Dance In The 1700's

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What was dance like in the 1700’s? Some of us do not know how far back dance goes. Dance goes far back and it always meant something to some people. It is a way of expressing themselves or to bring out a message to others. What I mean by expressing themselves is they used dance to express their feelings or certain situations that are going on in their lives. To let out emotions instead of anger towards someone else. Dance was use for a variety of reasons back then and even now. So what was dance like in the 1700’s? What kind of music would they dance to? How would they dance? I will be writing about different aspects of dance as far as what it was like, how the dances were, what kind of dances, music they would dance to, what it was used for …show more content…
As stated on Encyclopedia Virginia “being a skilled dancer was an indication of good breeding” (Dance during the Colonial Period, n.p). People would fit in due to the fact that they knew how to dance, and knowing how to dance was a way to tell whether you had manners. Dance was a chance that men and women had to be able to express themselves using their style of dressing, dancing with someone and the way they would dance as well. “Most dances fell into two main categories: "fancy" dances, such as minuets, allemandes, and hornpipes; and "country" dances” (Dance during the Colonial Period, n.p). The style of country dancing was known to be easier to learn, you would not just have one dance partner, but switch partners with everyone else on the dance floor. Dancing started being held in different places, but most of the times it was used for formal parties. Enslaved people and people from the lower class would have their own informal parties and some dances were similar to those of formal parties. “Enslaved persons and lower-class whites held their own informal dance parties where they often performed jigs and reels—more loosely structured dances derived from the traditions of Africans and Scots, respectively—which were adapted by the upper class” (Dances during the Colonial Period, n.p). Late in the 1700’s dance started becoming more popular and started growing. Due to certain downfalls, some people used dance to better their economic situations. They started using buildings to hold certain dance shows, or theatrical dancing shows. Dancing started occurring more frequently in “plantation homes, taverns, and in official
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