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Performing arts
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Not to be confused with Performance art.

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Performing arts

Major forms

Dance Music Opera Theatre Circus

Minor forms Magic Puppetry

Genres Drama Tragedy Comedy Tragicomedy Romance Satire Epic Lyric

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The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object. The term "performing arts" first appeared in the English language in the year 1711.
Contents
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1 Types of performing arts

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1.1 Theatre 1.2 Dance

2 History of Western performing arts

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2.1 Renaissance 2.2 Modern era 2.3 Post-War performance

3 Eastern performing arts

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3.1 Middle East 3.2 Iran 3.3 India/Pakistan 3.4 China 3.5 Thailand 3.6 Cambodia 3.7 Japan

4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit]Types

of performing arts

Performing arts include the dance, music, opera, theatre, magic, Spoken word, circus arts and musical theatre. Artists who participate in performing arts in front of an audience are called performers, including actors, comedians, dancers, magicians, musicians, and singers. Performing arts are also supported by workers in related fields, such as songwriting and stagecraft. Performers often adapt their appearance, such as with costumes and stage makeup, etc. There is also a specialized form of fine art in which the artists perform their work live to an audience. This is called performance art. Most performance art also involves some form of plastic art, perhaps in the creation of props. Dance was often referred to as a plastic art during the Modern dance era. Chris Lipman

[edit]Theatre
Main article: Theatre

A scene from The Nutcracker ballet (Watch).

Theatre is the branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacleindeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. In addition to the standard narrative dialogue style of plays, theatre takes such forms asplays, musicals, opera, ballet, illusion, mime, classical Indian dance, kabuki, mummers' plays, improvisational theatre, stand-up comedy, pantomime, and non-conventional or arthouse theatre.

[edit]Dance
Dance (from Old French dancier, perhaps from Frankish) generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a social, spiritual orperformance setting. Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal communication (see body language) between humans or animals (bee dance, mating dance), motion in inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind), and certain music genres. Choreography is the art of making dances, and the person who does this is called a choreographer. Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to codified, virtuoso techniques such as ballet. In sports, gymnastics, figure skating, and synchronized swimming are dance disciplines while martial arts "kata" are often compared to dances.

[edit]History

of Western performing arts

Main article: Western art history

Sophocles, as depicted in the Nordisk familjebok.

Starting in the 6th century BC, the Classical period of performing art began in Greece, ushered in by the tragic poets such as Sophocles. These poets wrote plays which, in some cases, incorporated dance (see Euripides). The Hellenistic period began the widespread use of comedy. However by the 6th century AD, Western performing arts had been largely ended, as the Dark Ages began. Between the 9th century and 14th century, performing art in the West was limited to religious historical enactments and morality plays, organized by the Church in celebration of holy days and other important events.

[edit]Renaissance
Main article: Renaissance In the 15th century performing arts, along with the arts in general, saw a revival as the Renaissance began in Italy and spread throughout Europe plays, some of which incorporated dance were performed and Domenico da Piacenza was credited with the first use of the term ballo (in De Arte Saltandi et Choreas Ducendi) instead of danza(dance) for his baletti or balli which later came to be known as Ballets. The first Ballet per se is considered to be Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx's Ballet Comique de la Reine(1581).

commedia dell'arte show, dated 1657. (Louvre)

By the mid-16th century commedia dell'arte became popular in Europe, introducing the use of improvisation. This period also introduced the Elizabethan masque, featuring music, dance and elaborate costumes as well as professional theatrical companies in England. William Shakespeare's plays in the late 16th century developed from this new class of professional performance. In 1597, the first opera, Dafne was performed and throughout the 17th century, opera would rapidly become the entertainment of choice for the aristocracy in most of Europe, and eventually for large numbers of people living in cities and towns throughout Europe.

[edit]Modern

era

Main article: Modern world The introduction of the proscenium arch in Italy during the 17th century established the traditional theater form that persists to this day. Meanwhile, in England, thePuritans forbid acting, bringing a halt to performing arts which lasted until 1660. After this period, women began to appear in both French and English plays. The French introduced a formal dance instruction in the late 17th century. It is also during this time that the first plays were performed in the American Colonies. During the 18th century the introduction of the popular opera buffa brought opera to the masses as an accessible form of performance. Mozart's The Marriage of Figaroand Don Giovanni are landmarks of the late 18th century opera. At the turn of the 19th century Beethoven and the Romantic movement ushered in a new era that lead first to the spectacles of grand opera and then to the musical dramas of Giuseppe Verdi and the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) of the operas of Richard Wagner leading directly to the music of the 20th century. The 19th century was a period of growth for the performing arts for all social classes, technical advances such as the introduction of gaslight to theatres, burlesque,minstrel dancing, and variety theater. In ballet, women make great progress in the previously male-dominated art.

