What has dance done for me?

As I stated in my previous post, dance has always been a part of my life. My first incident with dance was as early as 3 year old, back in the early 1980s. My dad turned on James Brown’s hit “The payback” and started to dance across the floor. I mimicked all his movements and I’ve been dancing badly ever since (at least that's what my friends tell me).

I have noticed that when music starts, most babies will begin to bounce without prompting. I have noticed that some parents will start to bounce their babies when music starts, perhaps even without knowing, and then the baby will mimic that action thereafter.

I feel that my first post answered many of the aspects to be covered in this post but to summarize what I feel when African music is played:

"African dance has always been a spiritual experience for me. When the drummer starts, the rhythm starts at the tip of my toes and moves up to my legs, waist, arms, neck, and head. By the time the other drums have joined in, my entire body is not its own and is consumed by the rhythm and I could not stop dancing if I wanted to". -Me

When I think of the country of Africa, the first thing that comes to mind is slavery. I think its because of the history that directly impacted generations of my family and others in the United States. I know that in the early days, the African American Church was used as a place to come together to dance, sing and praise. My great-grandmother told me once that during her time (late 1890s), blacks were so discouraged that the church was the only place where they could openly vent frustrations but in order to keep from being beaten or killed, using song and dance to rely such messages, hid their true feelings.

I went to a show once in Durham, North Carolina where a group of African children were singing for a charity event. The children all look joyful, smiling, and were clapping their hands . However, a friend of mine translated all the songs sung that night into English and I saw that they were filled with despair and saddness. The children sung that night at the concert of how they were without food or that their parents died in war. was appalled and was reminded of what my great-grandmother told me.

I feel that there is a "making special" connection between African Americans and Africans. It could also be argued that any culture, social group, or race facing hardships, engage in the same use of art across the world. I think that it's beautiful that dance and song can be used as a release for pent up emotions and hurt and through this process, the recognition of the pliant of others is brought to the forefront and healing can began.

Below is a video of African Dance and Drumming in Denmark!

African Dance and I

Unit 2, Lesson 1

My first incident with dance was as early as 3 year old, back in the early 1980s. My dad turned on James Brown’s hit “The payback” and started to dance across the floor. I mimicked all his movements and I’ve been dancing badly ever since.

I don’t know how many of you have heard of The Chuck Davis Dance Company, but he has run one of the best African dance troops in the country. Please check out this video on Youtube, where it tells why dance is used in Africa.

The official website of the dance troop is here: http://www.africanamericandanceensemble.org/about.htm

Dissanayake explains in her book “What is Art For,” that “making special” is an agreement between both, in this case the musician and the dancer, that an un-verbal connection has been made and it has the ability to be spread universally. In the lesson 2, part 2, the point is made that that Dissanayake states that “art is as universal as language and tool making” (p92).

African dance has always been a spiritual experience for me. When the drummer starts, the rhythm starts at the tip of my toes and moves up to my legs, waist, arms, neck, and head. By the time the other drums have joined in, my entire body is not its own and is consumed by the rhythm and I could not stop dancing if I wanted to. I feel that there is something naturally implanted in me that makes me feel this connection with my ancestors and its conforming to me. African dance has crossed cultural lines and no matter where I’ve traveled, it has been met with appreciation by all.

Childhood Memories

• What images of childhood come to mind when you look at these photos?
• If you have children or grandchildren, what memories do these pictures awaken?
• What makes you laugh?

The photographic shown in the video faded in and out quickly and before one had a chance to make out detail it was gone. This video gave me a sad feeling because our youth passes by us so fast. As an child, I remember creeping into my mother's room late at night because I had awakened from a nightmare and she would always say "yes, you can sleep here tonight" ( even when my dad would grumble). Immediately, I would disappear in her warm embrace and safety replaced fears.
I do not have any children of my own or grandchildren but I have a host of nieces and nephews who I love dearly. The photos, especially the first one, reminded me of late nights staying up with them as newborns and catching naps in between feedings. For some reason it's hard for me to find a movie that makes me laugh, but life itself is very funny at times. Perhaps, I'd rather laugh then lose my mind at times because the most ironic things happen. My nieces make me laugh all the time. One of my youngest nieces , Bri (3 years old) looked at an ant hill this weekend and asked her dad,

"what that dad?

