Local Dance (Atilogwu, Bata, Swange, Jarawa, Sharo, Ekombi). Cultural And Creative Arts Lesson Note.

Welcome! Our Cultural And Creative Arts Lessons Continues, do have an amazing moment studying with us.Lesson NoteSubject: Cultural And Creative ArtsTopic: Local DanceLesson Objectives: by the end of the lesson, the learners shout be able to:

Say the meaning of dance and Local Danc;
Give reasons why people dance;
Mention the types of dance formation;
Describe three form of dance steps;
Mention six examples of local Dance in Nigeria.
Demonstrate or perform the types of local Dance learnt.

Activities: Teachers should group the learners into different Cultural dance groups to showcase each type of local Dance. This will help them understand and retain memories of the concept.Lesson Summary / DiscussionLocal Dance
Dance is the movement of the body in an organized manner usually with the sound of music. However, not every movement of the human body is termed dance. You can move the body for a walk out or exercise without rhythm but in dance, the movement of the human body must have rhythm.What then is Local Dance?
Local Dance is the rhythmic movement of the body in response to traditional or local songs or sounds. Dance is part of our culture in our local community. Dance is the way of life of our people. During festivals, people sing and dance as they play musical instruments such as drums, gongs and flutes.

Watch children dancing to sound of flute

Reasons People Dance
Having stated that dance is part of people’s way of life, one may choose to engage in it for the following reasons:

To express happiness.
To pass message through gestures and rhythms.
To express the beauty of the culture (way of life and beliefs) of community.
To identify with important occasions in the community such as birth, harvest and thanksgiving.
To engage in some competition for prizes.

Dance Formation
Nigerian dance steps are always beautiful to watch. The dance
steps follow the rhythm of some music being played.Members that make up a dance group usually belong to the same
age grade, profession, social clubs, family and religious societies.

Types of Dance Formations
Africa particularly Nigeria, has four dance formations.

Dance teams using floor pattern,
Dance teams with free flow pattern,
Dance teams with individuals displaying their skills.
Solo dance pattern where an individual dancer may be a king, masquerade, herbalist or comic entertainer. He is always supported by a group.

African dancers usually perform as a team. The members all gather together in a closed circle, while the
dancers face the centre.

The team members can also dance in a line following a circular path where the musicians stay.Cultural dancers in a circle. Sometimes, the team of dancers, dance along the circle line in a counterclockwise direction.Dance Steps in a Specified Local Dance
In each community or village, there are different dance forms
Dance steps consists of three postures namely;

The upright posture with a straight back. Most often, chiefs, chief priests and masquerades use this dancing posture.
Another dance posture is the one where the dancer moves forward from the hips towards the ground.
Some dancers also perform with the upper part of their body parallel to the ground.

Types of Dance in our Locality
Dance in our locality has always been part of our culture and is mostly traditional. It is performed for different occasions such as marriages, naming ceremonies, burial ceremonies, chieftaincy title ceremonies and traditional festivals. Some dances in our locality are:

Ekombi dance
Atilogwu dance
Ekombi dance
Jarawa dance
Sharo dance
Swange dance

1. Ekombi Dance
This gentle kind of traditional dance comes fron the Efik people of Cross Rivers and Akwa lbom states in Nigeria. It is performed by young men and Women.

2. Sharo Dance
Sharo dance is a popular Fulani dance, performed by people from the
Northern part of Nigeria. It shows the rich culture of the Fulanis especially in marriage. During the Sharo dance, some men would sliow interest in marrying a particular girl. The men would be asked to dance and the elderly men would flog them. Whoever survives the logging, marries the girl.

3. Swange Dance
Swange dance is the dance of the Tiv speaking people of Benue state.
Swange is said to have started as a social dance in halls in Makurdi. It has however become the most popular dance in Tiv.

4. Atilogwu Dance
This is a popular dance of the Igbos from the South Eastern Nigeria. The dance is unique, colourful and a delight to watch. It features difficult and attractive body movements performed by its dancers.

5. Bata Dance
Bata dance is performed by the Yoruba people of South Western
Nigeria. Bata dance is traditionally a musical expression for Sango, the Yoruba deity of thunder and lightning. This explains the quick, exciting movements of the dancers.

Jarawa Dance
This dance belongs to the people of Jarawa ethnic group in Plateau State of Nigeria. It is performed by strong young men during ceremonies and festivities. They perform the dance movements alongside providing the music for the dance. Local flutes produced in the area are important
instruments used for Jarawa music.