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Essay / Dance Exposes Socio-Political Psychology of decades of history with one representing a more Eurocentric view while the other is representative of the African Zulu people. These dance forms are both respectfully held in high esteem in connection with their culture and share common themes such as originating from a royal lineage and having art forms that could be expressed at political purposes. The emergence and development of these dance forms also reveals the circumstances and environment in which they are expelled, such as the French and Zulu monarchy. This essay will attempt to explore the respective origins in which these dance forms exist and how the prowess of the Zulu warriors was demonstrated. The essay will also attempt to address the socio-political context of these dances to investigate the evidence or lack thereof of these dance forms in concert theaters in South Africa in the 1920s and 1940s. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayOrigins of Dance FormsIn the 17th century, at the court of the Tsar, ballet was first introduced (Au and Rutter , 2016). The king and queen often took on the role of directing the dancers who were usually noble amateurs, unlike the trained professionals we are currently exposed to in modern times. Modern ballet emphasizes feats of strength and agility whereas in its origins the emphasis was on grace, elegance and refinement. The director of the Court Ballet was to praise the State. The Court Ballet was comprised of politics, art and entertainment, all intentional and carefully planned by the reigning monarchy at the time of Louis XIV (the Sun King). It was under his reign that French court ballet reached its peak since his own birth had been celebrated by the Ballet de la Félicité (1639). The Academy of Music and Poetry and the composer Thibault de Courville also had a decisive influence on the development of court theater at this time. Evidence of the court ballet exhibiting various powerful themes such as political themes can be seen in Renaud's Ballet de la Délivrance (1617). Another dance form that was also taking off was the Indlamu dance performed by Zulu men in South Africa. The Zulu-speaking nation had risen to regional power status in the early 1800s under the leadership of King Shaka (De La Harpe and Derwent, 2001: 34). Shaka's control imposed a discipline of militant thought that left a strong sense of warlike character and courage among his people. Due to the prowess of the Zulu people, this affected the growth and popularity of the concept of Indlamu dance culture. The origins of the Indlamu dance form come from a military exercise that prepared members for war (Asante, 2000: 68-69). Indlamu dance was a symbol of power, domination and self-control (Brill, 1977: 113). Dancing before King Shaka was a system or process by which they could denounce "cowards" in the ranks of the army, explains a Zulus named Mtshapi (Firenzi, 2012). This helped maintain the value demanded in such an art form. Influence of religion, tradition and socio-political context During the 1920s and 1940s, Christianity included dance as a complex part of worship,.
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