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African Identity Through Dance

African Dance

In African communities, dance serves a wide variety of subtle societal purposes. A core purpose and numerous auxiliary goals are usually served by each performance in an indigenous dance tradition, some of which may represent or reflect the people's communal ideals and interpersonal relationships. In order to distinguish between the variety of dance styles, it is crucial to ascertain the purpose for which each dance is done. Although African dance forms differ between tribes and countries, they are always firmly rooted in ritual and history. The majority of tribes employ dancing for purposes other than pure enjoyment. Dance can stand in for many things, including rites of passage, emotional communication, and prayer. Western and sub-Saharan Africa are often associated with the phrase "African dance." Contrarily, the majority of music and dance from Northern Africa and the Sahara typically has stronger connections to the Middle East. African dance differs significantly from all other dance genres in fundamental respects due to its polycentric nature.

In 2007, performers from the Kankouran West African Dance Company

Identity and Religious context

A worldview that claims that spiritual forces and the community are always interacting is the foundation of African thought systems. Spiritual entities can inhabit both animals and inanimate objects, as well as human mediums. these practices can be mostly tied to west African but also seen in south African, southern Africa and in some east African countries. Each traditional African tribe has its own traditions, stories, and customs in addition to speaking a different language or dialect. The distinctive musical and dance expressions of a community reflect that community's unique characteristics. In a traditional African community, everyone dances. The drumming provides the rhythm. As a result of the drumming, spontaneous singing, and participation by the dancers, the entire town unites.

Ritual dances

People can communicate with their ancestors and other deities through a variety of African dances. Whatever the dance's deeper meaning, it brings together the expression of human emotion and man's higher aspirations to engage with the cosmos. Dance is an integral part of a larger system. Dance is a manifestation of dynamic forces that are continually interacting. All living things, including humans (alive and dead), animals, plants, and minerals, have varying amounts of this vital force. Each deity is, in a sense, created and bolstered by the attention and commitment of the followers. There wouldn't be a deity or a way to enhance one's quality of life without human effort. In West and Central Africa, religious ceremonies frequently take the shape of social gatherings, In response to rhythmic or driving drumming or singing, people are moved to the point of becoming enthralled to the point of entering a contemplative trance.

ceremonial dances

Even if cultural or ceremonial activities are more temporary and geared toward commemoration than rituals, they are nevertheless significant. Dances are included in larger cultural activities.

• Many traditional African religions depend on summoning and possession dances, which are common themes in these dances. A summons from the Spirit links them all in one way. These specters may be those of plants or trees, ancestors, or gods. Each orisha has a favorite meal, drink, song, dance, day, time, and color. The Deities prevalent in numerous African religious traditions are known as orishas. The dances will be done on particular occasions to honor the orisha or to elicit support and guidance.
• Mande jeli, sometimes known as jali, is a West African troubadour-historian who speaks the Wolof language. The griot vocation is hereditary and has a long history in West African culture. The genealogies, historical stories, and oral traditions of their people have been kept for a very long time by the griots; praise songs are also a part of the griot's vocabulary.
• The initiation dances Initiation dances, also known as rites of passage, are common throughout Africa and serve as turning points in a person's life or, occasionally, important occasions to observe prospective spouses. some initiations don't necessarily include dancing. some that take place in different areas in Africa are:
  • Acquiring Cattle: Numerous civilizations place a high value on cows. For example, a sizable section of the Indian populace reveres cows. In Africa, they are essential for proving one's capacity to provide for a family. In the Bantu-speaking tribes of South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, a male must work for his father until he can amass a sizeable herd of cows. After then, he can only get married. Unfortunately, this has pushed men to wait until they are in their 40s before choosing their formal attire, and it has kept many ladies waiting.
  • Bull Jumping: When a young man in Ethiopia's Omo Valley reaches marriageable age, he must first demonstrate his skill and dexterity. He accomplishes this by stripping off his clothes and repeatedly running nude over the backs of a line of prize bulls. After successfully completing this initiation ceremony, a person enters manhood and is granted permission by his society to get married.
  • Circumcision: Xhosa boys in South Africa's Eastern Cape who are turning into men are circumcised without the use of anaesthetic. They are then sent off to live in a hut their elders built in the woods for up to two months with just a blanket and a few other belongings. It has long been usual to send young people out of the community when they move into adulthood in order to teach them about their new duties there as adults. This entails teaching children in African communities about the traditions and taboos of their culture, their moral and social obligations, and what their purpose in life should be.

    

    Gerewal Bororo Wodaabe nomads beauty competition. White eyes and teeth are prized by the female judges.

