A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Dance: Dance Traditions, Beliefs and Popular Culture

A3.1 A3.2 A2.1About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe dance forms and styles that reflect the beliefs and traditions of different communities, times and places.
I can explain what a dance can tell us about what a community values.
I can describe some ways dance, especially hip hop, influences popular culture.
I can talk about dances from other cultures respectfully and connect them to my own experiences.

Words to know

tradition
A custom or way of doing things that is passed down from older generations to younger ones.

belief
Something a person or community holds to be true or important, like a value or a spiritual teaching.

dance form / style
A kind of dance with its own movements, music and purpose, like ballet, bharatanatyam, Métis jigging or breaking.

popular culture
The music, movies, games, fashion, videos and trends that lots of people enjoy at a certain time.

hip hop
A culture that began in New York City in the 1970s, including rapping, DJing, graffiti art and dance (like breaking).

influence
To have an effect on something and change it.

Remember from earlier grades

In Grade 2 and 3 you learned why people dance: to celebrate, tell stories, heal, worship and be together. In Grade 4 you learned how dance can show people's roles in a community, and how breaking grew from the streets of New York to the Olympics.

This year you'll ask two new questions:

What can a dance tell us about what a community believes and values?
How does dance influence the popular culture all around us?

Dance reflects beliefs and traditions

A dance is more than steps. The movements, music, clothing and reasons for dancing often show what a community believes is important. When you learn about a dance, ask:

Who dances it? When and where?
Why do they dance it? What is it for?
What do the movements, music and regalia or costumes show?
What does this tell us about what the community values?

Pink ballet slippers, black tap shoes with metal plates and black flamenco shoes with heels, lined up on a stage floor. — Even the shoes tell you about a dance tradition. Tap shoes make rhythms with metal taps, flamenco shoes stamp strong rhythms, and soft ballet slippers help dancers move smoothly. AI-generated image

Dance	Community and place	What it reflects
Jingle dress dance	Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) communities; today danced at powwows across North America	Healing and prayer. Many Anishinaabe people share a teaching that the dance began with a dream about healing. The dress has rows of metal cones that make a sound like rain. Dancers often dance for people who are sick.
Métis jigging (for example, the Red River Jig)	Métis communities across the Métis homeland, including Ontario	Pride in Métis identity, family and celebration. Fast footwork and fiddle music blend First Nations and European (Scottish, Irish and French) traditions, just like Métis culture itself.
Inuit drum dancing	Inuit communities in Nunavut, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut and the Inuvialuit region	Gathering, celebrating and sharing songs. The drummer turns a large, flat frame drum and strikes its rim with a short stick while singing and dancing.
Bharatanatyam	Tamil Nadu, in southern India; now danced around the world, including in Canada	Hindu religious stories and devotion. It was performed in temples long ago. Dancers use hand gestures (mudras) and facial expressions to tell stories.
Lion dance	Chinese communities in China and around the world, including Canada	Good luck for the new year. At Lunar New Year, a lion (two dancers inside a costume) dances to drums, cymbals and gongs to chase away bad luck and bring good fortune.
Flamenco	Andalusia, in southern Spain, shaped by Roma (Gitano) communities	Deep feelings and pride. Strong footwork, hand clapping, guitar and singing express joy, sorrow and passion.

Some dance forms and what they reflect. Each is a living tradition practised today.

Dances from different times

Dance styles also show what was happening at a certain time. For example, swing dancing (the Lindy Hop) became popular in the late 1920s and 1930s in Harlem, a neighbourhood in New York City, with jazz big bands. Its fast, joyful, improvised moves reflected the energy and excitement of jazz music. And as you learned in Grade 4, breaking grew out of hip hop in New York in the 1970s, created by young people who made their own culture.

Dance influences popular culture

Dance is everywhere in popular culture. Hip hop dance is a great example of how a dance style can spread and change the world around it:

Music videos and concerts: pop, hip hop and K-pop artists perform big, sharp, synchronized hip hop choreography, and fans around the world learn the dances.
Social media: short dance challenges spread quickly online, and millions of people learn the same moves.
Advertising: commercials use dancers to make products seem fun, cool or energetic.
Movies, TV and video games: dance films, dance competitions on TV, and video games where you copy dance moves.
Sports: breaking was an official event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and Canada's Phil Wizard (Philip Kim, from Vancouver) won the gold medal in the men's event.
Fashion and words: hip hop influenced clothing styles and words like crew, battle and freestyle.

Popular culture also changes dance: when a dance goes viral, it can change quickly as people add their own twists.

Dance styles grow out of their time and place. Breaking began with young people in 1970s New York and, about 50 years later, became an Olympic event.

Learning about dance with respect

Describe dances with respectful words. Say "different from what I know", not "weird".
Some dances are sacred or ceremonial. We learn about them, but we don't copy them as a game or a costume. The jingle dress, for example, is regalia with deep meaning, not a costume.
Learn from people of that community, or from videos and books they have made or shared.
Remember that these are living traditions: people dance them today, not only long ago.

