In pre-Columbian Maya civilization, ceremonial dance had great importance. However, since dance is a transient art, it is inherently difficult for archeologists to find and evaluate evidence of its role. There is little material information left behind, beyond a few paintings on murals and vases. This lack of direct evidence leads to several different archaeological interpretations.

The dance was a central component of social, religious, and political endeavors for the ancient Maya. The entire community danced, including kings, nobles, and common people. Dance served many functions such as creating sacred space, closing the gap between here and the otherworld, and releasing the dead from the grasp of the Xibalbans (see Xibalba).

Ancient Maya dance is often characterized by the transformations of human beings into supernatural (god like) beings by means of visionary trance. Some think that hallucinogenic drugs or medicines were used to put the performer into an altered state of mind. Once in this state of mind, the participants were transformed into their wayob or soul companions. These soul companions were depicted through the masks and the costumes people wore in the dance. Some scenes are painted on pottery such as that from the myriad ritual meals of Classic festivals. These vessels depict humans, both kings and nobles, dressed in costumes. Their human faces are shown in cutaway view inside the costumes of the fantastic creatures they have become through the transformation of the dance. Some of these wayob are recognizable as animals like jaguars and birds of prey, but others just look like strange monsters.

For the Maya, dance was a very public affair. It induced visionary trances where either individuals or groups went into an altered state of mind that allowed them to communicate with the other world. Those who were strong enough to travel there told stories about how the land had things like rivers and trees in this world. Some of the great lords depicted themselves dancing out over the abyss that leads into the otherworld.

The distinction between humans and supernatural beings was never sharply made. Through dance, people became gods and gods became people even if it were only for a moment. It is important to note that these were more than just acts of civic pride or piety. They were considered to be direct connections to the otherworld.

With the written form of dance poses play a big part on how they describe and depict the dance. The gesture of holding the double-headed serpent would be described as a gesture of concentration, calm and tranquility. The pose to dancing was discovered to be a lifted heel while still touching the ground. This was discovered in 1911 but wasn’t brought to questions till 1981 by Virginia Miller who defined the pose. This pose was started in the Early Classic period on a small scale while in the eight century started to appear in large scale depiction. This pictures show one heel raised, very rarely is both raised, and the arms in a dynamic pose with the body gazing outwards.

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