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Weapon dances incorporatingswords or similar weapons are recorded throughout world history.[1] There are various traditions ofsolo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances in Africa,[2] Asia[3] and Europe.[4] Some traditions use sticks or clubs in place of bladed weapons, while most modern performers employ dulledreplications to avoid injury.
General types of sword dance include:
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Sword dances in China and Vietnam, known asjian wu ormúa kiếm, began as a military training exercise with swords and spears which evolved into an elaborate acrobatic dance.[8]Jian wu was one of four classical dances that were used in theChinese andVietnamese opera. Each of these dances was very meaningful within the opera performances and they often were used for plot descriptions and characterization.[9] Sword dancing also found a use in Chinese and Vietnamese cultures through communicating with the supernatural; sword dancing was done in an effort to communicate feelings to the dead spirits that may be disrupting a household.[10]
There are quite a few styles within the actual art of sword dancing. The first style focuses on relaxation and flexibility while the other style focuses on speed and strength.[8] There are also different types of swords and weapons used during each dance. A long sword is usually wielded with slower dramatic movements during a solo performance while shorter scimitars are used at a very high pace during a sword dance between two or more people.[8] Each style requires certain movements that require the dancer to be highly agile and athletic.
Many sword-dances in theIndian subcontinent originated with the martial traditions of the region, the paragon of which exemplified in the long-establishedGatka tradition, arising from the tenet of monolithic, theosophical militarization found withinSikhism. Thepaika akhada which were previously used to trainOrissan warriors now perform weapon dances in the streets during festivals. Other dances like themer dandiya are simply theatrical depictions of battle, while some like thecholiya of theKumaon region were used to ward off evil spirits. Sword dances are still commonly performed for weddings and other occasions in the Indian subcontinent today.
In the Indian subcontinent, the chhau sword dance,[11]Firkal sword dance,[12] Khasi tribal sword dance,[13] Bhotiya tribe sword dance,[14] Lakharu-li sword dance, Khaijama-Phanai sword dance,Gujarat sword dance and theKhattak sword dance are performed on festive occasions.[citation needed]
Arab sword dances (raqs al-saïf) evolved out of sword fighting between men, in both Egypt and Turkey. There was even a time when sword dancing was banned by the sultan during Ottoman rule, as it was believed that dancers, who took swords from soldiers and pretended to "kill" them at the end of the performances, collected the swords to begin a resistance against the army. These swords were never returned. Female sword dancing was not widespread in West Asia. Men in Egypt performed a dance calledel ard, a martial dance involving upraised swords, but women were not widely known to use swords as props during their dancing in public. However, paintings and engravings by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme (who visited Egypt in the 18th century) show sword dancers balancing sabers on their heads. The Turkish Kılıç Kalkan dance ofBursa is performed exclusively by men with a sword and shield, and represents theOttoman conquest of the city. The performers wear earlyOttoman battle dress and dance to the sound of clashing swords and shields without music.
Hilt-and-point sword dances are, or were, performed all over Europe. These are particularly concentrated in an area corresponding to the boundaries of theHoly Roman Empire at around 1400–1500, and many of these traditional dances are still performed in England,[15]Czech Republic,Germany,Austria, North Italy,France,Flanders, and theIberian Peninsula, with a particular concentration inBasque Country,Galicia andAndalusia.[16][17]Sword dances are also performed byAlbanians, both in theBalkans and inItaly. Into the late 1400s Albanian sword dances were imitated by Italiantarantellas.[18]
Sword dances performed by theguilds of Smiths and Cutlers inNuremberg are recorded from 1350. 16th century records of sword dances survive from all over Germany. Depictions of dances survive fromZürich (1578) andNuremberg (1600). In Scotland a dance was recorded as being performed in 1285, but this was found in a document from 1440.
An important concentration of traditional sword dances can be found on the Italian side of the western Alps. Main sites areGiaglione,Venaus and S. Giorio in theSusa valley, where the so-called "Spadonari" (sword-holders) dance is still performed between the end of January and the beginning of February. This dance is also connected with the rebirth of nature and vegetation.
InRomania, in a dance calledCăluș, a sword dance similar to a Morris Dance, is part of a more complex ritualistic dance involving elements of fertility ritual and horse worship.
Hilt-and-point sword dances traditional to England includerapper sword andlong sword, although both of these are now also performed by revival teams outside their traditional areas, including teams in most of the English-speaking world.Rattle Up My Boys (RUMB) is a UK print journal for those with an interest in sword dance. Established in 1987 by founding editor Trevor Stone, it covers news, interviews, features, and reviews onLongsword,rapper sword and other forms of European and world sword dance. The journal has clocked up over 130 editions. It is published quarterly in the UK and is available via subscription. In 1980 Trevor Stone wrote and self-published a book on the origins of traditionalYorkshire longsword dancing, also called "Rattle Up, My Boys".
English sword dancing has also been brought to the New World, initially as part of the "morris revival" of the 1970s and 1980s. Teams are now extant in most major metropolitan areas in North America. TheNew York City Sword Ale is an annual gathering overPresidents' Day weekend that brings together over a dozen sword teams form the east coast and around the world.
TheRugova war dance[19] (Albanian:Vallja me shpata e Rugovës orLoja Luftarake e Rugovës)[20] is a traditionalAlbanian war dance named after theRugova region[21] inKosovo. The dance is considered a relic of thewar dances (Albanian:valle luftarake), the remnants of pantomimic dances performed in the re-enactment or preparation of battles.[21] The dance is performed by two male dancers who fight a mock battle for the hand of a girl (a "maiden's dance"[22]).[23]
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sword dances, africa.
sword dance in india.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)THE WARRIOR DANCE OF RUGOVO.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)A dance by two men of the Albanian minority from Rugova (Pec) represents a mock battle to obtain possession of a young girl.
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