The Evolution of Dance

Dance has continuously evolved over the ages as people have progressed. It's expanded, diversified, and grown in so many various ways. In the past century or so, television and cinema have helped accelerate the process by which new and different dances are spread. The showing of popular dancers on TV and performances in hit movies such as Saturday Night Fever and Footloose helped broadcast certain styles of dancing to the excited public. Saturday Night Fever was a huge commercial success upon its release in 1977 and significantly helped popularize disco music around the world to audiences that might not have otherwise been exposed. Although the film's effect and that of others should not be underestimated, the popularization of the Internet and many of its sites have together achieved the dissemination of countless dances to audiences notably larger and more diverse.

The establishment of the Internet and websites such as YouTube have revolutionized the process by which dance is circulated in the past decade. From private YouTube dance videos to projects like Google’s Waltz Lab along with the rise of reality television shows such as Dancing With the Stars and America’s Best Dance Crew, dance has prominently featured in the public’s eye and access to different styles of dance has never been more available. Interested users can now find videos of performances from their favorite dancers or from everyday people with just a few clicks of a button.

Michael Stroup, a graduate student at Delta State University, talks about how "the use of video and the Internet can cause a student to be more creative and to learn at his or her own pace, without being left behind in a normal dance class. In a sense, video can help serve as a model for students and as a teaching tool for instructors. The Internet can help students to comprehend the meaning of the dance they are attempting, as well as give them the power to interact with and ask advice from other teachers and students around the world. Even with technological innovations, students are still able to enjoy the physical and health aspects of dance, because they must perform the dance physically." The Internet has revolutionized dance education and made it widely accessible tp the public.

The progress of technology has changed the world of dance in countless ways and it continues to do so everyday. Be sure to check out the websites featured on the left navigation bar as well as user submitted sites under Recommended Sites for just a couple of sources that helped revolutionize dance into what it is today.