The art of dance was incorporated in many religious rituals and festivals of ancient civilizations. From the third millennium BC, ancient Egyptians started to use dance as an integral part of their religious ceremonies, using dancers to perform important events such as divine tales and celestial patterns of shifting sun and stars. In ancient Greece, dance was very freely used for public purposes until it eventually brought about the birth of the popular Greek theatre in the 6th century BC. The Hindu faith has a close connection to music as they claim that it was the dance of the Supreme Dancer Nataraja, a representation of the Hindu god Shiva as the supreme dancer, that formed the entire Universe. Indeed, each of the Hindu gods and goddesses has their own manner of manifesting power through dance movements. Buddhism is also known for their Korean Seungmu dance performed by Buddhist monks.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2021/02/22/ancient-mothers-of-drummers-and-the-art-of-dance/