A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Dance: How Social, Political and Economic Factors Shape Dance

A3.1 A2.1About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain what social, political and economic factors are.
I can describe how these factors influenced the emergence and development of a dance form, such as breaking or ballet.
I can explain how laws restricted some First Nations dances in Canada, and how communities kept their dances alive.
I can research a dance form of my choice and construct my own interpretation of how its history shows in the way it is danced.

Words to know

social factor
Something about how people live together that affects a dance, such as community, friendship, family, school or where people gather.

political factor
Something about power, laws and government that affects a dance.

economic factor
Something about money, jobs and resources that affects a dance, such as cost, prizes or who can afford lessons.

emergence
The beginning of something new, when it first appears.

breaking
A hip hop dance form (sometimes called breakdancing) that began in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s.

battle
A competition in which dancers or crews take turns showing their best moves.

resilience
The ability to keep going and recover after hard times.

Remember from Grade 7

In Grade 7 you traced how dances such as Métis jigging, Cape Breton step dancing, tap, breaking and bhangra changed when people moved and met: migration, a new environment and contact with other cultures.

In Grade 8 you dig deeper into the why. You will describe how social, political and economic factors influenced the emergence and development of a dance form or genre of your choice.

Three kinds of factors

Social factors: how people live and spend time together. Where can young people meet? What do families celebrate? Who is in my community?
Political factors: power and laws. Who makes the rules? Is a dance encouraged, ignored or even banned?
Economic factors: money and resources. Who can afford lessons or tickets? Can a dancer earn a living? Is there prize money?

Usually all three work together.

Flattened cardboard laid out as a dance surface on an outdoor basketball court beside a portable speaker, with apartment buildings behind. — Breaking grew where young people gathered in parks and on the street. Cardboard and a speaker cost little, so anyone could join in. AI-generated image

Case study 1: breaking

Breaking emerged in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s, mostly among Black and Latino young people.

Social: young people gathered at block parties in parks, community rooms and on the street. DJs such as DJ Kool Herc played the breaks of records (the drum-heavy parts) over and over by switching between two copies of the same record, and dancers called b-boys and b-girls danced to them. Crews became like families.
Economic: many families in the area had little money. Dance studios and clubs cost money; a piece of cardboard, a sound system and the street did not.
Political: the neighbourhood had many problems that people in power were slow to fix. Breaking gave young people a voice and a place to compete through battles: showing off moves instead of fighting.

As breaking developed, films and TV in the early 1980s spread it around the world. Today there are international battles, and breaking was an event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

How breaking emerged and developed, from Bronx block parties in the 1970s to an Olympic event at Paris 2024.

Social, economic and political factors all fed into the emergence of breaking. Notice the arrows: no single factor explains it alone.

Case study 2: ballet and a king

Ballet developed in the royal courts of Europe. In France, King Louis XIV loved to dance and performed in court ballets himself. In 1661 he founded the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Academy of Dance) in Paris.

Political: dancing in grand court ballets showed the king's power and taught nobles strict manners. Courtiers wanted to dance well to please the king.
Economic: only the rich court could pay for huge costumes, sets and musicians.
Social: dancing well was a sign of belonging to the upper class.

That history still shows today: ballet's upright posture, turned-out legs facing the audience, and many steps with French names (plié, jeté, pirouette).

Just for fun

Funny-but-true: in 1653, 14-year-old Louis XIV appeared dressed as the rising sun in a long court ballet. The image stuck so well that he became known as the Sun King. Imagine getting a nickname from your dance costume! ☀️

Case study 3: First Nations dances and a law that tried to stop them

Political factors don't only help dances grow. Sometimes they try to stop them.

In 1884 the Canadian government changed the Indian Act to ban the potlatch, an important ceremony of many First Nations on the Pacific coast that includes songs, dances and gift giving.
In 1895 another change widened the ban to include some other ceremonies and dances.
Communities kept many dances and songs alive anyway, sometimes in secret, passing them on through families and Elders.
The bans were removed from the Indian Act in 1951.

Since then, First Nations ceremonies and powwows have grown strongly. Powwows today bring together dancers, drum groups, families and visitors from many Nations. Some include competitions with prize money (an economic factor) and dancers travel to many powwows in a season. The way many dancers speak about their dancing, as something that connects them to family, community and identity, shows resilience: the dances survived and are thriving.

Worked example

Example: Let's research a dance form of our choice

Jonah chooses Bollywood dance (from the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai, India) and wants to explain how factors shaped it. Let's show him how to organize his research.

