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Dance. Dance as entertainment was one of the favorite entertainment of the ancient Egyptians, but it is unlikely that it was a social pastime, at least among the upper classes. The dancers were usually women and the dance is more like a rhythmic motion that one that one that needs plenty of energy. The dancers were often seen in depictions of banquets. They also appear in funeral processions, and in any case accompanied by music and clapping. Apparently existeron war dances and harvest performed by men who are likely formed national dances. (COLI. Dictionary Egyptian Archaeology).
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According to etymology, the word "dancing" comes from the Frankish "dintjan" -old West-Germanic language, whose meaning would "rocking, swaying, moving from side to side ". We conceptualized the uniform and quiet movement whose contemplation soothes the soul.
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As the etymology of "dancing", linguists have no clear origin, but they agree in indicating that the common word to describe the dance in Latin, is "saltare" and originally meant "repeated jumping." This definition leads us to think of a rapid movement, more lively, outgoing and lively movement, whose verve we turn the soul.
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Currently both the dance floor and dance are synonymous, but we wonder if the Romanesque period were also concepts as interchangeable as now.
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would be interesting to know whether an earlier time for these criteria, women who were initiated in the art of dance were indoctrinated to jump and acrobatics or dance particularly associated to sway gently to the sound of music and if so, may occur as in ancient Egypt, it would be a dance characteristic of a high class status.
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Today we wanted to analyze the issue of "dancer" in Romanesque iconography with the aim of, through some plays, go into the multiplicity of points view that nature, things and symbols were for the humanist man of the Middle Ages. We would like to start with the most represented historic dancing on the stones Romance: "Salome."
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We usually recognize this character when we see the dancer located near a banquet and / or by the figure of Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee, which and according to tradition, moved to contemplate the harmonious nice girl dance, offered as a prize that she requested the head Baptist "on a silver platter."
In these representations Salome acts alone, there appears accompanists often using a small musical instrument that helps you keep pace in their ceremonial subtle movement.
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Despite the bad reputation that the dance of Salome has gained in Church teaching, we must consider the location where the action is performed by the presumed requirement of teaching choreography given to upper-class women may be sufficient to denote the solemnity of a dance of these characteristics.
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After the dancing figure of Salome, it appears another representation treated as "woman of dirty tricks" that the influence of the above, coupled with the prevailing cultural interests that manipulated the time the concept with the art of ambiguity, contribute to the representation of the lady who dances alone to the tuba and giga are being incorporated from the Psycomachia Prudencio, the ideal prototype the sin of lust.
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and dance, that harmonic balancing since time immemorial was a sublime and harmonious development of liberating beauty, a sacred reflection of enjoyment of life, began to acquire a reputation immoral, sinful even evil.
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Whatever the case, this form of dance would remain very popular and our Romance is full of representations.
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One of the finest examples of Romanesque dance, we have the famous dancer writhing back position his arms around the waist as jar while displaying her long hair at ground level. Contemplation suggests a carefree and fun image while admirable and revealing.
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Among the workshops they chiseled this particular scene, the most admired by romanicófilos are undoubtedly attributed to the workshop of master Agüero, and it is here where noticed a curious "norm" that seems to predominate in this workshop:
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in this specific "step dance" in which the woman turns her body to sweep the floor with her hair appears in a duo with a single musician, curiously when the musical instrument used is a tuba, or similar, the dancer is accompanied by a man , however, some exceptions, when the instrument used is a harp, the dancer is paired with another woman .
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The problem in understanding these performances of dance lies in the lack of codes of their movements, so we wonder if detail is so carefully chance or reflects a real meaning is unknown to us the time.
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On the other hand, we also have other popular Roman staging: the celebrity dance, dancer, acrobat, jumping, jumps and twists. A figure that usually found surrounded by musicians, jugglers and acrobats.
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. The calm and sophisticated movement of the dancers, perhaps a higher social class, gives way here plebeian women using the "saltare" as a means of subsistence, linked to the origins of theater and circus, disreputable itinerant groups normally associated with charlatans and puppeteers, destined to go from city to city to continue their occupations and street tasks, which are proclaimed and entertain the crowd going.
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and Roman examples to differentiate between dancer and contortionist, we wanted to study two performances bring distant, geographically and chronologically:
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We refer to the Romanesque church of Magdalena de Tudela (Navarra) and the San Pablo de Úbeda (Jaén). Both figures are next to a fellow musician and both conform to your body an inverted U. The hand position different discipline from another, as long as the dancer puts his hands navarra the waist, the higher the Andalusian contortionist over his head in order to support the ground .
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The mystery of the dance is condensed in the figure of the contortionist. She is everything rewarded, punished, have fun. With his trade, his show is forever new, because continually creates beholders and walks away empty-handed and without fear death because her death as a friendly game, is the larger livelihood.
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The dance that was overshadowed by the monotheistic religions within households and social pastime, is no longer part of the ceremonies to become mere entertainment.
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How far is the rough "saltare" and the sublime "dintjan" but however, their concepts are already united and fused.
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For more pictures and comments on the topic: http://foros.hispavista.com/foro-blogs-del-romanico--desiderata-/42664/931379/m/ella-baila-sola/
Health and Romanesque.
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