Dance (social event)

In his book The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body, Steven J. Mithen writes: "In many societies today dancing is used as a form of display for attracting mate...

Dancing is a means to show off one's physical fitness and co-ordination, qualities that would have been useful for survival in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies."

Mithen argues dance and music likely became an important tool of social interaction as soon as humans could walk and talk.

[3] In early 1900s dance and etiquette manuals paid attention to ceremonial details of the ballroom.

Rules and rituals were established, including the correct ways of issuing party invitations and giving parties and balls, asking a partner to dance, appropriate conversation while dancing a quadrille, and wearing the latest ballroom fashions.