Dance as a Creative Expression

We all know that there are many many forms of creative expression. But one that really stands out to me is dance. For two reasons: one because I am dancer myself and I believe it’s a form of creative expression. And two because there are so many forms of it. Dance can be used to express yourself in so many ways; you can portray happy, sad, anger, any emotion really.  There are so many different types of dance those express different things. Ballet for example, the Nutcracker or Swan Lake, the dancers are telling the audience or viewers a story. Ballet originated during the Italian Renaissance as jesters in the courts in the 15^th century.  Anthropologically the story that is being told would describe the life and stories of that era. With the Nutcracker the story depicts the mind of a little girl, who finds Christmas to be an enchanting magical experience. This depicts the children stories that were being told at the when the ballet was first performed.  The music that is part of the ballet is an example of music of that era as well.  It expresses the culture and lifestyles that people lived, if you were able to see the ballet you were most likely upper class as it was a luxury.  Dance can be used as rituals for good crop or successful hunting. This describes how the people of the tribe that is performing a ritual live and what they believe. Their customs and traditions include dance, where this is not used for entertainment but it is still a form of creative expression. They are expressing that they want good hunting and they are asking the gods for good hunting. Creative expression can be expressed in so many ways dance is just one of them.