African American Dance Movement

African Americans fought to keep their culture when they were brought over to America. Slaves were not given education because the slave owners believed that the knowledge would give them too much power (“Celebrate”, 2016). Many African American stories and traditions have been passed down orally since their ancestors did not know how to read or write. Music is important to the African American culture. Music was and is a way to pass on history, teaches lessons, and relay messages. Some popular types of music are ragtime, jazz, blues, swing, and R&B although African Americans enjoy all types of music (“Celebrating”, 2016). African Americans have fought for centuries to keep their cultural traditions alive and some have remained, but their unique culture is not as prevalent as

Africans have, since the early settlement of America, has had a great influence in the nation’s growth. These contributions to the United States from enslaved Africans have been greatly portrayed in American culture. Varying from cuisine, to song and dance are not only portrayed today but it has a deep-rooted impact throughout the United States. During the middle passage, enslaved Africans were forced to abandon their everyday lives, their families and their homes and forced to adapt to a new lifestyle they knew nothing of. However, upon arrival into the New World, due to their prior knowledge and wisdom from back home, they were able to quickly adapt and custom themselves to this new lifestyle in order to survive with the hope of potentially one day returning back to Africa. Unfortunately, African contributions to the culture of the United States has received little to no recognition and it has been taken credit for by Europeans and Whites since the early establishment of the United States.

As we all may know slaves underwent a time when their humanity was taken from them when they came to the Americas. But even though their humanity was taken from them they still managed to carry on a tradition that still lives on. This tradition is dance. Over the years dance has developed and become more modern but it is still has the influence from African dance.

To start off this project you need to know where dance originated or where it came from and how it got started. The first dances came about in ancient civilization and was more for ritual reasons rather than entertainment like it is today. The credit for the origin of dance cannot be given to any one country in particular. Different countries/cities had their own rituals depending on the circumstance at the time.   For example in Egypt the priests and priestesses had the sound of harps and pipes that mimicked the rhythm between night and day.  The women also danced at funerals to help in the expression of grief for the mourners.   During the sixth century dancing becomes the centerpiece of Greek theatre. These dances were performed in a circle

With the creation of music there comes dance along with it. This dancing brings freedom a step forward and allows for individual expression. In the 18th and 19th century we begin to see the social effect of suppression. You can only imagine what it would be like to be a slave and what the effects would have had upon your psych. A way to let it all out on top of song is dance. The dance that becomes to be really expressed how they were feeling. This was also a way to keep a part of who they are still in tack, keeping thy self close to heritage was and still is crucial. Today 's depiction of the dance that took place then is a slow step by step/twisting dance. This motion personifies a sad person. Also, the conditions were harsh and the labor was back breaking. From their heritage though, their song and dance that originated from Africa had a very different kind of vibe. African Folk music which was mainly played by drums which had an expression of energy & togetherness. The drums there could be a representation of their hearts. They enjoyed life, lived at a fast rhythm with time flying by. In America, time went slow, the work and the slavery conditions bogged everything down. With dance, they were able to keep close to what was formally

Throughout time, jazz music has always been a very popular genre of music, especially in the early 1900’s. It was famous towards African Americans mostly and had many incredible artists. Artists such as Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and the famous Louis Armstrong are some of the fan favorites. Their smooth, peaceful melodies kept people of all races listening to the beat. Although jazz music is not as popular as it used to be, the artist’s legacy will always be strong.

“African American spirituals, gospel, and folk music all played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. Singers and

Their songs tell us about their past and present (Maasai Tribe). They tell their stories and their vision of the world.

Africans also used this type of dance to communicate with others. They used to do this type of dance to express their religious beliefs. In the 11 years that I have been dancing, the greatest part of my attention has been spent on the development and control of the variety of tones that can be produced by Taps of the heels and soles on the floor and against each other (Knowles 14). Tap dance began to appear in stage dance through shows in the1890’s. After the civil war, many minstrel shows were created which became into the Broadway musical and tap dance. Movies were then using tap dances and they were also using tap dances in musicals. The creation of jazz music also influenced tap dance by creating styles that used a lot of improvisation. Tap dancing was used more and more in shows and performances. Back then, Slaves would have competitions on plantations and the owners would place bets on the best performers. In 1739, a law was passed that the slaves were not allowed to use drums at all. Since they were no longer allowed, they started using their feet against other things to make noise. The

Dancing is a beautiful language. Dancing was invented to express how we felt, how we wanted to be perceived and to find purpose with each movement. There are different styles of dancing. Each one as wonderful as the other. Ballet and Jazz might be two different types of dance but they are ways to dance.

The history of dance is filled with many unique events that all have played a great role towards shaping its foundations. Whether it was choreographers who created multiple different styles of dance, or the periods of time where dance and music influenced millions of people, dance has been enabled to become quite a pastime in today’s growing society. Dance history follows very closely during the development of the human race. During the earliest times of human existence, and far before the establishment of our first prevailing civilizations, dance has served as an irreversible way of conveying people’s thoughts and emotions. The amazing thing is that as our civilization has navigated through prosperity, dance has now been modified in multiple different ways and has become quite popular. This is due to the means of expression, health benefits, and various other skills it offers.

Dancing, it is as old as time. It has made a great impact on human history almost as much as agriculture and war. In the beginning, dancing was used as a form of worship and for religious rituals. It was used to worship and unite with nature. Because it is a believed that the Fertile Crescent is the cradle of civilization, it is no surprise that the earliest depictions of humans dancing were found the Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece. However, others believe that it began in India as far as 4000-5000 years ago and spread throughout Greece and then the Middle East from the migration of a European gypsy tribe called Roma; although it is not certain that it is the actual place where it got started.

Dance has been affected by many events including religious rituals that helped form the art of dance, the Italian Renaissance, and the French Revolution. “Dance was originally reserved for religious rituals in ancient civilizations” (“Dance” 1). Dance was used in the religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic. In ancient Egypt, different cultures would use dance to perform for their peers in ceremonies. Dance spread throughout Europe and soon became a common activity in many European countries. Dance also played a part in Greek and Roman society. Dance was used for religious purposes and was also demonstrated in ceremonies. “Dancing commemorated the changing of the seasons, life and death, social solidarity, and the connection between humanity and the unseen powers that affected human existence” (“Overview of Dance” 2). Dance would also be used in the Greek society to honor a god or an important individual. Ballet can be dated all the way back to the Italian Renaissance. In the fifteenth century, ballet was demonstrated during the courts of Italy. Ballet was not made to be performed in front of

Early African American culture brought their culture where ever they traveled while they were slaves. This lead to the reason why Caucasian slave masters tried to limit the expression of what the African Americans could do. To many Caucasian people during this time had various opinions about how this type of behavior is so far from the norm. Early African American people used to use music to escape the threshold of slavery. They would do this for various occasions such as marriage,death,birth and puberty. To get the rhythmic beats and

Before all else, the athletic from of art is believed to have originated thousands of years ago. People suspect that man started to dance for two reasons: entertainment and spiritual cause. For example, in the Americas the native people danced for both entertainment and spiritual