Why do we Dance?

Alright, so things have been a little serious here of late, dealing with deep soul-searing thought-provoking issues, also how people take their tea.  Let today be no different!  "But Ben," you might say, "dance is hardly a subject of significant moral complexity."  To this I would respond, "You must be doing it wrong."  No, I'm not good at it, but I am a fan and hope to one day improve.  What interests me as a writer is what a dancer can tell my audience about their culture through the way they move.
   
Terpsichore was the Greek muse who delighted in dance.  It has undoubtedly been a form of expression since before humans were human. Across the animal kingdom, creatures seem to express themselves in rhythmic movements, from chimps waving their arms to the flicker of fireflies (okay, maybe that one is a stretch).  I can't speak for other species, but humans dance for an enormous variety of reasons (though we may not always be successful in our attempts).
    Joy is the simplest reason in the world to dance.  Trained dancers may be more likely to express joy in this fashion, but it is by no means restricted to the artist.  An uncoordinated person expressing him/herself in public may be one of the greatest proofs of joy (devoid of the fear of ridicule for a lack of coordination or skill) that can be displayed.  As a culminating event, I can think of fewer acts with the potential to be more transformative for a character's demeanor.  This has its uses, but dancing for joy is an immediate expression and not a deliberate act, which might inform us more how culture views individual expression than how it shapes dance.
    Social ritual is a phrase I use to describe the proscribed form dances of the baroque and associated styles, as well as good old North American square dances.  These are the kinds you see in the Shakespearean films with blocks of people making formations and patterns in large groups.  Square dances (in my limited experience) do the same kind of thing, but with a looser format, as the caller tells you what to do during the dance.  This kind of dancing rewards being a part of the group and following the rules with precision.  It seems likely that these dances were designed specifically to keep boys and girls at arm's length, while providing relatively chaste opportunities for "accidental" contact.  Instead of trying to ban it completely, perhaps it was transformed into a"morally upright" form. 
    Mating ritual is the flip side to the previous section.  However, this ritual can take two rather disparate forms.  The first would involve dances like the tango, which requires significant partner work.  A performer must certainly train at this art, but the emotional connection of the dance partners is an important part of the performance (which, friends who love tango tell me, often continues off the dance floor).  While many of these dances have become highly stylized, there is plenty of room for personal style and flair.  A similar, but opposite form is embodied in modern hip hop dance styles which serve to demonstrate the physicality of the performer as an individual (traditional Greek and Russian men dancing also comes to mind).  Even when working with in a group, often the best dancers will be featured with a leading or solo part within the routine.  It is interesting to note that most of the dance styles of this sort seem to have evolved from the lower economic classes.
    Artistic expression encompasses many motivating forces.  This is the attempt to tell a story or to relate an emotional experience through dance.  Religion has used dance to tell stories or evoke emotional responses in many cultures.  Ballet is a storytelling medium.  Dance is also incorporated into other art forms, like in Japanese Noh dramas.  The use of performance to make social and political commentary has a long tradition and certainly deserves a separate post or fifty at some other time.  The forms of movement used in these dances are much more difficult to decode than the content of the story because they deal with how the society views these characters.  Costuming and movement can give insight, but if you're using this type of performance in your writing, you might be asking too much from a scene by layering social information with the story being told.
    Dance is one of those things that is present in almost every culture (even in small God-fearing Oklahoma towns), but is often omitted in literature, except for comedic purposes.  Dance is a universal language that can portray the full range of emotion.  It might be the easiest way to immediately access an alien culture.  Proper use can establish the social morays of a culture through its form as well as the story it tells.  Additionally, it can be a lot of fun.  There is nothing wrong with letting your characters lighten their heels and enjoy themselves from time to time.


What do you think?  Am I completely off base?  Are there any other reasons to dance that I left off or examples that defy categorization?  I once watched an entire special on Balinese music and dance where the audience laughed at the dancers if they made the slightest mistake.  "Strictly Ballroom" was a surprisingly engaging movie.  Come on people, help me.  I want to learn.