Cultural Universals - Research Paper Example

Definition of Cultural Universals Cultural universals are the common features and characteristics used in the study of cultures. These characteristics help in comparison, contrasting and identifying a culture, making it unique. These features occur in all cultures and explain the human cultural behavior. The human instinct directs behavior, but different cultures exhibit this behavior in different ways. Dance is a cultural universal found in almost all cultures. With the different reasons behind, its performance, dance has received mixed reactions from cultural perspectives and religious as well. Historical controversies behind dance persist despite scholars and researchers efforts to heal the havoc. Dance falls in the category of artistic expression and leisure of people in a certain culture. Unique movements in different societies characterize dance, which is a leisure activity and offers the dancer good exercise. Dance as a Cultural Universal Being classified as a cultural universal, dance is therefore considered an essential part of a human’s culture. According to Kornelly, each dance movement from a society says something about that society (68). When studying dance, an anthropologist will seek to recognize the movement system that directs the structure, form, and style of how the body moves in time and space. Anthropologists of dance realize that dance presents concepts and perceptions of a certain culture. The intention of dance is to communicate a message to the viewers. In addition, it usually brings out a reflection of the values highly esteemed in a society; it may also communicate important emotional and psychological ideals. It also serves to bring out emphasis on how a society is structured and organized and portrays the social relationships in existence in a specific culture. According to Lopez, a folk dance played four major roles (455). The first role was to entertain the people. The second role was acting as a mode of transmission of community customs and ethical values to the young people. The third role was to serve as a directive to individual roles in the society. The fourth role was to give the young generation some freedom to express themselves in dance. Dances from Different Cultures and Their Symbolism Dance is a feature passed down the generations and evolves with time. Traditionally, each society had its unique dance. The Philippines had several dances including Maria Clara, tinikling, sublian, idaw, and kuratsa. These dances portrayed the Philippine culture. Dancers from this region emphasized their beliefs and economic activities. Dances in the Luzon region of the Philippines represented the hardships the community endured in tough economical conditions. The purpose and time of performing a certain dance varied with cultures. Although in most cultures dance represented the social aspects and values of the society, in the modern life, dance is mainly for entertainment and telling a story. This proves that dance is changing significantly in the modern life. According to Lopez, tinikling dancers imitated the movements of the tinikling bird (455). The bird is unable to fly but can run at great speed. These characteristics match those of the Filipino. The tinikling dance was common among the lowland Filipinos and up to date, they hold this dance with esteem. This dance was a mode of transmission of customs and ethical values. The idaw dance draws a picture of the rituals performed before the community waged war. The dance reflected the search of the idaw bird. In their beliefs, the idaw bird would bring the community victory in war. The traditional clothing reflected the hot climate in Philippine, which is an island. Another dance, the banga dance portrayed the role of women in the society. Women fetched water for their families. Some older women could carry several pots stacked on their heads. In the dance, this aspect emphasized that the woman was older and with a family, hence she needed more water. The Spaniards had their own unique dance called the flamenco. It originated in the southern region of Spain, specifically the Andalusia region (Hayes 87). This dance had influence from different cultures, among them the Greek, Moorish, Indian, and Roman. Flamenco has existed since the 18th century, in a unique structure. However, it was the in thing in the 19th century and is still common today. Weddings, parties, and social events today still receive a good gracing from flamenco dancing. This dancing has a lot of popularity in the southern region and has different forms. Each form of the dance brings out a specific mood. Mood is an essential aspect in flamenco dancing and dictates the song accompanying the dance, the melodic parameters, as well as the cultural aspects portrayed in the background. The first form of flamenco is the grande, whose dancers express deep remorse. They bring out a sad theme characterized by pain, anguish, loss of hope or sad religious themes. The second form of flamenco is the intermedio, which is uniquely reflective, with average intensity. The third form of the flamenco is the chico which expresses love, happiness and a lot of humor (Hayes 94). Flamenco dancers pause at the start of the dance; this pause gives them an opportunity to be carried away by emotions of the song. According to Hayes, dancers get immensely engrossed in the music to the level of being able to express the mood of the dance to the viewer (112). In addition, it is very sensual and romantic; a feature that has earned it global fame and the world views it as a powerful art that expresses the deepest of emotions from the human soul. The flamenco dance has aspects from different cultures and this implies that different groups of people can come together in dance. This is the case because historical Spain had a multicultural population. The Gypsies and Arabs have the largest contribution to this form of dance. Passion, dignity, and grace were the key elements of the dance. Dancers connected with viewers through expression of intense feeling and beautiful movements. Intricate, well calculated movements and extensive footwork defined flamenco. Alvin Ailey, a renowned choreographer in America, argued that dance came from the people and a return to the people is fair. He referred to the African American dance, which promoted multiracial themes. African modern dance evolved from the integration of both black dances and those from other races. According to DeFrantz, when he started, he choreographed black dance but time taught him a lesson through the racism he encountered (23). He then turned to multiracial choreography and the results of his work are modern dance, ballet, jazz, and ethnic dance. His dances are center on African American spirituality and have universal themes of life, faith, and understanding humanity. This form of dance successfully integrates