Dance In African American Culture

Firstly, the reason it has been kept alive is because Native American dance teaches values by incorporating them into their movements and themes. Dancing is a creative and entertaining way to continue teaching younger members of the tribe about what they are to believe. Secondly, Native American dance tells stories of their ancestors. Dances passed down from generation to generation allow the younger generation to understand and interpret the dances and learn about the past. Without dance some tribal members may not know about their history. Finally, Native American dance keeps tradition alive. Dance has been around since the beginning of the Native American people. It is a way to pass on messages and teachings from the earliest tribes. Dance is so essential to Native American history, that it has been transmitted since the earliest Native Americans.

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.

Throughout the world, there have been several different dances created and people do not fully know the origins of the dances. For example, the twist was created by Chubby Checker in the 60s. There have been several different ways to show the rhythmic ability as a whole and the most different thing that people were doing was several different ways of dancing. In the late 1700s and the early 1800s, African Americans were starting to do different dances as a whole. However, they were not fully called as a dance or as they were referred to as contra dances, reels, and jigs when the cadence was called out. The difference was when there was a change in general if there was no cadence, then the African Americans would be dancing. African Americans

Hispanic American community are rooted from their origins in Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other Spanish speaking countries that have come together and form a culture in the United State of America. The culture is built in different categories; for instance, religion, social custom, health practices their privacy, and birth. They come from a comprehensive familiar culture that has been called the second in America. Because of their pride and affection they feel unsafe to give up their past. Their notoriety in the United State has been their resistance to assimilate; their guarded image of Hispanic-American culture has been the tongue of flame. However, their remarkable legacy, Hispanics carry from Latin America is not their language, an

Music is a creative art form that allows the artist to construct something that expresses a purpose. It evolves over time and changes as the world changes, taking on many different motivations behind the melody and lyrics. In today’s society, anger, oppression, racism, and negative opinions rule the media and popular culture. I believe that African Americans need to show their self worth and not let white people hold them back. With the music in white culture often mocking African American culture and portraying negative stereotypes, African Americans have to find ways to gain respect. In acknowledgement of the negative portrayal of their culture, African Americans respond by creating songs and videos that express their pride in their culture and heritage, react to white oppression, and communicate their independence.

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

Amidst the development of a private society, African-Americans had created a large music scene that aided in the raising of their spirits and creating hope. Music that was heavily inspired by their ancestors Negro spirituals. In the close-knit, southern community brought comfort to the African-Americans as well. Maya Angelou describes the use of music in her autobiography Gather Together in My Name as “Harmonious black music drifts like perfume through this precious air, and nothing of a threatening nature intrudes.” (Gilyard & Wardi, 319)

Asante believes that the future of rhetoric in the African American culture will be based off the relationship that the rhetor has with the African American community; a strong engagement with African cultural values, norms, mores and beliefs (Asante, 289). This can be accomplished through many ways such as acknowledging African American cultural themes: Spirituality- the recognition of spiritual forces in life. Musicality and rhythm which refers to the connectedness of all movements, making them personified in the beat, the emotional vitality portrayed in African folklore,

African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called “black music.” African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.

“Go within everyday and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out” (A Quote by Katherine Dunham 1). Once one of the most successful dancers in both American and European theater, Katherine Dunham, a dancer, anthropologist,social activist,and educator, continues to inspire people throughout the world. Named America’s irreplaceable Dance Treasure in 2000. Dunham remains a name heard regularly in dance schools across the world (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 4). She is known for always trying to make a difference and in the process she has become of the world’s greatest humanitarians (Osumare 5). Katherine Dunham’s work in African American rights in the dance world and her creation of new styles of dance makes her an important figure in American dance History.

The origins of jazz music and dance are found in the rhythms and movements brought to America by African slaves. The style of African dance is earthy; low, knees bent, pulsating body movements emphasized by body isolations and hand-clapping. As slaves forced into America, starting during the 1600’s, Africans from many cultures were cut off from their families, languages and

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

Music helps to conserve and promote the most prized possession of human civilization: religion, culture and tradition. Each community has its distinct music through which it can display its culture and tradition. For example though dāpā and gospels both are religious and devotional songs they introduce us to two distinctly different cultures. Dāpā is a religious Newari music that praises Nāsadya, the local god of music and dance. On the other hand, gospels are highly emotional evangelic vocal music that originated from the African-American Christian community in the

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.

Dance has been a part of human history since the earliest records of human life. Cave paintings found in Spain and France dating from 30,000 -10,000 BC. have vivid drawings of dancing figures in association with ritual illustrating the pesents of dance in early human society. Many people around the world see life as a dance from the movements of the heavens and the turn of the seasons to the unique dance of every creature. The history of dance reflects the changes in the way people see the world, relate to their bodies and experience the cycles of life. In India