Teaching methods of traditional dances in cultural-artistic societies: Case study of children's groups from Pančevo and Bačka Palanka

Dance, as a syncretic entity of movement and music, has been present in the life of people since ancient times. Through dance, people express their emotions, aesthetic needs, physical and musical abilities. Besides its expressive function, dance can also be an educational means. In contemporary ethnochoreology traditional dances, which are nowadays taught systematically only at cultural-artistic societies, are not considered from the aspect of upbringing and educating children. This study is part of the research conducted for the purpose of a master thesis. The author of the study attempted to demonstrate on the example of three cultural-artistic societies how learning and mastering traditional dances can influence the child's development. The paper points to different methods of working in cultural-artistic societies from Pancevo and Backa Palanka. The aim of the paper is to show the similarities and differences in the approach to working with children in the cultural-artistic societies, as well as to indicate, by analysing certain traditional dances, how their mastering can influence the development of certain skills and abilities.