Abstract
This paper examines the importance of music and dance in the extremely successful film industry in India. It explains that because Indian films are made predominantly for semi-literate audiences, they contain numerous action scenes (fights), elaborate song and dance sequences, a fair dose of slapstick comedy and an obligatory love story. This paper discusses why this industry is so successful and the role music and dance play in its success.

From the Paper
"In its historical development, India's film industry paralleled that of the West. Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja Harishchandra, the first silent film for popular consumption, appeared in 1913; Alam Ara, the first "talkie," was released in 1931. But the Indian cinema derived its unique flavor from the older Indian musical theater-particularly from the Urdu poetic dramas of the late nineteenth century. The influence of this tradition ensured that Indian movies would favor mythological or legendary-historical stories, that their dialogue would carry an Urdu flavor even in languages other than Urdu, and that every film would be a musical."

Tags:bollywood, cinema

Abstract
A paper discussing the topic of music therapy. Several instances of how music has been proven to have healing qualities for the mind, body, and soul are examined. The author looks at topic of vibrational healing.

From the Paper
"Music has always been a part of our lives. It can make us sing, dance, and tap our toes to its rhythms. It has the power to make us laugh or cry. Music can help us remember special times or create a new memory. Over the years, the interest in the amazing effects of music on our lives has dramatically increased. The study of these effects of music is called music therapy. Although many different types of music can yield many different results, researchers discovered that most of these results come from either baroque or classical music, such as music composed by Bach or Mozart and improve the well being of people. This is also known as vibrational healing, which is the utilization of the sounds of the voice and instruments to improve the body; the instruments may be musical or just ordinary objects that make a particular sound, such as a tuning fork. Because of this, people of all ages have been shown to benefit from the positive effects music has on the body and the mind."

Tags:affect, americans, ancient, bach, boris, brott, campbell, classical, don, effect, georgi, greeks, handel, healing, lozanov, math, mozart, music, musical, native, plato, power, pythagoras, relief, stress, therapy, thomas, verny, vibrational

Abstract
A look at the origins of Indian culture with emphasis on Indian music and dance. The author examines the roots of music and dance from legends, myths and ancient scripts and provides an understanding of the historical foundation of Indian music and dance.

From the Paper
"The history of Indian music and dance is one of the oldest unbroken artistic traditions in the world. It is said that the origins of this system go back to the Vedas, the ancient scripts of the Hindus. Numerous legends have grown up concerning the origins and development of Indian classical music and dance. Such legends illustrate the importance both that music and dance have had in defining Indian culture, especially from a religious perspective. This investigation is meant to explore the historical foundation of Indian music to ascertain a better understanding of the classical form."

Tags:continent, india, sub

Abstract
This paper shows how music has been combined with drama and dance throughout history and across cultures. The writers takes Tchaikovsky's western-influenced ballets and compares them to the very dissimilar traditional Japanese Kabuki music. Some similarities are drawn that show how different cultures appreciate and embody the inherent drama in music. The paper includes backgrounds of Tchaikovsky, Japanese Kabuki in an historical setting, as well as full descriptions of the music. The last paragraph compares/contrasts the two, while drawing overarching conclusions about the universality of music.

From the Paper
"Since its birth, music has never been segregated out as "pure music" as the modern term now implies, with no implications attached to the sounds themselves. More often than not, there is always some sort of abstract connection made to the music, whether it is an evocation of a program, a tool for communication, a symbol of power, or a means of connecting with the spirit or the supernatural. Often, music will be used to tell a story, because of its ability to create atmosphere, manipulate moods, and even imitate concrete sounds. This ability leads to the creation of music in many categories namely music with drama, and programmatic music. Drama and music have been combined since ancient times, in the form of accompaniment or incidental music to theatrical works, or as in Western Europe, operas and ballets. Wagner himself termed his operas "music dramas", but his was definitely not the first, nor the last great marriage of the two arts. For instance, since before the seventeenth century in Japan, an art combining music, acting and dance called Kabuki has flourished. Kabuki stems from other Japanese forms called Noh and Bunraku, but whereas these two forms combine music and drama of sorts, Kabuki is by far the most lavish, and is a combination of these other two forms. Besides exhibiting far greater orchestral forces, there is also a strong emphasis on the dance. Likewise, across the continent at about the same time an art of schooled dance began in the courts in France, culminating to what we now know as ballet. Ballet itself was often found in segments of operas, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth century it became fashionable to create full-length story ballets, consisting of purely music and dancers telling a story. A prime example of the apotheosis of the ballet genre would be Tchaikovsky's popular ballets, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. Thus, the idea of music supporting dramatic action can be evidenced in both Japanese Kabuki, and Tchaikovsky's ballets, although both display as many striking differences as similarities."

Tags:ballet, compare, contrast, kabuki, music, tchaikovsky

Abstract
This paper discusses the Indian culture's mask dance. The paper explains that the nation of India has a long history associated with dance as a form of communication and expression. The paper contends that dances are more than just a fusion of choreographic movements; dance in India represents a way of telling tales of historical events, passion, romance, and even tales of treachery and woe.

