Dancing Through Art! The Best Depictions of Dance in Art History

Renoir’s Ballroom

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) sought to capture the daily life of common people, so he would visit places like the Moulin de la Galette to have fun, observe, and paint. The piece shows Parisian society enjoying a day of leisure with friends. Six dancing couples appear on the left side of the painting, holding each other intimately. Renoir presented this work at the Impressionist Exhibition of 1877. Although it received harsh criticism at the time, it became one of his most famous masterpieces and a staple of Impressionism.

Country Dances

In the countryside, people also enjoyed lively afternoons of twirling and jumping with the community. The Swedish painter Anders Zorn (1860–1920) represented a midsummer celebration in the town of Morkarlby, Sweden. Zorn decided to place the maypole in the background and focused on the couples dancing around it. The soft orange light bathing the canvas suggests the scene occurs at sunrise.

Classical Ballet by Edgar Degas

This article would not be complete without Edgar Degas’ ballerinas. His works depicting dancers, both on and off stage, are among the most famous depictions of dance in art history. Dancer Making Points shows a ballerina in a yellow tutu decorated with red flowers. There is some debate about the exact step the ballerina is performing. An alternative title, Le Commencement des “Pirouettes sur la Pointe en Dedans” (The Beginning of “Pirouettes en Dedans“), indicates that the girl is about to spin inward toward her standing leg, in this case, the left one.

The Russian Ballets by Valentine Hugo

Valentine Hugo (1887–1968) was a French Surrealist artist from the 20th century. When she moved to Paris to study art, she found Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at the Thèâtre du Châtelet.

The Zandunga

Diego Rivera (1886–1957) is most famous for his impressive murals, but he also painted in oil on canvas, such as Dance of Tehuantepec. This monumental painting of 79 x 64.5 in (199 x 162 cm) represents the zandunga, a traditional dance from the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. The predominance of orange tones contrasts with the green background, formed by banana trees. For Rivera, as for other muralists, it was important to capture and exalt Mexican identity in his works. The dancers wear traditional attire, embroidered huipiles for the women and straw hats and white cotton clothes for the men. While the poses allude to movement, rigidity reigns in this piece, as if the dancers are frozen on the spot.

The Spanish Dance, Ole!

Spanish dances have been favorites among European artists for their dramatic and somewhat exotic nature. For example, El Jaleo (the ruckus) by John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) depicts a Romani dancer in the middle of a routine. The artist took inspiration from a trip to southern Spain in 1879. The scene is mostly dark, but Sargent strategically lit the dancer’s white skirt from the bottom, casting shadows that fill up the gray wall in the background, adding intensity to the performance. The harsh and wide brushstrokes emphasize the quick movement of the fabric as she jerks it up. Musicians and other spectators play their instruments and cheer avidly, immersing the viewer in the scene.

Japanese Dancing

Dancing appears often in ukiyo-e works, a style focused on the representation of leisure and pleasures in life. Miyagawa Chōshun (1683–1753) focused on paintings rather than woodprints, using silk as support. Possibly, this painting illustrates a performance during a delegate’s visit from the Ryukyu Islands to Edo.

Chōshun omitted any trace of a physical setting, giving the impression of floating figures. The ochre background’s flatness, typical of Japanese works, reflects a subtle fear of fullness, contrasting with the Western fear of emptiness. If we compare it with Sargent’s painting above, we find considerable stylistic differences. It lacks the dramatic atmosphere of El Jaleo; instead, it suggests elegance and serenity. Moreover, the brushstrokes are delicate, the colors vibrant, and the drawing perfectly traced.

The Dance of Divine Love

This Indian miniature painting from the 19th century depicts the Raslila—“the Dance of Divine Love.” The blue-skinned figure at the center represents the god Krishna dancing with his partner Radha. According to Hindu scriptures, she was the deity’s favorite gopi (milkmaid). The women in traditional orange dresses surrounding them are other gopis who, upon hearing him play the flute, followed the music to reach him. It may not be apparent, but this dance takes place in the night, a night that has stretched on for billions of years. This painting is an excellent representation of the relationship between dance and religion.

The Sama

This folio of a manuscript illustrates whirling dervishes, members of the Sufi branch of Islam. The artist Shaykhzada (16th century) depicts them performing the sama, a mystical dance that allowed the participants to connect on a spiritual level with the divine. At the center, four male figures dance in circles, waving their arms in different directions. In the lower part, other members have achieved their goal; they have entered into a deep level of abandon. The figure to the right of the circle kneels as he looks up and opens his clothes. At the bottom, a dark-skinned man lies with his eyes open, and another dervish cannot stand any longer and is aided by a friend. To the far corner, a dancer has lost consciousness. Three musicians hold joyful expressions as they play flutes and a tambourine. The work belongs to the city of Herat in modern-day Afghanistan.

So, here they are, outstanding depictions of dance in art history. Every region has its own way of dancing and its own way of representing it in the visual arts. It is a challenge to take an intangible practice and transform it into a tangible object, and these artists have achieved it masterfully.