Performance and Ritual
PERFORMANCE AND RITUAL. Theater, dance, drama, dance drama, dance theater, and similar activities known by other terms that vary according to language and historical circumstance are universal. Unless otherwise specified, herein the term ritual refers to both secular and sacred rituals. Performance is an inclusive term meaning the activities of actors, dancers, musicians, and their spectators and audiences. Theater, dance, and music are equivalent terms, each referring to a specific genre of performance. Theater emphasizes narrative, dance emphasizes movement, and music emphasizes sound. Performance may also be understood as "restored behavior," the organized re-enactment of mythic or actual events as well as the role-playing of religious, political, professional, familial, and social life.
Performances have occurred among all the world's peoples from the dawn of human cultures. Dancing, singing, wearing masks and costumes; impersonating other people, animals, or supernaturals (or being possessed by these others); acting stories, retelling the hunt; re-presenting alternative histories; rehearsing and preparing special places and times for these presentations—these are all coexistent with the human condition. Concrete archaeological evidence of performances date at least from Paleolithic times. Whether to categorize these first performances as ritual or entertainment is an unanswerable problem. Most likely, these performances functioned as both ritual and entertainment.
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