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Hold: Pre-Introduction

This animal has been there even before the Man. If only he could talk...

Dancing, and in particular Ballroom and the Latin American dancing has always been present since the dawn of civilisation, and it was being performed ever since then either consciously or subconsciously. However its rediscovery, the way we see these dances as on today, started recently just about 3 to 4 centuries back. The holds for the dances too, changed with the passing of time.

Fashions in the field of dressing keep changing quite often in ones life time so it's easy to agree with. But similarly every thing in the world keeps changing, and dance is no exception. We need to study a bit of History and the process of evolution to get know how the dances were rediscovered, then how it developed as an entity, and how it started adopting patterns of Nature that we rarely look into; and many a times these seem contradicting with our beliefs. This way we would get a better essence so as to do the proper justice to the dance form and us.

I have made separate topics for ease of flow of ideas, which however when analysing need to be seen as one topic.

Separation of Sexes
The most basic life form is the unicellular creature which is a hermaphrodite, i.e. having both the sexes. It is a lonely creature thus a lot of work is involved for it's survival. This is not possible by a single entity thus it remains dormant many a times if the conditions for its survival are not right.

Then in the higher rung of evolution we have the multicellular creatures, which are also hermaphrodites. The small difference is that they can reproduce asexually and sexually as well. This allows the animal to choose between the two forms to produce a healthy offspring with the best and healthy genes combinations available.

Still higher up the ladder of evolution the sexes become totally separate and only the sexual reproduction is possible. This allows the individual to develop independently and develop its part of the genes. But there is a small funny part here. In certain fish, reptiles and amphibians, the sex change is possible by nature. In a group of unisex individuals, certain members transform into the opposite sex.

Then the last stage the sexes are totally separate and the reproduction is only by the sexual method, and more over the sex change is not possible naturally.

When the reproduction ceases to be asexual then by nature specialised jobs are given to the two sexes. The male is supposed to impregnate as many females as possible. And the female is suppose to go for the male that can give her the best genes. Thus the sexual drive, aspirations, climaxes, and many such factors for a female are totally different from that of male. This basic nature is seen in humans as well.

The next part is of getting the best genes, which is unexplained till date. In animals a number of males could have sex with a female of its species. However which male's gene to be accepted is the exclusive choice with the female. An almost similar thing happens in the case of humans. Let's assume that medically the time and the fitness of the husband and wife is right. Yet it is not necessary that the woman would conceive after the union. She would conceive from her man in due course of time only when by nature the woman gets the feel that the conditions are right. This feel that the nature instils in a woman is difficult to interpret. However there are a number of cases when married couples get a baby after a long time, some times after a couple of years despite the couple being true to the vows of marriage and medically fit from the beginning of the planning process. The genes of the two must agree for the better and healthy offspring.

This getting to know of the best genes gives rise to the mating dances in animals. This is when the individuals come together not from the point of having sex, but to search and know the best matching possible. It's only after this that the sex is performed from the sole purpose of conceiving. This does not imply that the sexual activity is not there prior to or after the main purpose is solve. This part is almost similar as in human beings.

On the highest rung of the ladder of evolution is man, who does not have to depend on the mating season as in the case of the other animals. However subconsciously by nature the respect for procreation is very much felt none the less.

Since there being no mating season for Man, the tendency of consecration of the Natural process of procreation is stressed upon in every culture. To achieve these, many in the past have made in-depth study and volumes of information are available; like the Hindu Kama Sutra in India. Similarly the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks and the Romans followed such a pattern. All this is wonderful but to achieve the standards in sex one need to follow a single path, thus came the idea of single man and a single woman to form a couple. The research on sex for the betterment is so vast that even half a life time is just insufficient, thus the couple is suppose to stick together for life. Thus in the process they gain a better mastery with experience, of the philosophy of Master and a Slave. This is when one is master of one's own self and is subtlety a slave at the same instant of time. So when a man and a woman with similar mastery come together the whole process is transformed into a very sacred ritual, and thereby giving the true befitting respects to Mother Nature.

However the process involves a lot of study and understanding of one's owned self. This requires the meeting of many people of the opposite sex, just like in the mating dancing of animals. All this process is sensual tending to lead to a sexual activity. Yet the actual process of having sexual encounter is not there, as it would be diverting from a single path, which would mean the hindrance to progress.

This is where the whole problem lies. The very scare within us of our doubts of sticking to the single path. This is what also scares people from a formal hug, or any such activity that seems either sensual or sexual. But the next part is that one will never know the temperature of bathing water unless one dips the finger in the bucket.

This is where the majority of the dances come in, especially the Ballroom and Latin American dances of today that are same as the dipping process mentioned above, and nothing else to be scared of.

