For the next part of the discussion you will need to use the last reading, Dance as Function part two. In that reading a number of ritual dance characteristics and elements were introduced. The reading framed these characteristics around dances from global and historic perspective, but really these ritual elements are still all around us. Your task for this post is to share a modern ritual that you participate in that involves these elements. Please tell us about your ritual and describe it using terms from the reading. What type of ritual is it? Which of the listed ritual elements are used? How would you classify this ritual from the classifications given in the reading? Your ritual will not use all of the characteristics, but it will use many of them. Please be thorough and include as many as you can.
At first you may think it is difficult to pinpoint a ritual in your actually they are all around you so don’t look too deep, or think too hard. Here is an example we can all relate to: A typical American style kids birthday party. This is a social ritual and an initiation ritual. At the party we use circle form when we sit around the cake, which is also the ritual centerpiece. Fire is involved with the candles on the cake, and the common sound is when we all sing happy birthday. The setting is usually a house, or a park, and the cake ritual always happens on some sort of table. It is a harmonious celebration that is a rite of passage, and we also find body decoration in the party hats we wear.
See? No problem. Just think about the rituals and celebrations in your life, and you will start to see the connections between your ritual and the characteristics described in the reading. Please make sure you refer to the ritual types, elements, and classifications described in the reading, as that is the main purpose of this discussion. Your ritual does not need to involve dance, but bonus points if it does.
There will be some overlap with people sharing the same ritual, but try and challenge yourself to come up with an example that has not already been shared.
