Characteristics Of West African Dance

Different aspects of dances all represent something special and meaningful to each specific tribe. Firstly, the purposes of the Native American’s dances are for entertainment, religious rituals, successful hunts, harvests, to give thanks, prayer, victory, mythology, along with many more. (Weiser- Alexander and Alexander) In the video Native American Indian

Fashion and aesthetics of African American are set of qualities in art, and specifically in this paper dance and music that come from African art. Robert Farris Thompson’s observations of art in central and western Africa and Kariamu Welsh Asante’s observations of dance in Zimbabwe identify common themes of African art. Method of dancing is another way of incorporation and valuing the entire body and bringing together the music and dance.

Traditional Aboriginal dances are performed by Indigenous Aboriginals from numerous tribal groups across Australia (Aboriginal Australia Art & Culture Centre, n.d.). The technique and approach observed in performances varies and is tailored to suit the region (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2011). The way an Aboriginal person dances really depends on where they came from as cultures experience and express themselves in different ways.

The third Mexican cultural activity that has survived and influenced the development of Chicana cultural practices in the U.S. is the Folklorico dances. These dances can be seen in the U.S. especially when there is a Mexican celebration or event. I personally experienced begin part of a group that danced folklorico. The dresses we used for the dance were inspired by the Yucatan look. We also accessorized with a crown of flowers made with fabric, long earrings, and a necklace of perals. We also combed all our hair back, and used make-up. It took alot of time to learn the three dances, and a lot of practice for the dance to come out good. In the end it was all worth it because I learned how to dance and how the women dress to dance. This cultural

Many may know that it can be almost impossible to completely identify what African Dance is. Africa is a huge continent that holds many different cultures, beliefs and overall ways of living. It is said to be the most “socially and racially diverse on the planet (wikipedia).” Even though Africa can be one of the most diverse places on earth, there can be similar dance styles being established throughout many other larges countries. Creativecareerguice.com states that “history, language, song, background, and purpose and cannot be translated to another dance of the same culture much less another

From the 1500s to the 1700s, African blacks, mainly from the area of West Africa (today's Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Dahomey, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon) were shipped as slaves to North America, Brazil, and the West Indies. For them, local and tribal differences, and even varying cultural backgrounds, soon melded into one common concern for the suffering they all endured. Music, songs, and dances as well as remembered traditional food, helped not only to uplift them but also quite unintentionally added immeasurably to the culture around them. In the approximately 300 years that blacks have made their homes in North America, the West Indies, and Brazil, their highly honed art

The African beats, the wind instruments and the rhythms that have been passed down through the

The dancers are dressed in slightly more flamboyant white dresses yet a are still unified. The music is more heavily footed in African Caribbean style, as are the pelvic isolations and body contractions.

Drummers collaborated with the dancers in such a way that they were able to communicate with each other through different rhythms and changes in pitch and tone. African dances were extremely sophisticated, both stylistically and rhythmically. The rhythmical elements of the dances conveyed conventional rhythms found in various nature patterns. More often than not, these dances were very repetitive, much like the cycles of life(Knowles). It was this conversational exchange between drums and feet, drummers and dancers, that evolved into tap. Time step, a basic tap step, was based on asymmetrical balance, an important aspect to African expression. It includes six measures of repetitive rhythmic phrasing, along with two measures of rhythm breaks. Often times, the swaying motion used tended to cause the accented steps to fall on the second and fourth beats of a sequence. Through their steady patterns of assimilation, imitation, and transformation, tap was created(Source 17).

Dance is a very unique entity to study that comes with many benefits. It is a way of connecting to culture. Dance has a sense of history and community being portrayed throughout the movement. Some of the popular dances from the Caribbean include the Merengue, Rumba, and Cha Cha. Not only are these dances upbeat and fun, but they offer the opportunity to embody the culture instead of just learning about it through a passive manner.

The animal skin or feathers that the dancer’s barrow from the animal are the feathers from the eagle that were either given to them or passed on from generation to generation, they also use other bird feathers. They also use otter tail, sheep skin, bear skin, porcupine quills, different animal paws, deer skin, horse hair generally most thing from all animals depending on what their family prays to get or asks the drum and the sacred people to get them. As for dancing all the dances resemble things animals do. One of the categories is the chicken dancers, where they act like chickens. Another category is fancy shawl dancers and they are said to be butterflies. There are three men categories and three female categories and all the dances are fast, fun, and

As Bame once said, “In dancing, each one finds themselves in ecstatic harmony with other participants, it heightens their sense of belonging and attachment and thereby generates social solidarity among them and the entire community”(40). Ultimately, African music and dance is a relationship that can’t be broken apart. It has been a huge part in life where everybody comes together within their communities and grow together socially and

Although dance movements could vary in some ways from culture to culture, the basic structure and reasons for dance were similar. The dance was vital to African societies because Africans danced for all the occasions and needs of life mentioned earlier. In both ritual and non-ritual forms, dance marked the notable events and served as an avenue to connect them to God as well as for celebration, recreation, and self-expression. Dance did everything from evoking the spirit world to portraying a dramatic allegory

The special thing about these rhythms is that there are many unique ways to approach the dancing and the playing of the rhythm. Professor Parker explained to me that “ You can go so many places to learn these songs, dances, and rhythms and other instructors will teach them different. It’s the people’s movement and that's what so unique about West-African movement it’s interpreted differently. Yes you may see similarities but I guarantee you it won’t be the same Tendu or Plie´that you can identify immediately in other dance genres.” (Parker)

To begin, the particular videos that we will be discussing are Paul Simon’s diamonds on the sole of her shoe, Kinobe’s kora performance, and Youssou N’Dour’s song daan featuring American singer/ rapper Akon. These three particular videos relate to the west African musical culture because they all involve singing, instrumental music, and dancing which are all characteristics of this particular music. Most of their music consist of a beat that you can dance to and that is usually how you can tell whether it is or is not this type of music. Rhythm and melody are two key factors of west African music and all three of the videos consist of both characteristics. The songs above were very unique to me. It may have been the beat that makes me want to dance, the calmness of it, or it may have even been uplifting to me. They all presented something different that drew my attention to them.