Isadora Duncan, one of the developers of free dance.

Modern dance began in the late 19th century and early 20th century in response to the restrictions of traditional ballet. Konstantin Stanislavski's "System" revolutionized acting in the early 20th century, and continues to have a major influence on actors of stage and screen to the current day. Both impressionism and modern realism were introduced to the stage during this period. The arrival of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (19091929) revolutionised ballet and the performing arts generally throughout the Western world, most importatntly through Diaghilev's emphasis on collaboration, which brought choreographers, dancers, set designers/artists, composers and musicians together to revitalise and revolutionise ballet. With the invention of the motion picture in the late 19th century by Thomas Edison, and the growth of the motion picture industry in Hollywood in the early 20th century, film became a dominant performance medium throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Rhythm and blues, a cultural phenomenon of black America became came to prominence in the early 20th century, influencing a range of later popular music styles internationally. In the 1930s Jean Rosenthal introduced what would become modern stage lighting, changing the nature of the stage as the Broadway musical became a phenomenon in the United States.

[edit]Post-War

performance

Post-World War II performing arts were highlighted by the resurgence of both ballet and opera in the Western world.

Portrait of Alvin Ailey.

Postmodernism in performing arts dominated the 1960s to large extent. Rock and roll evolved from rhythm and blues during the 1950s, and became the staple musical form of popular entertainment.

[edit]Eastern

performing arts

[edit]Middle

East

The earliest recorded theatrical event dates back to 2000 BC with the passion plays of Ancient Egypt. This story of the god Osiris was performed annually at festivals throughout the civilization, marking the known beginning of a long relationship between theatre and religion. The most popular forms of theater in the medieval Islamic world were puppet theatre (which included hand puppets, shadow plays and marionette productions) and livepassion plays known as ta'ziya, where actors re-enact episodes from Muslim history. In particular, Shia Islamic plays revolved around the shaheed (martyrdom) of Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. Live secular plays were known as akhraja, recorded in medieval adab literature, though they were less common than puppetry andta'ziya theater.[1]

[edit]Iran
In Iran there are other forms of theatrical events such as Naghali (story telling), Bazi, Parde-Khani,Mareke giri... Ru-Howzi, Siah-

[edit]India/Pakistan
Main articles: Theatre in India and Sanskrit drama Folk theatre and dramatics can be traced to the religious ritualism of the Vedic peoples in the 2nd millennium BC. This folk theatre of the misty past was mixed with dance, food, ritualism, plus a depiction of events from daily life. It was the last element which made it the origin of the classical theatre of later times. Many historians, notably D. D. Kosambi, Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Adya Rangacharaya, etc. have referred to the prevalence of ritualism amongst Indo-Aryan tribes in which some members of the tribe acted as if they were wild animals and some others were the hunters. Those who acted as mammals like goats, buffaloes, reindeer, monkeys, etc. were chased by those playing the role of hunters. Bharata Muni (fl. 5th2nd century BC) was an ancient Indian writer best known for writing the Natya Shastra of Bharata, a theoretical treatise on Indian performing arts, including theatre, dance, acting, and music, which has been compared to Aristotle's Poetics. Bharata is often known as the father of Indian theatrical arts. His Natya Shastra seems to be the first attempt to develop the technique or rather art, of drama in a systematic manner. The Natya Shastra tells us not only what is to be portrayed in a drama, but how the portrayal is to be done. Drama, as Bharata Muni says, is the imitation of men and their doings (loka-vritti). As men and their doings have to be respected on the stage, so drama in Sanskrit is also known by the term roopaka which means portrayal. The Ramayana and Mahabharata can be considered the first recognized plays that originated in India. These epics provided the inspiration to the earliest Indian dramatists and they do it even today. Indian dramatists such as Bhasa in the 2nd century BC wrote plays that were heavily inspired by the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Klidsa in the 1st century BC, is arguably considered to be ancient India's greatest dramatist. Three famous romantic plays written by Klidsa are the Mlavikgnimitram (Mlavik and Agnimitra),Vikramuurvashiiya (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi), and Abhijnakuntala (The Recognition of Shakuntala). The last was inspired by a story in the Mahabharata and is the most famous. It was the first to be translated into English and German. In comparison to Bhasa, who drew heavily from the epics, Klidsa can be considered an original playwright. The next great Indian dramatist was Bhavabhuti (c. 7th century). He is said to have written the following three plays: Malati-Madhava, Mahaviracharita and Uttar Ramacharita. Among these three, the last two cover between them, the entire epic of Ramayana. The powerful Indian emperor Harsha (606648) is credited with having written three plays: the comedy Ratnavali, Priyadarsika, and theBuddhist drama Nagananda. Many other dramatists followed during the Middle Ages. There were many performing art forms in the southern part of India, Kerala is such a state with different such art forms like Kathakali, Chakyar koothu and there were many prominent artists likePainkulam Raman Chakyar and others.

