African-American Dances

Tap dance is an uniquely American dance form. The percussive use of one’s feet combined with the use of rhythms and amplification of sound, has a complex history that involves the intercultural fusions of English, Irish and African musical and dance traditions. The evolution of tap dance in America is further complicated by issues of race, class and gender. Unlike ballet with its formal technique, tap dance emerged from people listening to and watching each other dance, in a variety of settings, where steps were shared, stolen and reinvented. Through its metamorphosis the dance form has progressed from local entertainment, to Vaudeville shows, to Broadway shows, to the Silver Screen and to Concert Halls across the world. The legacy of the art form is characterized by the rise, fall and reemergence of popularity. Savion Glover, a 21st century American dancer, is credited with bringing tap into a new era of popularity as he has wowed the masses with his unique style focusing on African American rhythms. Tap dance, uniquely American in that it is a true melting pot of dance forms, is a dance form rich in rhythms, sounds and amplifications and has transcended social and cultural barriers.

Before my research I knew that my topic was a popular dance in the 1920s. The dance comes from the song "The Charleston". I choose this topic because I found it very interesting, I found this topic interesting because the1920s was an entertaining time period, the dances created then must be a fun topic. I would love to find out more about my topic. Such as why was the dance created? How did it become popular? Who created the dance?

Since the beginning of time African people have valued and honored dance and music in the most secret way. They knew that dance and music was a gift from the Gods that they worshiped and that it should be respected as a valued custom in everyday life. Although, dance on the African continent differed from region to region dance and music had always been a part of tradition across the continent and throughout the African Diaspora. Nadine George-Graves explains that, “Spirituality means different things to different people, and in many respects, it defies definition, which is, of course, part of its power. Too, spirituality has long been considered a path to healing and liberation” (George-Graves 136). Dance and music was a way in which people

Dance has always been the focal point in which Africans are able to let free through movements of emotion. In this essay I will discuss the history of African Dance and its importance to the African Culture. Also will be discussing the general information of African dance, the different types of African dance and the ones that I like the most. Dance in the African culture is something that cannot be taken advantage of in the African Culture because it holds such a strong meaningful moment at the time of any occasion.

The African American Culture and Traditions A Research Study and Facts That Will Take Us Into What Makes This Culture So Unique.

African American, also known Black American, is a very mixed and compacted culture. From history to present day, traditions taken back from slavery to the hip hop age. Incorporating details from all different times in history. Starting with the Music, African Americans have a very intellectual way of expressing their feelings, pain, history and teaching lessons, which really started from old hymns sung by slaves. From Jazz, to blues, to hip hop, all different forms of music to express the way of their lives. Music isn’t the only thing African Americans have to be proud of, they also so have a strong background of cultural food. Soul Food is very common and eaten by many across the world, and is used a lot with another tradition of African

artists and the soul artists provided a rich resource for the succeeding style of music

The definition of swing dance can be described as a synchronized dance with jazz music that have a related variety of partnered dances which includes Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and Smooth Lindy. Swing dance is a type of social dance that was created sometime during 1920 to 1950. It is a dance that is associated with Jazz which is a type of music that can be seen having influence from Africa but was created and spread in the United States during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920s and 1930s, which is seen as the movement of colored people which led to the creation of new literatures, art, music, and dance.

Katherine Dunham, an African American dancer from Chicago Illinois had a very successful dance career in American and European theatre in the 20th century. Dunham was a choreographer as well as a dancer. She directed her own dance company for many years before she died May 2006. Dunham was known as the “matriarch and queen mother of black dance” meaning that she was the “head” or “leader” of black dance. Her works and pieces all showed similarity and differences throughout the time in which they were produced. Most of her works were not solos but they were danced with her and her company in which she taught various classes based on her technique.

This excerpt relates to the present, due to some Native American tribes and other cultures still practice rituals revolving around agriculture, in order to obtain a prosperous harvest according to their beliefs. Furthermore, as evident in the quotation the women performs a dance ritual, in order to make the earth grow and flourish. Not to mention, the act of performing dance rituals connects to the present, due to it is seen in Native American tribes as a way to obtain something from their god, or as a way to thank their god for all the fortunate occurrences in their life.In addition, as mention in the quotation, the act of performing dance rituals have influenced a vast amount of cultures, and Native American tribes, as well as become extremely

African American music has evolved into unique musical tradition, reflecting the experiences of Africans in the New World. This musical tradition, however, has been influenced by African cultural patterns in profound and subtle ways. To define such a broad genre is a difficult task, as African music is not a static system of notes and beats, but rather it is a conceptual approach to music making. There are, nonetheless, a set of common basic elements that help define the genre. African music in terms of spirituality, community, and language have influenced African American music profoundly. Musical organization and syntax can be traced directly to sub-Saharan peoples in terms of cyclical

Today one of the most powerful ways of communication is through music and dance. In every house hold from the edges of the earth everything has a rhythm. Whether it be our heart beat, even the way we blink, talk, breath and how we think is to a rhythm. We all have our own theme music if you will. Music has evolved from the beginning of time until now, music dates back from the beginning of time. Music and Dance are the most important things in my life. This is the way I express myself and that is why this topic is so important to me. Since dance has evolved there has been some issues that many people have stumbled across. Music and dance is becoming very sexual and I haven’t been thinking like this for that long. While on Twitter I stumbled

I must say that my hole spring quarter has been dedicated to deepening my overall understanding of West-African dance alone. In preparation this to study with the Urban Bush this summer I wanted to make sure that I was able to develop a stronger foundation in my West-African dance technique this quarter. My Mondays and Wednesday from 2:00-6:30 were dedicated to Professor Parker's ( Makeda- Kumasi) West-African dancing and drumming classes held at UCR. I also seeked outside the classroom to gain a community experience of this dance genre so that I could compare and contrast the similarities and differences I found. My goals were to truly embody the many elements that are associated in this dance genre. In my discoveries I was able to

As an African American I have felt the brunt of the under representation of minorities in dance. The dance world is changing, it is becoming more diverse and we see society is opening up to various dance styles. Though this is the case, if one were to look-up “professional dancer” on google, a minority is nowhere to be found with-in the first few images. La A.M.I.D is going to bring together minorities who have the common passion of dance. Building a community among minorities to increase exposure to the many minority owned dance companies and studios. Informing members of professional training and job opportunities. Educating members on the minorities who help revolutionize the dance world. As well as provide industry tips and tricks. Empowering

In addition, we can also notice some wash fixtures lighting up all the stage with some very intense white light every time the drummer uses the hi hat in a very dramatic way, which, creates a very amazing impact of the song and it almost resembles a thunder every time it happens, we can also find some open gobo patterns moving around the stage and the audience as the song finally gets to its first verse and it happens very smooth, changing colors at some points but functioning very subtle and with a lower intensity than the rest of the fixtures on stage, we can notice that most of these gobo patterns are evenly distributed across the stage and the audience but they move in a slow speed and also very randomly. Unquestionably, there are plenty of different cues and effects that I can see that were utilized when designing this lighting show that I did not mention in its entirety, however, I think it was very original in terms of creativity and very precise when it comes to follow the times of the song, definitely a good project to check out and get some motivation out of