Dance Off

Dancing was an important part of ancient Greek culture and entertainment. There was an idea that the gods enjoyed watching mortals dance. One ancient hymn promises the god Apollo that mortals will, ‘remember and please [him] with boxing, dancing and song,’ (Homeric Hymn 3, To Apollo). Men, women, boys, and girls all danced. Like athletics, dancing helped men and boys develop the agility and co-ordination that made them effective in battle. Dancing also played a huge part in the development of drama.

Dancing is something that connects humans across all places and eras.

Dance Off was made from a black figure oinochoe vase. It is an Etruscan vase, that is, made in the Etruria region of Italy, where many Greeks lived. The vase depicts male dancers around the whole vessel. It was made in the Late Archaic period, c.525-500 BCE. It is owned by Reading Museum and is housed in the Ure Museum, (Accession Number: REDMG: 1951.130.1). 

© Reading Museum (REDMG 1951:130.1)

The story in this animated loop was developed by pupils from Maiden Erlegh in Reading for the 2012 Ure View project. It combines aspects of ancient, traditional, and modern dance. Ancient Greek dancers are shown doing elements of a Greek syrtos folk dance (very popular at weddings), along with modern caterpillar and body-popping moves.

The Ure View animations were made within an Arts Council funded ‘Stories of the World’ project at the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology in 2012. Local teenagers worked with the project team to interpret vases in the museum and develop stories and storyboards from them. We then transformed the storyboards into animations. The animations have since been shown at Westminster as part of an Arts in Parliament exhibition. They’ve also been included on a digital trail at the Museum of English Rural Life and in a special exhibition in Reading Museum.

The music used is kindly provided by Stefan Hagel.