1. Lord of the Dance from Gerald Jonas’ Dancing
Created by Jessica Labbé
Edited by
Jessica Labbé and Dr. Kay Picart

2. Review Questions: What is the basic vehicle of dance?
How does this vehicle influence people’s perceptions of dance?

3. Discussion Question:
Discuss the impact the “Christian world view between the sacred and the secular” has had on dancing in the West.

4. Review Question:
In Judaism, when is the right or wrong time to dance?

5. Review Questions:
Contrast Plato’s and Aristotle’s critiques of dance.

6. Review Question:
What is the interesting contradiction in Plato’s argument in The Republic? What influenced his decision?
Portrait of Plato

7. Discussion Question:
Compare and contrast the Christian and Jewish attitudes towards dance to those of the Greeks and Romans.

8. Discussion Question:
Why would the Christian vilification of the (sexual) body be especially problematic for female dancers?
Indo-Japanese “Nymph of Sensuality” Shakti

9. Review Questions:
What was the main issue in Western churches’ struggle with dance? How did they attempt to resolve this issue?

10. Review Question:
How do the dances/beliefs of African culture differ from those of the West?

11. Review Question:
What is the egungun?

12. Review Question:
What is unique about Hinduism compared to Judaism and Christianity?

13. Review Question:
How do Hindus perceive the body?

14. Review Question:
What is the Natya Shastra? What is unique about it?

15. Discussion Question: Do you think that the devadasis practiced a form
of “sacred prostitution”? (59)

16. Review Question: What is the role of the bharata natyam dancer?
Bharata Natyam dancer Kay Poursine

17. Review Question:
What is the all-male counterpart to bharata natyam? How is it different?

18. Discussion Question:
How was the Kathakali “saved”? What are the implications of its rescue for similar arts?

19. Concluding Question:
How do the dances described in this chapter compare to the numerous other dances we have studied?