All the above study is also made from the various programmes on animals and nature that are aired on the television, namely the "Discovery, National Geographic and the Animal Planet" channels. It is very difficult to pinpoint any one programme, as almost any and every programme has a small window to have a glimpse of ourselves. These not only help one understand one's own self and the community around, but also provides a lot of answers to our daily emotional problems.

Rediscovery and Growth
Quite some times back Judaism was in power and there was everything nice about it. Then came the Pharaohs, Greeks, and later the Romans. Through out this period the Jews were an oppressed class with the basic needs being snatched from them. A different line of thought was required to cater to the oppressed classes. Thus came the Christians and Muslims. To have an identity dance was one of the basic essentials sacrificed.

The Pharaohs, the Greeks and the Romans to a lesser extent as compared to the earlier two powerful civilisations, gave a priority and special status to sex, and dancing followed also as a forerunner to it. Here, it is not implied that dance definitely led to sex. Any way dancing saw it's down fall here.

Soon enough Christianity and Muslims gained popularity and started becoming unopposed strong societies. Christians moved west and northwards where there were greener pastures. This eased the life's rigors so they had more quality time to develop other essentials for a better and a balanced life. Here is where dancing got a new lease of life, under the watchful eye of the churches. Thus dancing was revived as a conscious event but under a lot of restrictions. The Muslims however entered a region with fewer pastures, thus making the chances for the development of dance almost impossible.

With the passage of time the Christians conquered more than half the world, and soon enough went to the continent of America. There they brought with them the slaves from Africa.

The Blacks in Africa till the time had not undergone such bad times as the Jews. Thus they had a steadily progressive life style. Thus they were able to develop dancing to a large extent. As a result they had dancing for various occasions to keep themselves emotionally fulfilled.

One can enslave a person however the culture within the person cannot be touched. So the Black slaves continued to exercise their part of culture in the new lands. The Whites liked some of their dances, especially the ones used for the initiation of the youngsters into adulthood.

These dances were very impressive since they were able to convey the message and educate the participants in a manner that was not obscene or embarrassing to any one, yet it was complete in its content and imparted the maximum knowledge to one's ability. It was a language to communicate across the cultural boundaries and was nearest to nature.

The Whites were quick to pick up this powerful tool, this dance variant, and developed it further. They copied it, however the element of the cultural fervour, a powerful and an essential dimension to dancing could not be copied. Thus some adjustments were made. This gave birth directly or indirectly, to the all the dances of the Dance-Sport, except the Viennese Waltz, and probably Paso Doble, which seems to have the distinct eastern influence.

As time passes by, centuries, the origin of the dances becomes immaterial, and then the dances start to transform to cater to the basic human needs, especially in terms of emotional balance and natural movements, a powerful tool to be nearest to nature. Thus today's dances are based on our natural movements that we perform consciously or subconsciously.

The hold for these dances changed from plain holding by the fingers, to closed hold that is normally seen as on today. And now the closed hold is giving way to close hold where the steady contact between the partners is maintained, as this gives the better feel of movements that are truly interdependent.

Maintaining of the Sanctity
To maintain the sanctity and sacredness of these dances, there are certain people who give small challenges. Many people did raise a voice against these dances, earlier. Following is taken from the book "Modern Ballroom Dancing: History and Practice by Victor Silvester".
It was about 1812 that the Waltz with its modern hold took root in England, and...
The dance met with tremendous opposition. 'No event ever produced so great a sensation in English Society as the introduction of the German Waltz,' says a writer of the period. 'The Anti-Waltzing party took the alarm, cried it down, mothers forbade it, and every ballroom became a scene of feud and contention, sarcastic remarks flew about, and pasquinades were written to deter young ladies from such a recreations.'
Lord Byron wrote 'huge hussar-looking gentleman, turning round and round to a d--d see-saw, up and down sort of a tune like tow cockchafers spitted upon the same bodkin'.
Sir H. Englefield's verses,
What! The girl I adore by another embraced!
What! The balm of her breath shall another man taste?
What! Pressed in the dance by another man's knee!
What! Panting recline on another than me!
Sir, she is yours; you have pressed from the grape its fine blue,
From the rosebud you have shaken the tremulous dew;
What you've touched you may take, pretty waltzer - adieu!

However in the face of a very strong, aesthetic and genuine reason for the sustenance and development of these dances, such resistance died out, not totally though.

The "Meat" of a Dance
Many get the ideas from watching such dances, in the least realising that all that one watches is actually an illusion, which is one of the necessities of a good dance. For example, a good dance talks of the "have" and the "have not". In real life we tend to lose respect for the thing that we have, and many a times we get frustrated with what we do not achieve. In the good dance, the "have" are shown as what we never get, and the "have not" are shown such what we tend to get.

Also the dances of the Dance-Sport are primarily concerned with the discovery of ones self, primary of the warmth, touch, heartbeat and the rhythm that make up the emotional foundation and in addition it celebrates the interdependency factor so necessary in a society.