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For the ancient Greeks, as voiced by Plato, dance too was thought to be of extreme importance as a formative instructive element in education and which contributed to one's becoming a good citizen 18. Athenaeus claimed during the 3rd century AD, that certain forms of dance instruction made men into better soldiers. This warlike dancing today would be recognized as marching.
Although, the ancient Greeks classified dance as one of four types, they essentially viewed the dance as belonging to one of two categories, only one of which was acceptable 19. According to Plato, only "noble dancing," or what Nietzsche called Apollonian dancing 20, was to be allowed, and anything suggestive of a "Bacchic Nature" or a of Lascivious character was unfit for good citizens to observe. This would include fertility dances, war dances, rain dances, sun dances, and all forms of orgiastic dancing. Anything of a Dionysian spirit including ancient dances performed since before the time of Babylon were deemed base. Plato referred to this latter type of dancing as primitive and sexual and not worthy of being considered art.
In contrast, the dancing of Apollo represents the mind, ideas and thoughts, and reveals our presumably "higher" and more "noble" nature as expressed through movement. It was this form of movement that Plato valued most highly and as expressive of that which is most lofty.
And yet, as a communicative device, dancing can hide and deceive as well as reveal, and movement can be restrictive and act to limit and conceal. Nietzsche, Isadora Duncan, and many modern dance enthusiasts, have decried the type of dancing which Plato cherished so dearly and instead have argued that it is only the most "Dionysian," natural, uncontrolled, unfettered, forms of movement which are the most revealing and the most meaningful.
According to Nietzsche, when engaged in this type of dance one is in a frenzy of melody and is able to "tear asunder the veil of Maya, to sink back into the original oneness of nature; the desire to express the very essence of nature symbolically." 21
Similarly, Isadora Duncan repeatedly decried such restrictions as styfilling not only dance, but consciousness and creative thought. For her dance should only be of free and natural movements which are closer to our original nature and best reflective of the upwellings of our soul.
"The movement of the free animals and birds remains always in correspondence to their nature, the necessities and wants of that nature, and its correspondence to the earth nature. It is only when you put free animals under false restrictions that they lose the power of moving in harmony with nature, and adopt a movement expressive of the restrictions placed about them. So it has been with civilized man." 22
DRINKING & DANCING
Although the cultural elite of ancient Greece or the guardians of todays public morals might disagree, some might ask, what is dancing without refreshments such as alcohol so as to liven things up even more? Among humans, dancing is often accompanied by drink, and the imbibing of alcohol was a central feature of the Dionysian movement. Indeed, Dionysus was also the God of the vine.
Humans are not the only ones to partake of the pleasure and misery of alcohol. Some dancing bees, such as northern bees who have migrated or been transplanted below the equator, not only imbibe, they get drunk, a consequence of their feeding on fermenting nectar which they quickly metabolize.
Unfortunately, like humans, when bees get drunk this not only disrupts their foraging and dancing, but can result in accidents and even death. They crash into trees, get lost, and when they return to the hive they are usually turned away due to their altered social behavior. Those that are allowed back into the hive while drunk, pass on drunken messages. Moreover, those that survive generally appear to suffer a very debilitating hangover.
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