Authentic Benefits of Packaging Traditional Dances as a Tourism Attraction in Tanzania

In the modern society tourism has gained popularity as a tool for socio economic development of the local community. Local community members have become innovative in packaging their cultural elements such as folk dances. The gaze for dancing creates great opportunities for tourism performers. Dance tourism is discussed as travel for the purpose of learning an important national role as well as enjoying great opportunity among the local community. Dance involves anatomical movements as well as partner interactions and their association to each other and music is art. It explores the communicative, physical, mental, emotional and artistic aspects of dance as a medium of human expression and interaction. To dance is to move rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps. Traditional dance (often called folk dances in the west) is defined as any local dancing tradition, often strongly connected with local musical forms and/or local beliefs. It reflects the life of the people of certain or region. This study applies the philosopher’s dance theory which states that dance contributes to aesthetic, moral and intellectual values as well as enhancing physical adeptness and overall wellbeing. The rich culture of Tanzania is the key motive of analyzing the potential benefits that can arise as a result of packaging traditional dances by the residents in order to diversify the already existing forms of tourism. Methodologically, this research depended on review of relevant literature on the authentic benefits of traditional dances and tourism attraction. Conclusions and recommendations were drawn from the review findings and discussions. Key words: Authentic benefits, Traditional dances, Tourism attraction