lesson 3: Hip-Hop Dance Styles

(Refer to the handout 002)

Prepared by:
Mark Aidan Cabalhin, BSPA 2