Dancing is one of the most ancient hobbies and means of entertainment, which has been evolving and expanding throughout history. It is defined as a rhythmic movement of the body to the sound of music within a given space (Mackrell, 2019). Professional dancing is a complex structure that branches out to hundreds of different styles across the world, which is aimed to explore in the essay.
Ballet dance is one of the highly admired dancing styles, classified at top of the hierarchy and considered a backbone for many other dance styles. Ballet is a theatrical form of art that uses scenery, music, and dance to convey a story. It is a classical dance that is watched in theaters and is usually considered high-class entertainment. The style itself is based on poses and steps combined with light figures, leaps, and turns to create an aesthetically pleasing picture.
Ballroom dancing is another style of a more classical school of dance, which incorporates dozens of sub-styles. This style is most prevalent in Europe, attracting a broad audience with its expensive and rich tournaments. Ballroom dancing is primarily a competitive style, where individuals contest for prizes or higher classifications. Ballroom dance is most often associated with ten principal dances of Standard and Latin; however, the categorization has always been fluid, depending on countries and periods, with new hops occasionally being added to or removed from the ballroom repertoire.
Opposing the more conservative ballet and ballroom dances, hip-hop is a wholly distinct style of dance that significantly differs in its age, audience, style, and performance places. It is a high-energy dance that originated in the 1980s in New York City from Hispanic and African-American communities and the hip-hop culture (BBC Arts, 2015). Hip Hop dance includes various evolved styles based on some core moves such as breaking, popping, locking, and krumping.
The styles of dancing vary in their history, moves, music; however, they are all an expression of personality. Despite the competitiveness of the dancing industry, the community has united millions of people through the art of movement, continuing to inspire all generations. With a wide variety of dancing styles, each person may find one that corresponds to their personality the most and enjoys it as a hobby or a career.
References
BBC Arts. (2015). The History of Hip-Hop Dance. Web.
Mackrell, J. R. (2019). Dance | Definition, Types, History, & Facts. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Web.