Worked example

Example: Let's find what a dance reflects

Let's look closely at the lion dance at Lunar New Year and work out what it shows about the community's beliefs and traditions.

Who and when: trained dancers perform it at Lunar New Year and other happy events, like the opening of a new business.
Movements: the lion blinks, shakes, jumps and plays. Two dancers work as one: the front dancer controls the head; the back dancer is the body and tail. They must move in perfect teamwork.
Music: loud drums, cymbals and gongs. The loud sounds are believed to scare away bad luck.
What it reflects: the hope for good luck and good fortune in the new year, teamwork, and celebrating together as a community.

The lion dance reflects beliefs about bringing good fortune and chasing away bad luck, and traditions of celebrating the new year together.

In the lion dance, two dancers share one costume: the front dancer works the head and the back dancer is the body and tail. Perfect teamwork is part of what the dance shows.

Worked example

Example: Let's trace hip hop's influence on popular culture

Ella notices hip hop dance in three places in one week. How can she describe its influence?

Monday: a shoe commercial shows dancers doing quick footwork and freezes. Influence on advertising: dance makes the shoes look cool and energetic.
Wednesday: her class learns a dance challenge from a video. Influence on social media and how friends have fun together.
Saturday: she watches a clip of breaking at the Olympics. Influence on sport: a street dance became an Olympic event.
Personal connection: "My cousin takes a hip hop class at the community centre. Seeing it at the Olympics made her want to practise even more."

Ella can say: "Hip hop dance influences popular culture in advertising, on social media and in sports. It started with young people in New York in the 1970s and now it's all over the world."

Just for fun

Funny-but-true: the story goes that the Lindy Hop got its name in 1927, the year pilot Charles Lindbergh made his famous "hop" across the Atlantic Ocean in a plane. Dancers were hopping too! ✈️🕺

Hands-on activity

Dance detective week

You need: a notebook, a pencil, and a grown-up to help you choose videos and shows.

For one week, keep a tally each time you see dance in popular culture: ads, music videos, movies, video games, sports, social media.
For three of them, write: Where was it? What style of dance? Why do you think dance was used there?
With a grown-up, find a video made by a community about one of the dances in the table above (for example, a cultural centre or a dance group's own video).
Answer: Who dances it? When? What does it reflect about what the community believes or values?
Make a personal connection: Is there a dance or tradition in your family, culture or community? What does it show about what you value?

Your turn

What is a tradition?

What belief does the jingle dress dance reflect?

How does Métis jigging reflect Métis culture?

How do bharatanatyam dancers tell stories?

Name three places in popular culture where you can see hip hop dance.

Why do you think companies use dance in commercials?

Why should we not wear a jingle dress as a costume?

More practice: warm-up

What is popular culture?

When is the lion dance often performed?

Where did hip hop begin, and when?

Which dance comes from Andalusia in southern Spain?

Who won Olympic gold in men's breaking at Paris 2024?

More practice: on your own

Explain how the music of the lion dance reflects a belief.

What can swing dancing in the 1930s tell us about its time?

How has popular culture changed a dance after it went viral?

Inuit drum dancing is done at gatherings and celebrations. What does that show the community values?

Make a personal connection to one dance in the table.

Challenge

Choose a dance from your own family, culture or community (or one you have seen at a festival). Answer: who, when, why, and what it shows about what people value.

A friend says, "Traditional dances are from the past. Nobody does them now." How would you respond?

Compare one traditional dance and one popular culture dance: who dances it, why, and how it spreads.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which dance reflects beliefs about healing?

Bharatanatyam dancers use mudras, which are ___.

Why are loud drums, cymbals and gongs used in the lion dance?

Hip hop culture began in ___.

Which is an example of dance influencing popular culture?

What is the most respectful way to learn about a sacred dance from another culture?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Students describe dance forms and styles that reflect the beliefs and traditions of diverse communities, times and places (A3.1), and describe ways dance influences popular culture, such as hip hop (A3.2). They also relate dances to their own knowledge and experience (A2.1).

How to help at home:

Share a dance from your own family or culture, and talk about what it shows you value.
Look for community events: public powwows (many welcome visitors), Lunar New Year celebrations, cultural festivals and Métis events. Follow posted guidelines and the announcer's directions about photos and joining in.
When watching videos, choose ones made or shared by the dancers' own communities, cultural centres or recognized dance companies.
Notice dance in ads and shows together and ask, "Why did they use dance here?"

Common difficulties:

Describing Indigenous dances only in the past tense. Stress that First Nations, Métis and Inuit dances are living traditions practised today.
Treating regalia as costumes. Explain the difference respectfully.
Saying "weird" or "funny". Model words like "different from what I know" and "new to me".
Screen time: preview online videos first; dance challenges online may include songs or content that is not age-appropriate.