Reflection Of West African 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

The evolution of music and dance influences the daily human behavior and mental processes. However, the main things that I want to focus my research on are African American females in the most important stages of their lives which are Children, Teens, and last but not least Adults. African American women and children are born with innocence and grace but they also have a target on their backs. I chose African American women and children because they have been slaves before and the cycle is repeating itself just in a different way. I will also explain how the evolution of dance is negatively effecting this specific group of women and why this means so much to

The San Diego Trolley Dances took place on October 3rd 2015. An assortment of dance pieces all come together to furnish the city with dance in non-traditional and often unexpected settings. A program that has been established for fourteen years, the annual Trolley Dances traveled from downtown San Diego to Balboa Park. However modern or classical the pieces may in Trolley Dances appear to be, the combination of observation and research can provide a different perspective. Africanist Aesthetics are principles in the qualities of African dance, as well as other African art forms. The aesthetic of the cool is one of five Africanist Aesthetics. It embraces the principle of a contrast between bodily movements and facial presentation and expression. This aesthetic also has a large component of visual values; dancers are confident of their performance and offer themselves as such. Three moments within the collection of pieces presented in Trolley Dances excellently embody the Africanist Aesthetic of the aesthetic of the cool, in the penumbras of potential danger, physical strain, and unexpected collisions.

Before we learned the movements, Cache’ gave us a miniature history lesson about the Guinea traditional dance. The dance was initially for males as a coming of age style of dance, females can perform this dance now, as well. The dance style involved wild arms/head, jumping, and foot shuffling. The balls of my feet were burning from the friction of the ground after class.

When reflecting back on my journey with West African Dance, I can honestly say it has been one of my highlights of my first semester. When I first signed up for this course, I had no clue what to expect on the first day. All I knew is that I wanted to explore my artistic side seeing that I have never taken a class that involves any type of art. Nevertheless, I always have loved to dance for fun, and I figured I should try something I am already reasonably comfortable with. I knew West African Dance was all about fluidity and individuality compared to that if Ballet or Ballroom dance, so I decided it would be best for me to try the course. After the first day of the class, I learned that while the dancing may not be as rigid as that of Western dances, this style of dancing is no easier, and possibly harder. Even though I knew West African

Stylistically, the West African dance style is similar but very different to the modern dance style. Comparatively, I have noticed similarities in their emphasis of lines, musicality, and certain dance moves, however, their execution of these movements is very different. One of the first elements I noticed starting from the very first piece was their reliance on the drums for music. There are no soundtracks with a clear-cut start and end, but instead live drummers and musicians that were responsible for setting the pace and tone of the entire performance.

The students that are in the building practicing are perfecting their craft, many times not knowing that there are many students enjoying the sound of their music. Have you ever heard someone say “I wish I could play like that?’ Arts- Infused Campuses offer that opportunity and much more. By taking this Dance Appreciation class it has opened my eyes to the importance of reaching beyond my comfort zone and challenging me to do more. The hard work that goes into choreographing a dance, performing the dance, the countless hours of practice, the arts become a passion if you only allow yourself to reach and try various

African diasporic communities incorporate elements of African Aesthetic into America’s Hip Hop. Osumare furthers this argument with an example of choreographer Dunham who refers to her dance steps as “sites of memory, reworkings and testament of historical danced events.” Osumare ends by adding “ a ballet based on a Haitian, Cuban, and Trinidadian.” (Osumare 29) Osumare is trying to show how African Aesthetic is represented in African diasporic cultures, through Dunham’s interpretation of dance of African historical culture.

That there are always ways to ensure growth in one’s self as well as promote social, moral, and intellectual growth among those in one’s community through dedicating oneself to their passion. Over the years, having witnessed moments of humility and sorrow from dancers older than I, I have gained understanding of how necessary it is to provide an encouraging outlook on the world for the sake of the young and eager eyes you are inspiring. This understanding guided me with new focus and purpose. I have devoted a majority of my time for the last four years to teaching dance. The experience of teaching has influenced me to have an optimistic view of the world. I have attempted to teach my students these same values of confidence and integrity in order to encourage them to find lessons of their own that they can pass on to others. I feel as though there is no greater form of gratification than motivating those whom look up to you. I have focused my training during the last few years on bettering myself in order to better my students. Empowerment is a flourishing component of the art, and seeing the ignition of such positivity in young dancers has been a valued

The traditional music of Africa, given the vastness of the continent, is historically ancient, rich and diverse, with differentregions and nations of Africa having many distinct musical traditions.

This dance is a imported african dance/ this dance is also formless and violent. Africans brought it from the kongo to charleston, south carolina as the juba dance which then slowly evolved into what is now the charleston. The banjo was known in america as an african instrument until the 1840s. Other african instruments that survived the middle passage were the

Two dances that I chose to compare and contrast were Asante and Samoan. These two cultures are very interesting to learn about and both of their dances were very entertaining to watch. They had their similarities and differences, but ultimately had one goal when performing and that was to exude joy and entertain those who were watching while they performed with their cultures throughout their dance. While wearing their detailed costumes, they both had very fast movements along to the beat of a drum mainly. When they were both dancing for the videos that I watched, they were having fun while performing and that is what made the crowd enjoy it even more because

The author of this article challenges preconceived notion that ballet is the primary technical dance practice that every dancer should know in order to become successful in the art of dance. She believes that West African dance is also a technique that students should practice in class and not be a requirement per say but become aware that by not introducing the class to students the institution continues to fortify an inequality of cultures. There is no right technique, instead there are multiple dance practices that help American dancing bodies to expand their dance tool box and become stronger dancers in the near future; ballet is just one form of bossy dance technique brought from Eurocentrism.

Evidence suggests that dance originated from ancient rituals, spiritual gatherings and social events, and the way dance has evolved throughout history greatly varies between different societies. This lead to the modernisation of current styles, such as ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop, tap, salsa and the tango.

Our first dance was hip hop. We went through our dance many times perfecting the little things. Shortly after we traveled backstage to wait. “Our next dance is a hip hop group, Entry number 64 Old School!!”.