The art of dance in the biblical people of the East in the period of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages
The art of dance in the biblical people of the East in the period of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: The ancient cultures of the East have been famous for the perfect art of dance. However, due to certain historical circumstances, it is understudied in Ukrainian scientific thought, principally those nations mentioned in the Bible. Obviously, this gap is a legacy of the totalitarian regime, when everything that was not part of its ideology was not tolerated. As far as can be judged from biblical descriptions, ancient written monuments (Mesopotamian, Egyptian and others), images on ancient paintings, works of decorative and applied art and other artistic monuments or the art of dance among the ancient biblical peoples were all widespread and developed at a high level. This is evidenced by passages from the ancient Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh, ancient Mesopotamian reliefs from the tomb of A Bar Gi, ancient Egyptian paintings from Beni-Hasan, Coptic textiles from the era of the Sassanid dynasty, and a number of other images. We have some information about the art of dance among biblical peoples from certain parts of texts in the Bible, such as the parable of the prodigal son, the dance of King David, the dance of Solomia, the daughter of Herodias and a number of other texts. In the dances of the biblical peoples of the East, great importance was attached to the female dance itself. After all, a woman in the East is an aspect of the manifestation of God, the presence of God in the world. Therefore, the female figure embodied many mystical Eastern ideas that a woman is the last divine truth and radiates His light. Thus, it becomes clear why so much attention was paid to women's dance in Eastern cultures. One of the most common compositional solutions of the choreography of the biblical peoples of the East was a dance in a circle around the temple altar, hearth or human figure (Mesopotamian dance of the priest with jumping, Egyptian dances of the zodiac, the sun and others, Jewish dances around the golden body, etc.). Many dance compositions are difficult to reconstruct, since their detailed descriptions have not been preserved. Their reconstruction can be carried out on the basis of images, some texts and last but not least the author's conjecture. This topic is promising in the context of further research into the dance art of each of the biblical peoples, in particular Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Jews, and others.

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