[edit]China
Main article: Chinese theatre There are references to theatrical entertainments in China as early as 1500 BC during the Shang Dynasty; they often involved music, clowning and acrobatic displays. The Tang Dynasty is sometimes known as "The Age of 1000 Entertainments". During this era, Emperor Xuanzong formed an acting school known as the Children of the Pear Garden to produce a form of drama that was primarily musical. During the Han Dynasty, shadow puppetry first emerged as a recognized form of theatre in China. There were two distinct forms of shadow puppetry, Cantonese southern and Pekingese northern. The two styles were differentiated by the method of making the puppets and the positioning of the rods on the puppets, as opposed to the type of play performed by the puppets. Both styles generally performed plays depicting great adventure and fantasy, rarely was this very stylized form of theatre used for political propaganda. Cantonese shadow puppets were the larger of the two. They were built using thick leather which created more substantial shadows. Symbolic color was also very prevalent; a black face represented honesty, a red one bravery. The rods used to control Cantonese puppets were attached perpendicular to the puppets heads. Thus, they were not seen by the audience when the shadow was created. Pekingese puppets were more delicate and smaller. They were created out of thin, translucent leather usually taken from the belly of a donkey. They were painted with vibrant paints, thus they cast a very colorful shadow. The thin rods which controlled their movements were attached to a leather collar at the neck of the puppet. The rods ran parallel to the bodies of the puppet then turned at a ninety degree angle to connect to the neck. While these rods were visible when the shadow was cast, they laid outside the shadow of the puppet; thus they did not interfere with the appearance of the figure. The rods attached at the necks to facilitate the use of

multiple heads with one body. When the heads were not being used, they were stored in a muslin book or fabric lined box. The heads were always removed at night. This was in keeping with the old superstition that if left intact, the puppets would come to life at night. Some puppeteers went so far as to store the heads in one book and the bodies in another, to further reduce the possibility of reanimating puppets. Shadow puppetry is said to have reached its highest point of artistic development in the 11th century before becoming a tool of the government. In the Sung Dynasty, there were many popular plays involving acrobatics and music. These developed in the Yuan Dynasty into a more sophisticated form with a four or five act structure. Yuan drama spread across China and diversified into numerous regional forms, the best known of which is Beijing Opera, which is still popular today.

[edit]Thailand
Further information: Ramakien In Thailand, it has been a tradition from the Middle Ages to stage plays based on plots drawn from Indian epics. In particular, the theatrical version of Thailand's national epic Ramakien, a version of the Indian Ramayana, remains popular in Thailand even today.

[edit]Cambodia
In Cambodia, at the ancient capital Angkor Wat, stories from the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved on the walls of temples and palaces. Similar reliefs are found at Borobudurin Indonesia.