two cultures and celebrates them. According to Graves, in the 1400’s, a new dance, the ballet dance evolved (8). Spirits and super humans were the main subjects of the ballet dance. This dance requires a great deal of flexibility and strength for the dancer to be able to express the power in the dance. During those times, women danced on their toes to imply floating or flying. Ballet dancers were slim and tall and learned the movements until they could move in any direction. Ballet influenced other dancing forms in many cultures. The integration of dances results to a new dance. The resulting dance has characteristics from the original dance. Ballet dancers have costumes that are mostly light clothing. Ballet requires stamina and needs training and extreme flexibility. Ballet styles characterize the modern hip-hop dancing. The island of Puerto Rico is rich in music and dance and this has been the case for along time. Early historians studying the history of the people living in this region described the areito dance. Indigenous people who danced areito held hands as they danced, linking the hands to form a line and sometimes placing hands on shoulders. The leader directed steps of the dance. Dancers told a story in the intervals when the leader was directing. In this region, people danced to pass time and they graced their events with good dancing. Immigration into this region resulted to the development of new dances in the mountains, urban centers and the coast. Immigrants were of Spanish, African, Latin and North Americans and the French origin. The indigenous people of the island adopted the waltz, mazurka, lancer, rigadoon and contradanse of European origin. Mainly, peasants of the island are the ones who adopted these European dances but integrated them with indigenous instrumentation, rhythm, interpretation, and costumes, making them very distinct from the original dances. One of newly formed and most common dances was the seis; danced by six couples. At the beginning of the dance, the men faced the women but sooner, lines crossed, dancers stamped feet and all the couples waltzed. Similarities of Dances from Different Cultures Bomba was a collection of dances that evolved from African, Hispanic, and Central American origin. These fusions developed in the sugarcane plantations of Loiza, Guayma and in southern Puerto Rico. These people used barrel drums and tambourines contrary to the peasants who used string instruments. Puerto Rican danza is the most uniquely refined dance, with great inspiration from the Cuban region and South America. Due to the multiple cultural origins, danza has its distinct. The dance has two parts; in the first part, couples danced around a room steadily according to the music while in the second, they danced in a closed ballroom. In the second part, they danced to the rhythm; merenque. Puerto Ricans imported dances from other regions such as the mambo, bolero, cha-cha and the quaracha. The most common dance in the Puerto Rican region today is the salsa. Salsa implies the happening of parties and means a sauce. Puerto Rico’s salsa is quite sophisticated and has great influence from the Cuban regions and African-Caribbean experience. According to Pietrobruno, salsa dance has transnational moves because its development in each region received influence from another culture (12). In addition, Pretell elaborates that some salsa dance moves originated in the Puerto Rican region. The people in this region had hot, highly danceable rhythms. Salsa has a lot of recognition in the world and this island is home to salsa dance with the menenque tune. Due to the popularity of salsa, Puerto Rico hosts the annual salsa festivals. As argued by Pietrobruno, culture is not fixed and changes with time (14). It is evident that no culture develops its unique dance without influence from the dance contents of other cultures. It is evident that the same dance has different movements in different regions because when societies borrow an aspect of culture, they fuse with their own to make up a distinct dance style. This was the case in the Puerto Rican dancing; on fusion with other people from other origins, new dances resulted. On the other hand, a dance like flamenco originated from different cultures. Therefore, the dance has varying cultural aspects and carries themes from a diverse view. The African modern dance developed by Alvin Ailey combines themes from two races; black and American resulting to unique dances. Diversity in Dance Despite the effects of other cultures to dance, it is possible to identify some societies with specific dances. A clear example is evident from the Puerto Rico region, whereby salsa is the most popular. Different regions have varying themes that they express in dance even if they have fused the movements with those from another culture. Music accompanying dance is unique to each society and this creates a level of diversity. Use of musical instruments varies among societies. For example, Spaniards love the guitar and use it in their music. Use of varying instruments diversifies dance. Without doubt, new dances will result as long as societies interact. Dance is a cultural universal occurring in almost all the cultures. Evidently, dance evolves down generations meaning hat it changes occur from one generation to another. Movements and stories depicted in dances change as societal values change. Modern dance is free and the dancer tells the story in his or her own way. This proves that evolution of dance is bringing in new ideas. The current society views dance as a form of entertainment and the dancer should be creative enough to amuse the viewer. People will borrow ideas from other cultures as they develop their own. Therefore, incorporation of other people’s ideas brings together varying cultural aspects and society should appreciate the role it plays. Multiracial dance expresses themes of all humanity and is a strong binding factor. Integration of dances creates new dances distinct in its features. According to Kornelly, dance is an art of expression, created by people to help them connect to others and as Alvin Ailey argues, it should return to the people (68). Work Cited DeFrantz, Thomas. Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2006. Print. Graves, Karen. Ballet Dance. Minneapolis: Capstone Press. 2008. Print. Kornelly, Sharon. Dancing culture, culture dancing: Celebrating Pasifika in Aotearoa/New Zealand. ProQuest. 2008. Print. Lopez, Mellie. A handbook of Philippine folklore. Philippines: UP Press. 2006. Print. Pietrobruno, Sheenagh. Salsa and its transnational moves. Lanham: Lexington Books. 2006. Print. Hayes, Michelle. Flamenco: conflicting histories of the dance. McFarland: McFarland. 2009. Print. Pretell, Jaime. History of Salsa Dance and Music. Retrieved on December 3, 2011 from http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/salsa.htm Read More