Dance of Animals and Humans - Kevin Gontkovic

Dance is a form of expression for many people, as is all areas of art. Some indigenous tribes use dance as a way to communicate with the gods. Animals also dance, but theirs is quite different from ours, according to Van der Leeuw. Van der Leeuw says that the dance of animals is more instinctive than ours. He specifically says this on page fifteen, “The dance of the animals is an instinctive, almost automatic, movement, and is therefore not a dance at all.” I would have to agree with his statement there. Animals only dance because they have to in order to survive, like the bees in the video that we watched in class. We dance because we choose to do so. We do not have to dance in order to survive. I think there are exceptions to this, like when the dance is related to religion. Depending on the situation, the dance could be necessary to survival in a religious sense. Even though it might be necessary, we could still decide to not do it. This is because we are able to think for ourselves, whereas animals cannot.

Our physical bodies do not need the dance in order to sustain our bodily functions. It is good exercise though and can improve our bodily functions but it is not necessary for survival. We also do not need to dance in order to communicate with other humans. This is different with some animals though because dancing is one of the only ways of communication for animals. This is especially true for bees, as we saw in class, because they communicate which direction and the distance to the places where food is. These scouts only know how to communicate using dance. They do not freely choose to dance. They must dance or else they and their fellow bees will not be able to find food efficiently. Even if the scout bee had a choice, it could only choose to dance because of how necessary it is for the bees’ survival.

This freedom to choose is what makes the dance of humans so much more special than the dance of animals. The dance of humans is a magnificent sight to behold because there are so many factors that go into it. Because we have the capacity for emotions and desires, we can use dance as a way to express those emotions and desires. Seeing another human express their most inner thoughts and emotions in a dance, whether it be for religious purposes or not, is a very exquisite form of art.