North America - American plains Indians dance in celebration of the seasons, in petition for rain or for good hunting; in therapeutic activity, and in honoring the spirit of the tribe.  Indian tribes celebrate the holiness of all life and all of nature in a wide variety of dances.

The Hopi dance out the myth of origin and social organization of their society.  By dancing, the young people learn of the relationship of society and self in the realm of the sacred.

The Navajo have many dances which heal the broken spirit, drive away angry spirits, restore personal harmony, affirm tribal solidarity, celebrate the vast splendor of western desert and canyon, enable one to walk in beauty, reassure the totem of other species, signal the time to plant and to harvest, and help young women through menarche to maidenhood.

The Iroquois of New York and Canada are a matriarchal matrilineal society.  They have a dance called the Dark Dance in which women perform healing dances at night in complete darkness.

Middle East - The Zar ritual dance is a cathartic and healing experience, which functions for women in these cultures as effectively as does psychotherapy in Western culture.  It also provides a means for sharing knowledge and charitable society among the women of these very patriarchal cultures.  

South Africa - The !Kung enter into a trance dance that is a prelude to healing or means of making contact with the gods.  Women chant and clap hands in a complex beat while men gradually dance with great exertion until they enter a trance.

Central Africa - Dance is often used to conduct young people from one social status to another. The women in charge of the rite of passage of young women use the dance to effect changes in the body and spirit of the young woman so she is ready to take her place as an adult woman.

West Africa - In some tribes people dance in order to express the desire for a safe journey; a woman may dance in petition of pregnancy. The Tiv in Nigeria mimic the more threatening forms of disease in their dance, treat it, and heal the dancers of the disease in pantomime.

Haiti - Ritual dances are done to make contact with spirits, to gain their favor by offering them sacrifices and gifts, to obtain help in the form of more abundant food or higher standard of living, and improved health.  Rituals are held to celebrate lucky events, to attempt to escape a run of bad fortune, and for healing at birth, marriage and death.

Australia - The KaKadu use the dance to renew the Spirit of the Land.  They tell the animals of their oneness with them, and they make peace with the dreamworld animal spirits for the killing of animals in the real world.  The Kakadu have lived in peace and harmony with the land and its spirits for over 40,000 years.

* Relevant topic: Documentaries

* Relevant article:  Middle Eastern Dance-The Spiritual Connection