In this topic, we will discuss the art of dance to try to answer some questions such as: When and where did the ancient Egyptians dance?  Who were the ancient Egyptians dancing for?  Are all social groups in ancient Egypt dancing?  What are the most important types of these dances and what are their characteristics ?

Music and dance were very popular in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians spent their free time singing and dancing. In addition to for entertainment, dance was performed on several occasions . Male and female dance troupes were a common form of after-dinner entertainment for the wealthy. Farmers danced to thank the gods for a good harvest. Dance came naturally after music. Dance was also inspired by merit, although it was later linked to the Goddess Hathor, whose dancers are vividly documented in art and inscriptions.

 

Music and Dances in Ancient Egypt - Art & Culture

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Music had become a significant aspect of Egyptian culture by the time of the New Kingdom (c. 1570–c. 1069 BCE). It's possible that the well-known poetic form of the love song, which is so closely related to the New Kingdom, evolved to be sung and accompanied by interpretive dance. This last one was frequently used in religious ceremonies.

The sistrum was a hand-held device closely associated with Goddess Hathor but used in the worship ceremonies of many gods by temple's dancers. The menit-necklace was a heavily beaded neckpiece that could be shaken in dance or taken off and rattled by hand during temple performances.

In ancient Egyptian civilization, a dancer's profession was respected. Ancient Egyptians considered dancing to be a normal aspect of life and even an important component of religious rites. In Egypt, most celebrations and festivals were incomplete without dancing.

However, dancers were not restricted to temples and were a well-liked form of entertainment all over Egypt. Dance was associated with the elevation of human sexuality, religious devotion, and earthly pleasures. In Egyptian theology, sex was just one more facet of life without any association with "sin". Both male and female dancers followed the same fashion paradigm. Women frequently dressed in simple, sheer gowns, robes, and skirts.

In religious rites, music and dancing were used to uplift people and bring them closer to the divine. There were no restrictions on who could or could not dance at any one time as hymns to the gods were chanted to the accompaniment of music and dance. Although it appears that the upper class did not dance in public as much as the lower class did, there are times when it is obvious that the king did.

Because dancing was closely associated with public entertainment, where dancers wore almost nothing, upper-class men and women may be rarely depicted dancing for this reason. Nudity would not have been a problem, but rather mixing with the lower classes. Any time over the history of their culture, the ancient Egyptians were entirely at comfort with both their own and other people's naked bodies.

Dance was used to call the gods, whether in the temple or at public performances. Egypt's gods and goddesses were not just worshipped in temples; they were also present in every area of daily life. A custom of "impersonating" a deity developed in which the dancer assumed divine characteristics and interpreted the higher worlds for the audience. Hathor is the most well-known goddess connected with this.

Dancers would emulate the goddess by referring to her as "the golden one", acting out scenes from her life, or channeling her essence via movement. Priestesses were referred to as Hathors and, in some eras, wore horned headdresses to associate themselves with Hathor's aspect as a cow-goddess. Dancers frequently wore tattoos that represented the protective aspect of the Goddess Hathor or the God Bes.

 

Types of Dances 

According to scholars, the most popular dancing styles in Egyptian practice are:-

• The Purely Movemental Dance: A dance that was essentially an energy explosion in which both the dancer and the spectator merely took pleasure in the rhythm and movement.
• The Gymnastic Dance: Some dancers excelled at more challenging movements that needed training as well as exceptional physical dexterity and flexibility. These dancers improved their sensitive motions as well.
• The Imitative Dance: These purported to mimic animal movements but were only allusively mentioned in Egyptian writings and not really shown in the artwork.
• The Pair Dance: In ancient Egypt, couples weren't established by males dancing with women, but rather by two men or two women dancing together. the dancers' movements were accomplished in perfect symmetry. the Egyptians were very aware of and serious about this dance as more than simple movements.
• The Group Dance: These may be divided into two sub-types. The first one featured at least four, and occasionally as many as eight dancers, all of whom performed separate motions in time with the music. The other sub-type had ranks of dancers performing the same movements during the ritual death dance.
• The War Dance: These appeared to be leisure activities for mercenary soldiers of Libyans, Sherdans, Pedtiu (peoples who made up a portion of the so-called Sea Peoples), and other groups.
• The Dramatic Dance: being performed to commemorate a historical tableau.
• The Lyrical Dance: This dance had its own narrative, similar to modern ballet. When dancing together or separately, a man and a girl dancer used wooden clappers to give their steps rhythm. They occasionally pirouet, part, and approach, with the girl evading the man as he tenderly pursued her.
• The Grotesque Dance: The dwarves, it seems, are the ones who perform it in the first place.  Like the one who was brought back to the "Divine Dances" by order of King Harkhuf.
• The Funeral Dance: Three subtypes resulted from this type of dance. One was the ceremonial dance, which was an element of the burial service itself. Then there were the signs of sadness, as the performers lifted both arms in the ka sign or put their palms to their heads. A dance performed to amuse the decedent's ka was the third subtype.
• The Religious Dance: Musicians with ritual training as well as singers skilled in hymns and other kinds of chants participated in temple rites.

For whatever reason, the dances were intended to raise both the soul of the dancer and the audience of viewers or participants. The dance both evoked the highest human instincts and offered solace to those who had experienced disappointments and losses in life. Dance and music simultaneously enlightened and exalted one's current situation as well as the meaning of triumph and pain in all of human history.

Until today, modern Egyptian women appear to like dancing, and it's stated that every Egyptian woman knows belly dance. Dancing still evokes happy and relaxing moments, just as it did in ancient Egypt. Perhaps the simplest way to convey joy is to dance. In Egypt, dance has a very old history.

 

Conclusion 

For whatever reason, the dances were intended to raise both the soul of the dancer and the audience of viewers or participants. The dance both evoked the highest human instincts and offered solace to those who had experienced disappointments and losses in life. Dance and music simultaneously enlightened and exalted one's current situation as well as the meaning of triumph and pain in all of human history.

Until today, modern Egyptian women appear to like dancing, and it's stated that every Egyptian woman knows belly dance. Dancing still evokes happy and relaxing moments, just as it did in ancient Egypt. Perhaps the simplest way to convey joy is to dance. In Egypt, dance has a very old history.

 

Bibliography 

• Atlas of Ancient Egypt: Baines John and Malek Jaromir, Les Livres De France,1980.
• Appreciating Dance: A Guide to the World’s Liveliest Art, Princeton Book Company, 2009.
• Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, By Shaw Ian; Nicholson Paul, Harry N. Abrams,1995, Inc., Publishers
• Dance and Dancers in Ancient Egypt by Marie Parsons, Accessed 26 May 2017.
• Female Dance in Ancient Egypt by Patricia Spencer, Accessed 26 May 2017.
• Graves-Brown. C, Dancing for Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt. Bloomsbury Academic, Lihs, 2010.
• Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt: Donald B. Redford (Editor), American University in Cairo Press, 2001.
• Pinch G. Egyptian Mythology A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• A, Hathor Rising: The Power of the Goddess in Ancient Egypt, Inner Traditions, 1997.
• G, Women in Ancient Egypt, Harvard University Press, 1993.
• Strouhal, E. Life of the Ancient Egyptians, University of Oklahoma Press,1992
• H, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Metro Books, 2006.
• J, Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt, Penguin Books, 1995.