  • Fattening Rooms: Contrary to western notions of beauty, being obese as a woman is considered favorably in Nigeria. It's a common misconception that only those with substantial financial resources can afford to feed their spouses well. An obese woman is seen by her and her spouse as a symbol of wealth and good health. But the majority of people are not naturally that obese, despite what wealthy men in this part of the world would want to believe. Before their wedding, wealthy brides-to-be are whisked away to "fattening chambers" to gain weight and make up the difference. They get a lot of food here, and their primary activities are eating, resting, and killing time. After spending six months in quarters that made them obese, they left the rooms altered for their new luxurious lifestyles.
  • Courtship Dances: In order to impress female judges, certain tribes, including the Wodaabe in Niger, mandate that their men dress up and apply makeup. As part of an annual celebration, guys dance and show off their teeth to the ladies. The best odds of finding a mate, at least for that particular evening, are said to go to those who have the best moves, the sexiest clothes, and the whitest eyes and teeth.
  • Flogging: Some societies also pressure their male members to mature. According to mythology, the Fulani people of Nigeria flog young men to show off their tenacity, toughness, and endurance. After the public flogging ceremony, those who did well are allowed to wed the person of their choosing.
  • Cloth Wrapping: In the city of Ugbo in eastern Nigeria. It involves wearing an expensive piece of apparel and traversing the streets. The community "investigates" a young man when he reaches marriageable age to see if he meets the requirements for being a bachelor. Those who meet the conditions are allowed to buy an expensive piece of clothing, which they parade around the neighborhood wearing to show that they have reached marriageable age.

Types of dances

• Atilogwu, NIGERIA : Because of the leaps, spins, and deft footwork, this dance is known as the "Acrobatic Dance." In Eastern Nigeria, they usually attend important ceremonies and celebrations.
• Eskita, Ethopia: A complicated and technical dance that involves rolling and bouncing shoulders as well as contracting the chest is a traditional Ethiopian dance that is performed by both men and women
• Ewegh, Niger: Created by the nomadic Tuareg tribe of North Africa, this ritual is carried out by men in groups during festivals and celebrations.
• Indlaum, South Africa: A South African Zulu dance, originating from the old Zulu warrior, performed by men decked out in ceremonial belts, headpieces, shields, and spears.
• Kpanlogo, Ghana: A celebration dance that is thought to have originated in Accra, the capital of Ghana, quickly spread throughout the nation and throughout the continent.
• Moribayasa, Guinea: A dance and singing routine performed by Malinke women in a circle that starts with the women wearing old, worn-out garments before changing into newer attire and burying the old ones in a designated spot. The dance and singing routine also includes the burying of the old clothes.
• Pat Pat, Senegal: A Jola tribal dance that features quick leg movements and repetitive body pats. (similar to leg work)
• San dancing, Botswana: one of the earliest dances performed by the San tribe in Africa, with quick, rhythmic body movements and singing. strongly influencing the Black World Dance practiced by people of African descent.

Zulu dance performed by energetic men and women with the beating of drums.

African dance through Slavery

For African American slaves, dance played a significant role in daily life. By studying slave life, particularly on Southern plantations, we might discover how ancient African tribal dances were exchanged, blended, and reinvented in the New World. Slave labor brought from Africa rose in value in the 1500s. As a result of being kidnapped from their homes and sold as slaves, Africans were dispersed all over the world, from South and North America to Europe and the Caribbean. Despite their circumstances, Africans were able to adjust their dancing and preserve their traditions. When their people were relocated throughout history, these dances were passed down, and as a result, they have grown to become some of the most well-known dance styles in the world. Africans introduced dance to these new locations, and in regions where slaves had more freedom to perform their traditions, like Europe and South America, their dances mixed with the existing dance styles to create new dances. Slaves were cruelly repressed and subjected to rules that prevented them from dancing, however, in North America.

Popular genres of dances

• Dates
  • Hip Hop-1979
  • Stepping-1960's
  • Tap Dancing- 1920's

Tap Dance

Tap is a unique style of dance involving specific and rapid footwork. The dancer's foot and shoe essentially act as a drum, and each part of the shoe makes a particular beat and sound. "River dance" is perhaps the most famous tap dance. Gregory Hines, Fred Astaire, and Bojangles Robinson are some of the most famous tap dancers. Tap dancing is more of a solo art but is and lately is commonly done in groups to make a bigger larger sound. Tap dance is West African drumming and their dance culture mixed. As Africans were transplanted to America, African religious circle dance rituals, which had been of central importance to their life and culture, were adapted and transformed (Stuckey 1987). The African American Juba, for example, derived from the African djouba or gioube, moved in a counterclockwise circle and was distinguished by the rhythmic shuffling of feet, clapping hands, and “patting” the body, as if it were a large drum.. Tap dancing reached its peak of popularity in the 1920s, 30s and 40s.Blues and jazz tap dancing began to lose popularity in the 1950s when rock 'n' roll hit Main Street.. Some of the greats in tap dance that changed the course of how tap dance technique have shaped the dance community and added in some of the greatest techiqnue we have ever seen that people still use today. Master Juba (ca. 1825 – ca. 1852) was one of the only early black tap dancers to tour with a white minstrel group and one of the first to perform for white audiences. Master Juba offered a fast and technically brilliant dance style blending European and African dance forms.

