Double-click on any word and see its definition from Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
Dance does not leave behind clearly identifiable physical artifacts such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave painting. It is not possible to say when dance became part of human culture. Dance has certainly been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and entertainment since before the birth of the earliest human civilizations. Archeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa 3300 BC and the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka paintings in India. One of the earliest structured uses of dance may have been in the performance and telling of myths. Before the introduction of written languages, dance was one of the methods of passing these stories down from generation to generation. Another early use of dance may have been as a precursor to ecstatic trance states in healing rituals. Dance is still used for this purpose by cultures from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert. Sri Lankan dances goes back to the mythological times of aboriginal yingyang twins and "yakkas" (devils). According to a Sinhalese legend, Kandyan dances originate, 2500 years ago, from a magic ritual that broke the spell on a bewitched king. Many contemporary dance forms can be traced back to historical, traditional, ceremonial, and ethnic dances.
Source: Wikipedia
Mike Ritof and Edith Boudreaux danced for 5,148 hours, 28.5 minutes (214.5 days) to win $2,000 at Chicago’s Merry Garden Ballroom from 29 August 1930 to 01 April 1931. Rest periods wer progressively cut from 20 to 10 to 5 to zero minutes per hour, with 10-inch (25.4 centimetre) steps and a maximum of 15 seconds for closure of eyes.
Source: Guinness World Records
The Red Shoes (1948): directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and starring Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook and Marius Goring. Tagline: Dance she did, and dance she must - between her two loves. Plot outline: Under the authoritarian rule of charismatic ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, his proteges realize the full promise of their talents, but at a price: utter devotion to their art and complete loyalty to Lermontov himself. Under his near-obsessive guidance, young ballerina Victoria Page is poised for superstardom, but earns Lermontov's scorn when she falls in love with Julian Craster, composer of "The Red Shoes," the ballet Lermontov is staging to showcase her talents.
Source: IMDb
The fastest rate ever measured for tap dancing is 32 taps per second by Stephen Gare of Sutton Coldfield, UK, at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham, UK on 28 March 1990. Roy Castle, host of the BBC Record Breakers TV program, achieved one million taps in 23 hours 44 minutes at the Guinness World of Records exhibition, London, UK on 31 October-01 November 1985. The greatest-ever assemblage of tap dancers in a single routine numbered 5,271 outside Macy’s department store in New York City, USA on 12 August 1990.
Source: Guinness World Records
Dance fever: Has your dance routine become old and tired? Desire a more tantalizing Tango? This invention patented in 1971 is the answer to dull dances and monotonous Mambos! You and your partner simply adorn the fancy dancing belt complete with flashing lights. Hey, don't forget to hook yourself up to your partner's waist so they can't run away when you step on their toes!
Source: Totally Absurd Inventions
Dance Little Sister by The Rolling Stones
See lyrics
In The Steadfast Tin Soldier, a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, the hero was missing part of his leg because there had not been enough tin left to finish him. The tin soldier was set on a table where there also stood a paper castle, complete with paper figures, including a lovely ballerina with a sequin on her sash. She stood with her leg so high in the air that the tin soldier could not find it; He thought that she also had only one leg and fell in love with her. After a number of adventures, the tin soldier was swept up and thrown into the fire. He began to melt and felt a terrible heat, although he did not know if it was from the fire or from love. Just then a draught blew the ballerina into the fire. She lit up and was gone. The tin soldier melted into a bit of tin. When the maid cleaned out the ashes the next day, she found a little tin heart; of the ballerina only the sequin remained.
Source: Wikipedia
Maria’s Samba Squash
See recipe
The following are all dance-related (an amusing use of a word or phrase which has several meanings or which sounds like another word):
The string went to the dance and had a ball.
When the skeleton went to a party he had no body to dance with.
Dance studios have waltz to waltz carpeting.
I used to be a tap dancer until I fell in the sink.
Ballet dancers are really kept on their toes.
If you spend too long commuting every day, half your job is line dancing and brake dancing.
Source: http://punoftheday.com/
There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. (Edwin Denby)
I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance. (Friedrich Nietzsche)
Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! (Constanze)
You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart. (Author Unknown)
Dancers are the athletes of God. (Albert Einstein)
There are short-cuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. (Vicki Baum)
Source: www.quotegarden.com
The longest recorded conga was the Miami Super Conga, held in conjunction with Calle Ocho – a party to which Cuban-Americans invite the rest of Miami for a celebration of life together. Held on 13 March 1988, the conga line consisted of 119,986 people.
Source: Guinness World Records
You can't dance on one leg. (African)
The hunt is like a dance for men, for the women the dance is the hunt. (Austrian)
If you are dancing with your rivals, don't close your eyes. (Burundi)
If everyone is going to dance, who, then, would watch? (Cameroonian)
All are not merry that dance lightly. (English)
A woman who dances too much gets ill from little work. (French)
He who has no shoes dances in his socks. (German)
Of what use is the veil if you are going to dance. (Hindu)
Source: Creative Proverbs
The Brolga (Grus rubicunda) is a bird in the crane family, first described in 1810. Brolgas are well known for their intricate mating dances. The dance begins with a bird picking up some grass and tossing it into the air, catching it in its bill, then progresses to jumping a metre into the air with outstretched wings, then stretching, bowing, walking, calling, and bobbing its head. Sometimes just one Brolga dances for its mate; often they dance in pairs; and sometimes a whole group of about a dozen dance together, lining up roughly opposite each other before starting.
Source: Wikipedia
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