Concert dance

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Concert dance (also known as performance dance), is a category of dances in which an audience is watching but does not participate. By contrast, in Social dance (also known as Participation dance) there is no audience (as such) as all participants perform and watch at the same time.

Some Ceremonial dances, Baroque dances and Erotic dances are examples of dance forms that are a blend of Social and Concert dance. In this third category participants take on the roles of performer or audience at different times.

Contrary to popular belief concert dance does not exclusively occur in the concert or theater setting. The category is only dependent on the presence of a non participating audience.

It should be noted that concert dance experienced the biggest exposure with development of mass culture during the second half of XX Century. Prominent postmodern artist Michael Jackson during his career choreographed and performed solo and group dance for over 17 million people, doing severals world tours and visiting up to hundred countries.

Usually performances are danced to a set music and choreography, whereas social dances are danced to changing music and without choreography. Exceptions can be found in many of the un-standardized social dances like argentine tango, salsa or swing.

This compares to other major dance categories based on purpose:

Ceremonial dance - Competitive dance - Erotic dance - Participation dance - Social dance - Concert dance

Almost any type of dance may be danced for the purpose of performance. However the following dance forms or styles are traditionally considered specific for this category:

References

Adams, D.(1999) Making the Connection: A Comparison of Dance in the Concert Versus Worship Setting. Sharing NYC. ISBN 0941500519
Carter, A. (1998) The Routledge Dance Studies Reader. Routledge. ISBN 0415164478

Concert dance

References

See also