Dance

Dancing as a spectacle was a favourite amusement of the old Egyptians, but it is improbable that it was a pastime, at least among the upper cla es. The performers were usually women, and the dance would seem to have been more a rhythmic movement than anything involving much energy. Dancing women are usually seen in representations of feasts. They appear also in funeral proce ions, and in every case are accompanied by music and clapping of the hands. There were apparently war dances and harvest dances performed by men, which were probably national dances. A picture on a tomb wall at Beni Hasan represents such a war dance.