Find reliable sources: articles by dance scholars, museum or university websites, interviews with dancers and choreographers. Note each source.
Social: Hindi films usually include song-and-dance scenes that whole families watch together; the dances appear at weddings and parties too.
Economic: the film industry is a huge business, so big budgets pay for large groups of dancers, costumes and choreographers.
Political/global: films travel to Indian communities around the world, including in Canada, so the dance spreads with people who move (diaspora).
How it shows in the dance: big, expressive facial expressions and hand gestures (made for the camera), many dancers in unison, and a mix of classical Indian, folk and Western moves.
Write a conclusion: Bollywood dance developed as part of a large film industry and a family-centred social life, which is why it is big, joyful and made to be seen on screen.

A research plan sorted into social, economic and political factors, ending with how the history shows in the dance today.

Worked example

Example: Let's interpret how history shows in a dance

Watch a breaking battle (with a grown-up, on a site your family trusts). Let's connect what we see to how breaking emerged.

Observe: dancers take turns in a circle (the cypher); the crowd cheers; dancers respond to each other's moves; the DJ plays drum-heavy music.
Connect to social factors: the circle and the cheering come from block parties where the community gathered together.
Connect to economic factors: many moves are done on the floor with no props, because breaking began with almost no equipment.
Connect to political factors: the battle format lets dancers compete and gain respect through creativity.
Interpretation: Breaking still looks like a community gathering because it was born as one.

Your interpretation links specific things you see (circle, battles, floor work) to factors in breaking's history.

Hands-on activity

Dance history detective

You need: a library book or reliable websites (with a grown-up's help), paper, and a pencil.

Choose a dance form or genre: for example tap, swing, Irish step dance, salsa, K-pop dance, flamenco, square dancing, Métis jigging or breaking.
Make three columns: Social, Political, Economic. Fill in at least two facts per column, and write down where each fact came from.
Draw a simple timeline with 3 to 5 events in the dance's history. Only include dates you found in a reliable source.
Watch a short video of the dance. List 3 things you see that connect to its history.
Write a paragraph: How did these factors shape this dance, and where can you still see them today?
Try 8 counts of a basic step from the dance (if it is a social dance meant to be shared) and teach it to a family member.

Your turn

What is the difference between social, political and economic factors?

Where and when did breaking emerge?

Give one economic factor in the emergence of breaking.

How did a DJ like DJ Kool Herc help create the music for breaking?

Name one political factor in how ballet developed.

What did the Indian Act ban in 1884, and when were the bans on ceremonies and dances removed?

Give one example of how a dance's history still shows in how it is danced today.

More practice: warm-up

What does emergence mean?

What are b-boys and b-girls?

In what city did Louis XIV found the Royal Academy of Dance?

Is prize money at a dance competition a social, political or economic factor?

At which Olympic Games was breaking an event?

More practice: on your own

Explain why many ballet steps have French names.

How do powwows today show resilience?

Sort these into social (S), political (P) or economic (E): a) a law bans a dance; b) a dance is done at family weddings; c) tickets are too expensive for most people.

Why might breaking's battle format have been important for young people in the 1970s Bronx?

Name two kinds of reliable sources for researching a dance's history.

Challenge

Choose breaking or ballet. Write a paragraph explaining how all three kinds of factors influenced its emergence and development.

Explain how a political factor can both harm and later help a dance tradition. Use an example from this lesson.

Breaking began with almost no money and is now in big international competitions. Is this change positive, negative or both? Support your opinion.

Check your understanding

Quiz

A law that bans a dance is a ___ factor.

Breaking emerged in ___.

Which is an economic factor in breaking's emergence?

King Louis XIV founded the Royal Academy of Dance in ___.

In 1884 the Indian Act was changed to ban ___.

Which shows how breaking's history still appears today?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Students describe how social, political and economic factors influenced the emergence and development of a dance form or genre of their choice (A3.1) and construct interpretations (A2.1).

How to help at home:

Help your child find reliable sources for their chosen dance (library books, museum and university websites, interviews with artists from that tradition) and check dates together.
Watch dance videos together on sites your family trusts.
Ask, "Who could afford this? Who made the rules? Where did people gather?"

About the First Nations content: the lesson explains, in simple terms, that the Indian Act banned the potlatch (1884) and other ceremonies and dances (1895), and that the bans were removed in 1951. It focuses on how communities kept their dances alive and how powwows and ceremonies are thriving today. If your child has questions, the website of a First Nations cultural centre or a book by a First Nations author is a good next step.

Common difficulties:

Mixing up the three kinds of factors. Use the shortcut: people (social), power (political), pay (economic).
Listing facts without connecting them to the dance. Ask, "Where can you see that in the dance today?"
Unreliable sources. Check facts in two places before using them.