Performing arts

[3] Theatre is the branch of performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience, using a combination of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound, and spectacle.

It can be performed using a variety of instruments and styles and is divided into genres such as folk, jazz, hip hop, pop, and rock, etc.

[6] Starting in the 6th century BC, the Classical period of performing art began in Greece, ushered in by the tragic poets such as Sophocles.

This period also introduced the Elizabethan masque, featuring music, dance and elaborate costumes as well as professional theatrical companies in England.

Konstantin Stanislavski's "System" revolutionized acting in the early 20th century, and continues to have a major influence on actors of stage and screen to the current day.

Rhythm and blues, a cultural phenomenon of black America, rose to prominence in the early 20th century, influencing a range of later popular music styles internationally.

The story of the god Osiris was performed annually at festivals throughout the civilization, marking the known beginning of a long relationship between theatre and religion.

[10] A Griot is a West African oral historian who uses storytelling, poetry, and music to express the genealogies and historical narratives of the tribes they represent, often playing instruments such as the kora.

Sir Lewis Pelly begins the preface of his book about Ta'zieh maintaining that "If the success of a drama is to be measured by the effects which it produces upon the people for whom it is composed, or upon the audiences before whom it is represented, no play has ever surpassed the tragedy known in the Mussulman world as that of Hasan and Husain."

[12] Years later Peter Chelkowski, professor of Iranian and Islamic studies at NYU, chooses the same words for the beginning of his book 'Ta`ziyeh, ritual and drama in Iran'.

[13] Live secular plays were known as akhraja, recorded in medieval adab literature, though they were less common than puppetry and ta'ziya theater.

[14] In Iran there are other forms of theatrical events such as Naghali or Naqqāli (story telling), Ta'zieh, ٰRu-Howzi, Siah-Bazi, Parde-Khani, and Mareke giri.

One form, Naghali, was traditionally performed in coffeehouses where the storytellers, or Naghals (Naqqāls), only recited sections of a story at a time, thus retaining regular cliental.

This folk theatre of the misty past was mixed with dance, food, ritualism, plus a depiction of events from daily life.

Three famous romantic plays written by Kālidāsa are the Mālavikāgnimitram (Mālavikā and Agnimitra), Vikramōrvaśīyam (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi), and Abhijñānaśākuntala (The Recognition of Shakuntala).

The powerful Indian emperor Harsha (606–648) is credited with having written three plays: the comedy Ratnavali, Priyadarsika, and the Buddhist drama Nagananda.

[citation needed] There are references to theatrical entertainments in China as early as 1500 BC during the Shang dynasty; they often involved music, clowning and acrobatic displays.

Both styles generally performed plays depicting great adventure and fantasy, rarely was this very stylized form of theatre used for political propaganda.

Yuan drama spread across China and diversified into numerous regional forms, the best known of which is Beijing Opera, which is still popular today.

In Cambodia, inscriptions dating back to the 6th century AD indicates evidence of dancers at a local temple and using puppetry for religious plays.

At the ancient capital Angkor Wat, stories from the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved on the walls of temples and palaces.

In the Philippines, the famous epic poem Ibong Adarna, originally titled "Korido at Buhay na Pinagdaanan ng Tatlong Prinsipeng Magkakapatid na anak nina Haring Fernando at Reyna Valeriana sa Kahariang Berbania" (English: "Corrido and Life Lived by the Three Princes, children of King Fernando and Queen Valeriana in the Kingdom of Berbania") from the 16th century was written by José de la Cruz during the Spanish era.

The novel's dark theme departs dramatically from the previous novel's hopeful and romantic atmosphere, signifying Ibarra's resort to solving his country's issues through violent means, after his previous attempt in reforming the country's system made no effect and seemed impossible with the corrupt attitude of the Spaniards toward the Filipinos.

When Kan'ami's company performed for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358–1408), the shōgun of Japan, he implored Zeami to have a court education for his arts.

A mixture of pantomime and vocal acrobatics, the Noh style of theatre has become one of Japan's most refined forms of theatrical performance.

[20] Japan, after a long period of civil wars and political disarray, was unified and at peace primarily due to shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1600–1668).

[citation needed] Kabuki began shortly after Bunraku, legend has it by an actress named Okuni, who lived around the end of the 16th century.

The men who portrayed women on stage were specifically trained to elicit the essence of a woman in their subtle movements and gestures.

[citation needed] Melanesian dance often exhibits a cultural theme of masculinity where leadership and a unique skill set are important for sharing with the community.

[22] The costumes of impersonating dancers incorporate large masks and unhuman-like characteristics that act to imitate mythical figures.