GROUP 1 - DANCE MOVEMENT AND POSITIONS

prepared by Karl Hadrian Manuel

Chinese Fan Dance.

Chinese fan dance is a representation of beauty, elegance, grace and delicacy. Women are most likely to
perform the dance. The movements of the fans should be graceful. It’s like the extension of the hand.
The fundamental positions of dances are executed smoothly like a wind. The gracefulness is shown
through waves created in every motion of the fans. With every struck, it showed the patterns of wind
rustling through it.

Dutch Couple Dance.

This dance is more known as a dance of courtship. Typically danced by a pair. It uses the legs, knees, and
hands bumping against each other. This dance showed holding of hands while dancing which projects
connection between the pair. The Dutch Couple Dance is a form of skipping dance since it uses the point
of the heel to touch the ground then lifting it quickly. It also stretches the arms in the air and sways it
from left to right or vice versa. Legs are usually bent to accommodate the lifts and turns. Hands are
typically placed on the hips. Heads are expected to turn and point to the audience every time the pair is
facing front. Eye contact is necessary when the pair is facing each other. Nods and smiles are also
expressed and encouraged during the dance since it is vital to set the mood of the dance. Tapping of the
toes, clapping, and touching of the shoulders are also seen in a typical Dutch Couple Dance.

La Cucoracha Dance.

La Cucoracha Dance is a Latin Dance became popular in particularly in Mexico which is a well-known folk
dance and performed during parties and celebrations. La Cucoracha is a Spanish term which means “The
cockroach” in English. The dance was performed by partner; a boy and a girl, in which the boy clasps his
hands around his back while the girl is holding her skirt gracefully. The dance step is divided into two
parts - A and B with counting of one, two, three. First, Partners face each other and do the cross-waltz
steps revolving around each other and last, partners stand side by side facing steps front. The music in
La Cucoracha is a traditional Spanish folk song.