Editing Dance (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of dance}}
[[File:Dancing painting at Bhimbetka.jpg|thumb|left|Mesolithic dancers at Bhimbetka]]
[[archeology|Archaeological]] evidence for early dance includes 10,000-years-old paintings in [[Madhya Pradesh, India]] at the [[Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka]],<ref name="YM">{{cite book |last1=Mathpal |first1=Yashodhar |title=Prehistoric Painting Of Bhimbetka |date=1984 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=9788170171935 |page=220 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GG7-CpvlU30C&pg=PA220 |language=en}}</ref> and [[ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] tomb paintings depicting dancing figures, dated {{Circa|3300 BC}}. It has been proposed that before the invention of written languages, dance was an important part of the oral and performance methods of passing stories down from one generation to the next.<ref name="lecomte">Nathalie Comte. "Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World". Ed. Jonathan Dewald. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. pp&nbsp;94–108.</ref> The use of dance in [[Ecstasy (emotion)|ecstatic]] [[altered state of consciousness|trance states]] and healing rituals (as observed today in many contemporary indigenous cultures) is thought to have been another early factor in the social development of dance.<ref name="guenther">Guenther, Mathias Georg. 'The San Trance Dance: Ritual and Revitalization Among the Farm Bushmen of the Ghanzi District, Republic of Botswana.' Journal, South West Africa Scientific Society, v. 30, 1975–76.</ref>
[[File:Dancers and musicians on a Sasanian bowl.jpg|thumb|Dancers and musicians on a Sasanian bowl, Iran]]
References to dance can be found in very early recorded history; [[Greek dance]] (''[[Choros (dance)|choros]]'') is referred to by [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Plutarch]] and [[Lucian]].<ref>Raftis, Alkis, ''The World of Greek Dance'' Finedawn, Athens (1987) p25.</ref> The [[Bible]] and [[Talmud]] refer to many events related to dance, and contain over 30 different dance terms.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kadman|first=Gurit|date=1952|title=Yemenite Dances and Their Influence on the New Israeli Folk Dances|jstor=835838|journal=Journal of the International Folk Music Council|volume=4|pages=27–30|doi=10.2307/835838}}</ref> In [[History of Chinese classical dance|Chinese]] pottery as early as the [[Neolithic]] period, groups of people are depicted dancing in a line holding hands,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://en.chnmuseum.cn/Default.aspx?TabId=549&AntiqueLanguageID=3002|title=Basin with design of dancers|publisher=National Museum of China|language=en-US|access-date=2017-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811060221/http://en.chnmuseum.cn/(S(qskmzwqsztmrds45bof052bh))/Default.aspx?TabId=549&AntiqueLanguageID=3002|archive-date=2017-08-11|url-status=dead}} Pottery from the [[Majiayao culture]] (3100 BC to 2700 BC)</ref> and the earliest Chinese word for "dance" is found written in the [[oracle bones]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The history of Chinese dance|last=Kʻo-fen|first=Wang|date=1985|publisher=Foreign Languages Press|isbn=978-0-8351-1186-7|oclc=977028549|page=7}}</ref> Dance is described in the ''[[Lüshi Chunqiu]]''.<ref name="aesthetic tradition">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1eZuB2xwYwC&pg=PA5|title=The Chinese aesthetic tradition|first1=Zehou|last1=Li|first2=Maija Bell|last2=Samei|date=2010|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press|isbn=978-0-8248-3307-7|oclc=960030161|page=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=23281|title=Lü Shi Chun Qiu|last=Sturgeon|first=Donald|website=Chinese Text Project Dictionary|language=zh|access-date=2017-05-23|quote=Original text: 昔葛天氏之樂，三人操牛尾，投足以歌八闋|archive-date=2022-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705152247/https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en|url-status=live}}</ref> Primitive dance in ancient China was associated with sorcery and shamanic rituals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schafer|first=Edward H.|date=June 1951|title=Ritual Exposure in Ancient China|journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|volume=14|issue=1/2|pages=130–184|doi=10.2307/2718298|jstor=2718298|issn=0073-0548}}</ref>
[[File:Bronze Statuette of a Veiled and Masked Dancer 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Greek bronze statuette of a veiled and masked dancer, 3rd–2nd century BC, Alexandria, Egypt]]
During the first millennium [[common era|BCE]] in India, many texts were composed which attempted to codify aspects of daily life. [[Bharata Muni]]'s ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' (literally ''"the text of dramaturgy"'') is one early text. It mainly deals with drama, in which dance plays an important part in Indian culture. A strong continuous tradition of dance has since continued in India, through to modern times, where it continues to play a role in culture, ritual, and the [[Bollywood]] entertainment industry. Many other [[contemporary dance]] forms can likewise be traced back to [[Historical dance|historical]], [[Traditional dance|traditional]], [[Ceremonial dance|ceremonial]], and [[List of dances sorted by ethnicity|ethnic]] dance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dance {{!}} Ministry of Culture, Government of India |url=https://www.indiaculture.gov.in/dance |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.indiaculture.gov.in |archive-date=2024-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240730074450/https://www.indiaculture.gov.in/dance |url-status=live }}</ref>