Introduction
Dances are the integral part of the Western culture. However, the representatives of the various ethnicities may have rather different attitude towards them. Although almost every nation in the world historically has its own traditional dances, the perception of the contemporary dances may be different among people. The aim of this report is to present and interpret the results of the survey on the attitude of people to contemporary dances.
Method
Internet Research
The research was conducted through the use of the relevant articles, books, and online video interviews. In particular, these sources included Questia internet library, Hampshiredance.org.uk, and Youtube.
Survey
In order to investigate the question of people’s attitude to dancing and the contemporary dance, in particular, a short survey was created. After its development, it was distributed among target group of university students. The fifteen individuals were questioned.
There were 80% of the females and 20% of males. The age groups were represented in the following way: 46.7% of the respondents – the age from 25 to 30, 26.7% – the age of older than 35, 13.3% – the age group from 30 to 36, and 13.3% – the age from 18 to 24.
The Results
Internet Research Findings
The results of the medical research allow concluding that dance “provides an active, non-competitive form of exercise that has potential positive effects for physical health as well as mental and emotional well-being” (Quin, Redding, Frazer, 2007, p. 1). Taking into account the results of the survey, it can be said that the respondents tend to be aware of the positive effect of dances on health.
Nowadays, the contemporary dances reflect the modern lifestyle and culture. It is said that they represent the adventures and visionaries of the modern choreographers (Morgenroth, 2007). Some people argue that there is a tendency of the feminization of salsa, especially salsa romantica, which tend to be less aggressive than salsa caliente (Negus, 1999). This statement is proved by the results of the survey.
Suzan Moss claims that the attending of the dance classes can contribute to the multicultural communication (Moss, 2000). Undoubtedly, dancing requires trainings. Matt Cornell, the contemporary dancer, says that it is really hard to maintain movement practice (QL2_Dance, 2012). The respondents gave different views on which kind of arts were the best forms to convey artists’ emotions.
It is interesting to know what the dancers and choreographers think about that and what inspires them. Sonya Tayeh says that she gets her inspiration from the cartoons and their superheroes as well as from paintings, and just from life experience (Boogie Zone, 2013).
The Japanese researchers of the contemporary dance emphasize the importance of improvisation in the contemporary dancing stating that the contemporary dance is the “process of dance creation itself” (Nakano & Okada, n.d., p.2073).
Survey Findings
The results of the survey show that the overwhelming number of the respondents is interested in the belly dancing and salsa. Their weights account for 26.7% each.
The number of people, who have ever attended the dance classes, and the number of those, who have not, were approximately equal with 46.7% giving the positive answer and 40% giving the negative answer. It is interesting to note that 53.3% of the respondents strongly disagree with the statement “The dances are just for girls”.
The results on the answering the question of what is the main benefit of dancing show that 86.7% of the respondents said that they consider it made you healthier, whereas as only 6.7% of people said that it made you popular and 6.7% said that they didn’t see any benefits.
It should be also noted that 46.7% of the respondents said that the contemporary dances were not considered as a trend in their professional circle. The respondents were also asked to express their attitude to the expression by Edward Hopper who said “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world”.
The question was “What is in your opinion the best form of Art to convey the artists’ emotions to you?” The results show that 26.7% of people consider that it is the painting, and the same percentages of the respondents think that it is the photography and music. Literature is chosen by 13.3% of people and dance is considered to be the best form of Art to convey the artists’ emotions by only 6.7%.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In summary, it should be said that the majority of people like dances. They consider them as the integral part of any holiday. Belly dancing and salsa are the favorite dances of many people. The respondents are aware of the positive impact of dancing on health.
Overall, the results of the survey show that people have the positive attitude to the modern dances. I would recommend the development of the dancing classes and opening the new ones in our neighborhood.
References
Boogie Zone (2008). BZ Contemporary – Sonya Tayeh Interview. Web.
Morgenroth, J. (2007). Speaking of Dance: Twelve Contemporary Choreographers on Their Craft. New York, USA: Routledge.
Moss, S. (2000). Learning from Latina Students: Modern Dance Meets Salsa and Merengue. The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 71(3), n.pag. Web.
Nakano, Y., & Okada, T. Process of Improvisational Contemporary Dance. Web.
Negus, K. (1999). Music Genres and Corporate Cultures. New York, USA: Routledge.
QL2_Dance (2012). Contemporary Dance Interview: Matt Cornell with QL2 Dance – Quantum Leap in “Me Right Now”. Web.
Quin, E., Redding, E., & Frazer, L. (2007). Dance Science Research Report. Web.