COSMIC DANCE. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN DANCE AND COSMOS-RELATED IDEAS ACROSS ANCIENT CULTURES

Abstract

Humanity’s integration into the cosmos is fundamentally shaped by the perception of structured celestial movements: the rotation of the celestial sphere and the various regular paths of celestial bodies. Participating in these cosmic regularities has been an objective of human cultures since ancient times. Reproducing their structures may serve to participate in their power and to manipulate or to stabilize their effects. Dance as a rhythmic pattern of movement is a cultural expression especially prone to re-enacting the structured cosmic movements. Hence, ancient traditions have considered manifold relations between dance and ideas about the cosmos. Cultural traditions reporting “cosmic” aspects of dances refer to: (1) the dances of celestial bodies themselves, whose interpretations are based on concrete observations such as the apparent looping of the planets; (2) human dances which are in some sense related to celestial bodies or celestial events, e.g. by costumes which equip a dancer with celestial symbols; and (3) the creation of the cosmos, ascribed by some myths to dance, and the repeated ritual renewal, reassurance, and stabilization of the primordial cosmic order through dance. This article on the one hand considers the definition of “dance” and the elements which make dance a “cosmic dance”. On the other hand it considers which astronomical phenomena might particularly fuel the idea of a cosmic “dance”. Examples from different cultures worldwide serve as illustrations.