[edit]Japan
Main articles: Noh, Bunraku, Kabuki, and Butoh During the 14th century, there were small companies of actors in Japan who performed short, sometimes vulgar comedies. A director of one of these companies, Kan'ami (13331384), had a son,Zeami Motokiyo (13631443) who was considered one of the finest child actors in Japan. When Kan'ami's company performed for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (13581408), the Shogun of Japan, he implored Zeami to have a court education for his arts. After Zeami succeeded his father, he continued to perform and adapt his style into what is today Noh. A mixture of pantomime and vocal acrobatics, this style has fascinated the Japanese for hundreds of years. Japan, after a long period of civil wars and political disarray, was unified and at peace primarily due to shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (16001668). However, alarmed at increasing Christian growth, he cut off contact from Japan to Europe and China and outlawed Christianity. When peace did come, a flourish of cultural influence and growing merchant class demanded its own entertainment. The first form of theatre to flourish was Ningy jruri (commonly referred to as Bunraku). The founder of and main contributor to Ningy jruri, Chikamatsu Monzaemon (16531725), turned his form of theatre into a true art form. Ningy jruri is a highly stylized form of theatre using puppets, today about 1/3d the size of a human. The men who

control the puppets train their entire lives to become master puppeteers, when they can then operate the puppet's head and right arm and choose to show their faces during the performance. The other puppeteers, controlling the less important limbs of the puppet, cover themselves and their faces in a black suit, to imply their invisibility. The dialogue is handled by a single person, who uses varied tones of voice and speaking manners to simulate different characters. Chikamatsu wrote thousands of plays during his lifetime, most of which are still used today. Kabuki began shortly after Bunraku, legend has it by an actress named Okuni, who lived around the end of the 16th century. Most of Kabuki's material came from N and Bunraku, and its erratic dance-type movements are also an effect of Bunraku. However, Kabuki is less formal and more distant than N, yet very popular among the Japanese public. Actors are trained in many varied things including dancing, singing, pantomime, and even acrobatics. Kabuki was first performed by young girls, then by young boys, and by the end of the 16th century, Kabuki companies consisted of all men. The men who portrayed women on stage were specifically trained to elicit the essence of a woman in their subtle movements and gestures.

List of 64 types of Arts

The Sixty-four Arts are Dressing 1. Toilet Make-up, toilet and use of beautifying agents 2. Painting the body, and colouring the nails, hair, etc. 3. Decoration of the forehead. 4. Art of hair dressing. 5. Art of dressing. 6. Proper matching of decorations and jewellery. Music and Dancing 7. Singing. 8. Playing on musical instruments. 9. Playing on musical glasses filled with water.

10. Acting. 11. Dancing. General Education 12. Good manners and etiquette. 13. Knowledge of different languages and dialects. 14. Knowledge of vocabularies. 15. Knowledge of Rhetoric or Figures of Speech. 16. Reading. 17. Reciting poems. 18. Criticism of poems. 19. Criticism of dramas and analysis of stories. 20. Filling up the missing line of a poem. 21. Composing poems to order. 22. Reply in verse (when one person recites a poem, another gives the reply in verse). 23. The art of speaking by changing the forms of words. 24. Art of knowing the character of a man from his features. 25. Art of attracting others (bewitching). Domestic Science 26. Art of cooking. 27. Preparation of different beverages, sweet and acid drinks, chutneys, etc. 28. Sewing and needle work. 29. Making of different beds for different purposes and for different seasons. Physical culture 30. Physical culture. 31. Skill in youthful sports. 32. Swimming and water-sports. Games 33. Games of dice, chess, etc. 34. Games of chance. 35. Puzzles and their solution. 36. Arithmetical games. Art of Entertaining 37. Magic: art of creating illusions. 38. Trick of hand. 39. Mimicry or imitation (of voice or sounds). 40. Art of disguise. Fine Arts 41. Painting in colours. 42. Stringing flowers into garlands and other ornaments for decorating the body, such as crowns, clapnets, etc. 43. Floral decorations of carriages. 44. Making of artificial flowers. 45. Preparation of ear-rings of shell, ivory, etc. 46. Making birds, flowers, etc., of thread or yarn. 47. Clay-modelling: making figures and images. 48. The art of changing the appearance of things such as making to appear as silk.

Pet Animals 49. Training parrots and other birds to talk. 50. Training rams and cocks and other birds for mock fight. Professional Training 51. Gardening and agriculture. 52. Preparation of perfumery. 53. Making furniture from canes and reeds. 54. Wood-engraving. 55. Carpentry. 56. Knowledge of machinery. 57. Construction of building (Architecture). 58. Floor decoration with coloured stones. 59. Knowledge of metals. 60. Knowledge of gems and jewels. 61. Colouring precious stones. 62. Art of war. 63. Knowledge of code words. 64. Signals for conveying messages.