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878—1949) began dancing in minstrel shows and was one of the first African-American dancers to perform without blackface. He adapted to the changing tastes of the era, moving on to vaudeville, Broadway, Hollywood Radio programs, and television. Robinson’s most popular routine involved dancing up and down a staircase with complex tap rhythms on each step.

Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates (1907-98) continued to dance with after losing a leg in a cotton gin accident as a child. He danced in vaudeville, on film, and was a frequent guest on the Ed Sullivan Show. Bates also frequently performed for others with physical disabilities.

Jeni Le Gon (1916-2012) was one of the first black women to become a tap soloist in the first half of the 20th century. She wore pants rather than skirts when she performed and, as a result, she developed an athletic, acrobatic style, employing mule kicks and flying splits, more in the manner of the male dancers of the time.

The Nicholas Brothers Fayard (1914-2006) and Harold (1921-2000) Nicholas had a film and television tap career spanning more than 70 years. Impressed by their choreography, George Balanchine invited them to appear in his Broadway production of Babes in Arms. Their unique style of suppleness, strength, and fearlessness led many to believe that they were trained ballet dancers.

Gregory Hines (1946-2003) introduced a higher complexity of the improvisation of steps, sounds, rhythms. Hines’s dances were rhythmically involved and often strayed from traditional rhythmic meters.

Savion Glover (b. 1973) is best known for starring in the Broadway hit The Tap Dance Kid. Glover mixes classic moves like those of his teacher Gregory Hines with his own contemporary style. He has won several Tony awards for his Broadway choreography.

During these times it was hard for women in tap to earn a certain type of respect men got in tap. Women were told they were "weak"; they lacked the physical strength needed to perform the rhythm-driven piston steps, multiple-wing steps, and flash and acrobatic steps that symbolized the (male) tap virtuoso's finish to a routine. Women were "nurturers," not competitors," and therefore did not engage in the tap challenge. A woman's role was not as a soloist but as a member of the chorus line.. Women in tap were not taken seriously until about the 1950s.

Hip Hop dancing

Since the late 1970s, hip hop music and culture have had a big impact on the dance scene. Since its inception in New York City and up until its current level of international acclaim, hip hop has undergone a series of transformations, going from being an underground local phenomenon to a highly marketed art form. Hip hop music and hip hop dancing have both changed over time. There are numerous hip hop dance styles available today, each with its own unique movements and moves. Breakdancing started out as a form of dancer competition and self-expression in the streets. It stands out for its athletic maneuvers like head spins and power moves as well as its beautiful footwork. As hip-hop music gained popularity in the 1980s, breakdancing spread throughout the world, where it developed in accordance with local customs. For instance, traditional Korean folk dance and breakdancing are regularly combined in South Korea. The dance and music of hip-hop are now popular on a global basis. Many people continue to utilize them as a way of self-expression despite the fact that they have altered with time. Hip hop dancing frequently involves improvisation, which suggests that the dancers make up their steps as they go. This can be a very creative way to dance, but it can also become quite chaotic if everyone is trying to do their own thing. Hip hop dance is a team sport, so it's imperative that everyone is conversant with one another. The frantic, upbeat music that is usually employed in the genre affects the motions of hip hop dancers. They often move rapidly and sharply while being quite energetic. Hip hop is typically done in groups, thus dancers must be able to keep up with one another and stay in sync.

Bibliography

• African dance | History, Styles, Culture, & Facts | Britannica
• THE HISTORY OF AFRICAN DANCE - Bethany Online School
• Africa - DANCE AND SPIRITUALITY (cid-ds.org)
• Why African Dance is Integral to Traditional African Culture - GOLD Restaurant
• griot | African troubadour-historian | Britannica
• 10 Initiation Rights Of African Tribes - WorldAtlas
• Black History and Dance in America, a story - African American Registry (aaregistry.org)
• History of Tap Dance – WEST HARLEM ART FUND
• Tap Dance in America: A Short History | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
• Tap Dancing:  It's All in the Feet! - Chamizal National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
• From Margins to Mainstream: A Brief Tap Dance History – UMS – University Musical Society
• How Hip Hop Music Has Changed Dance (walnutcreekband.org)