Syllabus for African Dance

Dancing mimics the heart beat of the Caribbean in the way it keeps the vibes flowing. Every celebration in the Caribbean really only needs two things, music and dancing, everything else, such as food, alcohol, decorations, etc., are solely to maintain the vibe of dance (Diouf and Nwankwo 59). Dancing in the Caribbean originated from African tribes for multiple purposes such as a celebration for a social event, religious or spiritual ritual, healing, communication with ancestors, storytelling, and many others. Although dancing today appears as a workout routine, majority of the movements originated from African purposes, especially rituals (Victoria and Albert Museum). Even today at social events, such as Carnival, the approach of a man to a woman and the way they dance, the closeness, and the sensuality of the movements tells the intent of both dancers thus allowing the dancers to express interest without speaking, originated from Africa. Women whining of the waist, or even traditional folk dances, and so many other, are variations all developed from African dances

▪ LATE WORK: Assignments are to be turned in on the due date at the BEGINNING of class. After that through the next block is 40 points off. Any other late work after that block will be taken at 40% credit. If there is an emergency, contact me BEFORE the due date to discuss extension options.

At the beginning of the week, I did well with staying a day ahead of assignments. However, I have two online classes and the assignments for those classes are all due Friday, and I did not complete these assignments until the day they were due. After tallying my overall points

Most cultures have a form of dance in which they express themselves, West Africa is no different. West Africa like many other places uses dance to praise the earth in hope that it will continue to provide them with what they need and for celebrations. These dances have been done for many years and the people have seen them since they were young. They are a very important part of West African culture and mean a great deal to their community. These dances can be described by the music, costumes, and the purpose of each piece.

The Soul in Motion African Dance and Drums performance was one of the most enlightening dance experience I have ever witnessed. The program from start to finish told a story of special events, ceremonies and celebrations that occurs traditionally in West African cultures. From the very start, with starting late as my dance instructor pointed out, to the chants sung during a family reunion between the founders, everything connected from start to finish. I attended the February 26th showcase at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, MD and will share some insights I found form this showcase.

The Chamba drums tell me that music and dance in Africa was a significant part of their lifestyle and played an important role in many momentous ceremonies. With

Many interesting comparisons may be drawn between both the samba and jazz dance: not only are their historical contexts highly comparable, as they both set against the background of imperialism and oppression, but are extremely popular in their respective cultures, today. Moreover, both dances are very similar in respect to their movement and music, in which either one may be performed to music or to no music. Similarly, improvisation forms a highly integral part to both jazz dance and samba no pé’s modern vernacular. Perhaps most importantly, both dances are bold representations of cultural identity and are intrinsically linked to the suffering of people of the African slave trade throughout the latter half of last millennium and are symbols of survival tactics which have translated into today’s dance discourse as some of the most popular dances.

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

There are so many different cultures across the globe that use music or dance as a form of different values and beliefs. In reading a lot of different articles to see how this would be best written I found that a lot of Indian cultures did a lot of dances for cultural beliefs for example the Lakota, Navajo, Ponca, Ojibway tribes did multiple dances to help with their way of life. This paper will explain why these cultures believe in the expression of dance to help with their way of life. I will explain the difference between the Lakota Indian Tribe’s cultural Dance and the Ponca Indian Tribe.

Are there different types of dances in the Global village? If so, how are they different from each other? Many contemporary dances reflect on the world events and ethnic dance styles. There has been an increase on choreographers addressing social issues and historical events through dance. Created in 1884, there were a company called, “Urban Bush” where they brought light into the histories of disenfranchised people. They had a fierce African, Caribbean, and black American women who did a spiritual tradition of African diaspora. They choreographed a recollected war through dance and music. Ea Sola had made this dance after she returned to Vietnam in fifteen years to her war-torn homeland.

Amanaye Payne teaches West African at the Dance Center. Being a level one class, skill level varies from little exposure to a mild familiarity with the technique. Tuesday, February 9, Malik Camera substituted for Amanaye, and I had the opportunity to observe his teaching.

Dance and me were inseparable. Though my type of dance was much different than the typical dances performed here, it didn’t stop me from performing my cultural, Bollywood dance. In high school, I performed at Vestal High School’s Talent Fest. This was the first time I went on stage in front of an unknown audience. I didn’t know what to expect because I knew they couldn’t understand the words to the songs, and the way I moved would be eccentric to them. To my surprise, however, the audience roared in between and at the end of the dance. This performance spread the new cultural activity in our school like wildfire. Many people even wanted to learn how to do Bollywood

Is everything O.K.? It is not like you to miss a full week of class and I show you have not attended since September 7th.

Eurocentric attitudes constantly place itself at the forefront of our understandings of the world. Western civilization examines dance within the binary of the opposite. As a consequence, non-European artists and/or marginalized forms of dance experience great difficulty in merely existing within the Eurocentric agenda. African dance serves as just one example of a form of dance that struggles to find a position on the world stage. In this paper, I engage in an exploration of the question – If possible, how can African dance exist without being compared to or said to be against Eurocentrism? In this paper, I argue we must decolonize African dance so that African dance can exists purely as a dance, away from Eurocentric misconceptions of Africa

The past few decades have wrapped the people of Africa with diverse experiences. In spite of their rich culture and deep-rooted tradition their mental harmony and psychological stability are placed under hardship due to several factors. The people of Africa fail to adapt to the ever-widening problems that cannot be articulated boldly and hence the lives of millions are devastated. Writers from their land register the agony of their comrades with the anticipation of introducing better life style to their children. This paper explores how Kobina Eyi Acquah, the Ghanaian poet uses his poems as a powerful vehicle to express the problems like slave trade, the gradually degrading African music and dance etc that suppress the life of Africans. It