That's an ant's house Bri, he answered

Where's their car?" Bri asked.

Everyone laughed.

Lesson 2

What is culture? Edward Hall writes in his book “Silent Language” that culture is an interrelated mixture of complicated and unknown behaviors of the past and presently all linked together by communication. Technology and language allow substantial findings by anthropologist storable thus giving future generations a better understanding of the past (p 57).

Disnnanayake and Hall share similar views on art and culture; although Halls’ takes an anthropologist angle, noting cultural learned behaviors are often unconscious. Hall writes of the “out of awareness” communication wherein we pick up certain behaviors through life and unconsciously relate to certain situations. As a little girl I wanted to comb my own hair from an early age. No one sat down and taught me how but the action came naturally to me. I realize that I probably watched my mother and my older sisters comb their hair and learned without noticing.

Disnnanayakes’ angle is from a bio-behavioral point of view based in “attempts to account biologically for the emotional physiological need of people just as much as the physical physiological” (What is Art? p 31). I think this is very interesting because we (depending on where we live in the world) would listen to various music and disliking it or liking it greatly due to culture. Disnnanayakes’ used the example of eating a sugar based treat and recognizing something as sweet or too sweet. A friend of mine dragged me to a theatre for an opera by Luciano Pavarotti overseas, I was hesitant to go because I was a hardcore hip-hop, rocker chick at the time, but during the singing of "Nessun Dorma," I felt the hair raise on the back on my neck and I was overwhelmed with this strange emotion that I cannot explain to this day. I was happy to see Disnnanayakes’ state that highly emotional experiences (including one by S.J Gould when he sung in a chorus) cannot be explained by science or thought.

I like knowing that there are some things still left unknown and we can float into these experiences with freedom and blissful incompetence.

Art From Where I stand

Lesson 1.

As I walked in the room of the North Carolina Museum of Art, I overheard a couple speaking about a work of abstract art. The woman thought that the picture meant hope, dream and desire. The man thought the painting meant desperation, death and sadness. Curious, I decided to take a look and judge the painting for myself. The painting was a swirl of red, pink, orange, and black colors. The edges of the painting held no recognizable form, while the center had pronounced lines. The feeling that was evoked within me was one of goals, determination, and grandeur. The lines in the center were pronounced because they were purposeful. The smeared edges were there to hold in the purpose and to pronounce it; however, I am sure that hundreds more came along and felt completely different about the same painting. In the assigned reading, “What is Art For” by Ellen Dissanayake, art is described as “for nothing but itself (p 40).” There are no rules in art. There is no way to state that this type of art or form displays a certain type of feeling or truth (p 41). The United States is a country of immigrants and each has put their mark on the art world.
I would best describe metropolitan cities like New York and Chicago as a hub of cultural arts in US culture. There are so many different types of art that it’s difficult to choose just one type to represent “the heart of America.” Historically, before cameras and video cameras; paintings, drawings and sculpture, and weaving are some of the methods used as the sole use in depicting images for viewing and recording purposes. In the reading, it was mentioned that Winston Churchill’s portrait was not favorable to his wife and she destroyed it. The realistically painted portraits were most popular in the 19th and 20th century, but today the use of abstract painted portraits is more main stream. Portrait paintings were and still are important in recording history. Each United States president gets his or her portrait painted during their time in office and it is displayed in the White House. So if I were to choose one of the many types of art forms to portray the “the heart of America” I would select the realistically painted portrait as a historical favorite.

First Post

Hi
I am a first year MALS (Masters of Liberal Arts) student. This blog is going to include reflections from questions assigned each week. I look forward to you all's comments.