From the Paper
"Dance in the culture has always represented some of the more inner reflections regarding the country's combination of historical turbulence mixed with the nation's religious and inner peace oriented factions such as Hinduism. "The Arts of India are the illustration of the religious life of the Hindus. Like their faith, the arts have been preserved for the past three thousand years, from change and decay, from foreign invasions, and from the fury of the nature. We owe its preservation to the future generations. For, it exemplifies how life can indeed revolve around the arts." (Kamat, 2004) In other words, dance in Indian culture is seen as more than just a fusion of detailed and non-meaningful movements; it is more a system for delivering aspects of the culture to the masses."

Tags:hindu, movement, communication

Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of the female character of Radha in Mehboob Kahn's film "Mother India" and Nisha in Sooraj R. Barjatya's "Who Am I to You?" The analysis shows how the virtues of these cinematic characters reflect those of the model of the Hindu goddess Sita, and others like Lakshmi and Kali and reflect the ideals of the Hindu socio-cultural construct of woman.

From the Paper
"In film director Mehboob Khan's "Mother India" we see that the director presents a very complex portrait of Radha, a woman who stands up to men, earns her own living and takes dramatic action when her wayward son Birju exacts vengeance on the money-lender Sukhilala. In director Sooraj R. Barjatya's film "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Who Am I To You", the character of Nisha is constructed more along the lines of the conventional Indian woman, a good woman who adopts a..."

Tags:marriage, kinship, loyalty, purity, honor, community, children, mothers, wives, submission

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the influence Latin-American music has had on popular music and the music business in the United States. The paper describes the Latin American music, dance and visual style and the growing popularity of Latin American music.

From the Paper
"There has been a virtual explosion of popularity of Latin music along with the Latin population of the United States in the last few years. Latino artists inhabit a sense of racial and ethnic identity that remains literally untranslatable into North American English and they are grounded in a Latin-American literary and artistic canon to which most monolingual North Americans do not and often cannot have access. Their music, dance and visual style has swept the planet. This is what..."

Tags:musical influences, bolero, tango, meringue, culture, artists, mainstream, crossover

Abstract
This paper explains that zydeco music, a form of dance music, is characterized by a syncopation or a shift of accent in a passage or composition that occurs when a normally weak beat is stressed. The author points out that the accordion and keyrub board, (also know as the washboard, scrub board or a froittoir) are essential parts of the zydeco sound, but there are no fiddles as in Cajun music. The paper relates that traditional zydeco dancing was done subtly, smoothly and upright by couples in a closed position; however, zydeco dancing appears to be evolving from a couples dance to individual free-style. The author relates that Clifton Chenier, who brought the zydeco genre to international attention, reigned as the "King of Zydeco" with a career lasting 30 years, and earned a Grammy award in 1984.

From the Paper
"The changes that have taken place in zydeco music can be tracked by the type of accordion that is used. There were four different models of accordions that have been widely used in the zydeco musical genre, each type varying in the number of rows, and consequently the number of keys. The accordions were sturdy and could be easily heard in big crowds of people. Today, there are diatomic models as well as chromatic models. The diatomic models only play the full-step intervals found in major scales, while the chromatic "piano" accordions encompass half-step intervals..."

Tags:syncopation, festival, chenier, accordion, cajun

Abstract
This paper takes a look at Islam's view on dance and music. According to the paper, although there are many groups within Islam that profess that music and dancing are forbidden, it is clear that the Qu'ran itself does not explicitly prohibit these activities. The paper goes on to say that several avenues of worship within Islam have developed into the practice of reaching God through dance or music. The paper focuses specifically on the Quwalli and the Mevelevi Order, also known as The Whirling Dervishes.

From the Paper
"More intentionally musical is the Sufic tradition of the Quwalli. Quwali means "word," and can be thought of as the physical and auditory manifestation of the divine voice. As with the Quri, the Quwallis use their voice as a tool of worship, but they move into the world of interpretation and individual expression of the words themselves. They can be likened to the Gospel singers of the Western world in this respect, though this may be a misleading comparison since the Sufi practice, from which the Quwalli find their beginnings and roots, is far more steeped in history and tradition and could be considered a more "serious" endeavor. Quwallis use the music of their voices to worship foremost, and to communicate and encourage their listeners to worship with them is a secondary concern."

Tags:Qari, God, Allah, sema, prophet, gift, worship, dance, body, Sufic, tradition

Abstract
The paper explores how variations in line, form and repetition in dance numbers creates mood for the viewer and explains that the mood that is created depends on the type of expression that is focused upon and the music that is used to guide that expression. The paper provides an example of a ballet presentation.

From the Paper
"How do you feel when you observe particular line, form, and repetition in different dance styles? What mood is created? Variations in line, form and repetition in dance numbers creates mood for the viewer. The mood that is created, however, depends on the type of expression that is focused upon and the music that is used to guide that expression. For example, the movement that exists during a ballet presentation may lead the average viewer to simply feel that what he or she is watching is a beautiful physical expression. However, a performance that occurs which revolves around fast paced musical may make the viewer feel as thou he or she wants to join in the action on the stage."

Tags:art, music, dance