World Book Trivia Challenge Advanced--2/13--dance

The first ballroom dance was the waltz, a light and gracious turning dance that was popularized in Vienna, Austria, and rapidly swept throughout Europe. At first the waltz caused some controversy. Never before had men and women danced so closely together.

Female dancers were once known largely for dancing on point (on their toes) with the support of special shoes. Now female dancers also perform strong, complex leaps.

Japanese noh theater is an old, traditional art that emphasizes exquisitely restrained and refined dance elements. Kabuki, another form of traditional Japanese dance-drama, is livelier and appeals to a wider audience.

Today's tango is related to an Argentine dance called the milonga, a Cuban dance called the habanera, and a tango from Spain's Andalusian region

The French court of the early 1700's also adapted English country dances into formal dances for groups of eight. These dances, called cotillon, soon became popular in England and other European countries. Eventually, these formal dances were carried to the United States, where their name was changed to cotillion. Today, a formal ball is frequently referred to as a cotillion.

In competitive ballroom dancing, couples compete for titles and prizes. They may compete at local, national, or international levels. Competitive ballroom dancing is also known as DanceSport. The rules for DanceSport vary from country to country.

Dancing was a formal element in Christian worship until the A.D. 1100's, when religious leaders began to prohibit it because they believed it was too worldly an activity. However, spontaneous dance has become a common element of worship among some Protestant denominations.

Tap dancing combines dance traditions from Britain and Africa. It resembles jazz dancing in its strong rhythms and frequent displays of improvisation.

About 1900, a young American woman named Isadora Duncan became well known for performing a kind of dance that seemed to reject everything in ballet. Duncan danced barefoot in a loosely flowing tunic. She usually danced alone, using natural movements rather than the traditional movements of ballet. Duncan began the modern dance emphasis on individuality and innovation. She called her style of movement "the dance of the future," but it became best known as modern dance.

The Ghost Dance religion was nonviolent, but U.S. Army leaders feared it would lead to an uprising by Sioux Indians in what is now South Dakota. The dance was largely abandoned by the Sioux after the U.S. Army massacred Sioux followers of the religion in 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota.