Katie Nooning
Application Assignment #3
Samoan War Dance
This afternoon I asked my older brother and his girlfriend, “What dance tradition would you two study? If you could look into a dance at this exact moment, any dance possible, what would you choose and why?” They both responded with, “Have you seen these guys do their dance during their rugby games? It is so cool and you should do some research on it.” Even though I already planned on doing my research on Krumping because of the aggressive, powerful, and valued dance it has become, and even with the lack of explanation as to why I should look into the Samoan War Dance, I was definitely up for learning something new. At the end of the day, that is what each day is for, whether it is for dancing or not, everyone should break out of their comfort zone and dive into something that they had not thought of before. This time, it is the Samoan War Dance – Siva Tau.
For the Samoan Captain, Semo Sititi, “the siva sau honors his country’s history and represents the team as warriors ready to fight: “It’s to fire us up, to show that we’re there ready to battle, not just to go through the motions”. Isn’t that what Sam discusses? That the motions mean something, more than just an unconscious movement, and a movement that comes from internally, from the soul, from the heart. Samoan dance involves both the traditional and modern forms of choreography, incorporating separate choreography for both men and women, but the dances themselves tell a story relating to the Samoan people and their culture, which is what Sam discusses in the Movement section of the course. In the Samoan culture, they believe that there are three main components to life. Those three main components are family, faith and music. Going along with the “Playing” section of this course and incorporating culture into the dancing to connect the two in order to tell a story, the Samoans believe in the same ideology. They aim “to keep tradition alive while still involving the ever-changing viewpoints of younger generations”.
Their Manu Siva Tau cultural dance is traditionally a war dance, which goes along with the intimidating dance name that was done in ancient times before going into battle. In present day, the Siva Tau dance is performed by Manu Samoans before rugby matches to honor the traditional dance and intimidate their opponent. The dance that the rugby players perform can be seen in this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUP3v1xgObQ . The dance is also performed in order to energize and inspire the players before the enduring competition. In English, the chant that they sing along with their movement goes like this:
The Manu Samoa, may you succeed in your mission
The Manu Samoa, here I come
There is no other Manu (team) anywhere
Here I come completely prepared
My strength is at its peak
Make way and move aside
Because this Manu is unique
The Manu Samoa
The Manu Samoa
The Manu Samoa reigns from Samoa
It is said that the Manu Siva Tau “is the perfect example of how ancient Samoan dance is still celebrated by younger, progressive generations”. The dance, taken from generations ago, has been revitalized into a young, intimidating sporting dance used in the same manner as it was in the past. It is used as an intimidating war tactic, whether that war is on the rugby field or battlefield – the culture and message is still rich in the dance.
Images:
Works Cited:
Gill, Sam. “Playing.” Dance/Religion/Culture. University of Colorado – Boulder. Boulder. Jun 2012. Lecture.
McGrath, Olivia. “Rugby’s War of Words.” Rugby World Cup 2015. Rugby News Service, 14 Sep 2007. Web. 24 Jun 2012. .
Warta , Tamara. “Samoan Dance.” Lovetoknow Dance. N.p., 2012. Web. 24 Jun 2012. .
Katie, My best friend since middle school is Samoan and knows the haka. It is an EXTREMELY powerful dance in my opinion. I first saw Bo (my best friend) do the Haka was on a video on Facebook. He was in school for a full ride football scholarship in Eastern Kentucky and taught his team the dance for a sports talent show. He was always so quiet and would NEVER hurt a fly, but to see him yell and scream and look mean was so touching to me. I saw it and cried. I watched it over and over and over again. I love this dance and the power behind it!
That is so awesome, especially since it sounds like he was a quiet, unassuming type of person. It is always really neat to see those people break out of their shell and break into this other person with a different mindset/motive. Dancing does that to people — it takes them from the world that is almost predictable and calculated to a world that is consuming in the senses and movement that the world around them goes blank and all that matters is the motion and emotion behind the dance. That is so neat though!
Emily Fetterly
June 24, 2012
Dance, Religion, and Culture
Application Project #2
During the second part of the online class Dance, Religion and Culture taught by Sam Gill, I have continued to be motivated to examine another form of dance, a traditional Chinese dance, called the Yangge. I am excited to research and discover the art of the Yangge because my older brother and his wife are moving to Beijing, China at the end of this month. My brother and I have always grown up close to each other, sharing in each other’s daily activities, learning together, and offering each other unconditional support. Now that he is moving to the other side of the world, I am eager to learn more about the culture of the Chinese people. I hope that by examining and learning about a Chinese dance I will be able to show my brother that I know something about the culture that he is moving too and by doing this establish a new connection with him. I have also been intrigued by the Yangge because this dance involves people who are hearing impaired. I felt drawn to this because of my major in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, but also because of the connection in brought into what we have been learning with self othering by use of gestures.
China is a country of diversity and tradition, and the different forms of Chinese dance embody the country’s rich diversity. During the winter season, Han Chinese people group of Northern China gather together to perform the Yangge. The Yangge is a dance that symbolizes a greeting to the spring months and a hope for a good spring season. Furthermore, the Yangge is a way for people to communicate traditional folk stories to the younger generation. In this sense, the Yangge is a way for the Han Chinese to express their hope for a prosperous spring season as well as a medium for story telling. Many individuals will dress in traditional Chinese outfits while others will wear animal costumes to better portray the animals in the folk tales. This immediately reminded me of the self othering that we have been learning in class. Dancing the Yangge is a means in which the Chinese people experience the doubling of self and other, the other being the characters of the traditional folk stories. The outer bodies are the physical moving bodies of the dancers that are simultaneously interacting with the inner body of the other (the folk character). This interplay between self and other is vital and dependent upon each other as seen in the Yangge. The dancer tells the story of the folk character through the use of gesture and movement which in turn is reaching out to express and gain knowledge about the traditional folk stories of the Han Chinese.
In this video that I found on youtube:
the dancers are members of a hearing-impaired dance team organized by the Red Cross. Being a Speech Language and Hearing Sciences Major, my heart was automatically pulled towards this group of individuals who, though they are hearing impaired they have found a venue through which they can express emotion and communicate important cultural stories and values. Throughout my major I have been able to work with numerous individuals who experience such sadness and frustration and their inability to communicate and express their thoughts and feelings. It touched my heart to watch the hearing impaired Chinese dancers experience a deeper sense of their Chinese identity through their dance. I thought this was a good example of dancing as the “chiasm” because I can see how in a culture that values dancing, the body of the hearing impaired dancer would not be denied in this culture. While part of their body might not be able to function in a correct way, the movement that these dancers do is connected to their identity. Their identity comes from both culture as told through the othering of the folk characters, and both from their own physical bodies in identifying as an individual with a hearing impairment.
Because my brother in leaving today, going to a place that is very foreign to me, I am glad that I have had this opportunity to learn about an aspect of the Chinese culture. Furthermore, the realization that dance can be used for those individuals to connect and discover a deeper sense of their traditional Chinese identity along side those who can identify with hearing impairment is powerful. Taking steps within a dance is just merely one little speck in the gigantic mural that is dance. It is an avenue to discover more about one’s self as well as gain knowledge and experience the traditional roots of their Chinese heritage through the characters of the folk tale.
Resources:
1. China Dance. 2008. China Fact Tours. June 24, 2012.
Belly dancing is an actual term that has risen from the Western area. The correct term for this is the West Asian dance, or the Arabic dance. This term belly dance comes from the French. The French term implies that every part of the body is used and it all comes mostly from the hips. There are many different cultural aspects of belly dancing as of today because there are so many different cultures that perform this type of dance, whether it may be a costume dance or a particular dance style. Although, women may be the only ones that usually practice this particular dance, it is said that there are male origins of this type of dance.
In a cultural aspect, this dance style is performed as festivities such as weddings, or social gatherings in the Middle East. There are many different countries that practice this type of dance all over the world today. There is costume belly dance that exists in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey. Along with this, there is Egyptian belly dance, Greek belly dance, Turkish belly dance, and belly dance in the west. These different types of dances all are diversified through the music, and the culture of the dance in where it is usually performed.
Belly dancing is a dance that requires a lot of midsection strength. Muscle control and posture is evidently important in this dance because otherwise, it can be presented as very sloppy. The pelvic area is the focus of this dance and there are key movements that are required to accomplish this dance. This particular dance can help prevent osteoporosis because of its extreme movements of each body part. It has many health benefits with menstruation for women because of the pelvic focus and it can be practiced as an exercised for better balance and control.
Belly dancing often times requires clothing that unveils the midriff. Along with this, dancers desire to accentuate their hips to portray and emphasize the movements by attaching something to their hips. As Dr. Sam Gill mentions in one of his lectures, that belly dancers have a certain body type which allows them specific movements and this is all apart of body gesturing.
Belly dancers are not loaded with muscles, but they are more rounded . Belly dancers never have the ideal body type because their curves allow them to move the way they do and the curves of their body adds to speific movements. This contributes to the flowing body gestures of the dance. The bodies of these dancers are extremely significant. The belly is not always moving, but that is where is starts and it moves outward from the belly or the midsection.
I am interested in this dance because it is more than what meets the eye. It may just look like a dance that appears seductive, but it is not at all in this case. I have been interested in belly dancing ever since seeing Shakira dancing on an award show. I was always curious to how she moved in the way that she did with such grand movements while keeping her spirit in tact. Through watching her dance, I have gained so much respect for this dance and practice it every chance that I get.
Belly dancing is an actual term that has risen from the Western area. The correct term for this is the West Asian dance, or the Arabic dance. This term belly dance comes from the French. The French term implies that every part of the body is used and it all comes mostly from the hips. There are many different cultural aspects of belly dancing as of today because there are so many different cultures that perform this type of dance, whether it may be a costume dance or a particular dance style. Although, women may be the only ones that usually practice this particular dance, it is said that there are male origins of this type of dance.
In a cultural aspect, this dance style is performed as festivities such as weddings, or social gatherings in the Middle East. There are many different countries that practice this type of dance all over the world today. There is costume belly dance that exists in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey. Along with this, there is Egyptian belly dance, Greek belly dance, Turkish belly dance, and belly dance in the west. These different types of dances all are diversified through the music, and the culture of the dance in where it is usually performed.
Belly dancing is a dance that requires a lot of midsection strength. Muscle control and posture is evidently important in this dance because otherwise, it can be presented as very sloppy. The pelvic area is the focus of this dance and there are key movements that are required to accomplish this dance. This particular dance can help prevent osteoporosis because of its extreme movements of each body part. It has many health benefits with menstruation for women because of the pelvic focus and it can be practiced as an exercised for better balance and control.
Belly dancing often times requires clothing that unveils the midriff. Along with this, dancers desire to accentuate their hips to portray and emphasize the movements by attaching something to their hips. As Dr. Sam Gill mentions in one of his lectures, that belly dancers have a certain body type which allows them specific movements and this is all apart of body gesturing.
Belly dancers are not loaded with muscles, but they are more rounded . Belly dancers never have the ideal body type because their curves allow them to move the way they do and the curves of their body adds to speific movements. This contributes to the flowing body gestures of the dance. The bodies of these dancers are extremely significant. The belly is not always moving, but that is where is starts and it moves outward from the belly or the midsection.
I am interested in this dance because it is more than what meets the eye. It may just look like a dance that appears seductive, but it is not at all in this case. I have been interested in belly dancing ever since seeing Shakira dancing on an award show. I was always curious to how she moved in the way that she did with such grand movements while keeping her spirit in tact. Through watching her dance, I have gained so much respect for this dance and practice it every chance that I get.
There has been one thing on my mind for the last couple of weeks and especially in the last few days. Fire. This got me thinking, what is it about fire that gets me so nervous. After some consideration it became clear. The movement. Fire’s movement is both fast, sly, graceful, unpredictable and powerful. As an entity of nature and science, I can appreciate the complexities of fires power and intrigue, but what happens, in terms of movement, when fire is introduced to dance? I became perplexed. This is why for my next investigation I have decided to cover the Samoan dance (siva) tradition known as fireknife, or ailao (siva sate).
Performed in an individualistic sense – the dance itself is the twirling of machete’s, rods, or tradition paddle weaponry, in fierce rhythmic patterns, set to drums. These twirling objects are then set on fire, exaggerating the motion of the twirl and the acrobatics of the performer. The dance is a very aggressive one and is preformed by men. Still popularly seen and preformed today, the dance emphasized small isolated movements of the hands and can be considered (in my opinion) a hard-core version of baton twirling.
The fireknife, as we know it, can be thought of as amelting pot of traditonas that have come to form a variation of a cultural dance tradition. Stemming from several different historical traditions in Polynesian culture. Broken down, the fireknife, or “ailao” tradition has two very distinctive lines of origins: historic/ceremonial and modern/entertainment. The ailio refers to a traditional mans dance of club twirling performed as a wartime ritual in classic Samoan culture and is mostly (but not always, as is the case with the Nafanua) performed by men. The dance was performed as a way to celebrate a victory, as Samoan island culture often warring with neighboring islands and ethnic groups. Traditionally the dance was either part a parade, men’s-only caberet, or feast ceremony. Across Polynesian culture, the dance began to stem several al different variations, one of which from Uvean culture required the end of the twirling clubs to be lit on fire and preformed at night as a group dance. This was called the kailao afi. The knife component, comes from the dance known as “Nafanua,” which is a from of ailao where the performer(s) use traditional machetes. The Nafanua, was a religious dance, which celebrated the fierce and victorious war-goddess, Nafanua.
How we have come to understand fireknife is accredited to a Samoan performer by the name of Letuli. He makes the claim that he ‘invented’ the fireknife dance which occurred in the 20thC. Letuli accredits himself to adding the fire component to the ailao, cementing his contribution in legend in his book “Flaming Sword of Samoa: The Story of the Samoan Fire Knife Dance.” That being said, it is important to emphasize that even if Letuli was the contemporary “creator” of the dance, that the fireknife, as a whole has its main roots tied to this tradition of ailao. Today, the dance has been popularized in Samoan culture and is usually a popular part of Hawaiian tourism and luah.
I suppose the reason why I have found myself interested in this dance goes beyond my anxiousness about the burning fires. The fireknife, I believe, is one of the most interesting and best examples of how a culture identifies itself through dance. The fireknife, as I have said before, is a exemplified melting pot of traditional and modern components that come together to form a dance. Considering that the origins are tied to island nations- I find it entirely appropriate that there is such a diverse and scattered history of the fire dance. This is because, over time, islands, because of their physical geography would lead to people forming distinctive sub-cultures and rituals that were distinctive to that location. Fireknife, as a mainstay in popular Hawaiian tourism, exemplifies that melding and evolution of traditions and modern invented showmanship, that come together to form a dance that is rich in gesture, tradition, and cultural significance and still is used to emphasize a sub-cultures unique motivations (tourist industry).
The dance is both ephemeral with the fire component and an exquisite example of othering. As its exclusiveness and individual celebration of guise and costume emphasize the importance of cultural values and traditions. As we saw in the lectures of reversibility, the dancer cannot completely ever separate from the modern self and goal of performer/ance, but as you see with the video examples, the use of costume, stage setting, and emotive acting, really illustrate how we can see a dance in terms of “dancer”, “dancing”, and “danced.” That said, I know there is still tons more to learn and research when it comes to fireknife! Let it burn.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Georgina, Dianna M. Performing Selves: The Semiotics of Selfhood in Samoan Dance. Washington State University. 2007.
A scholarly article. Traces and uses historical analytics as well as traditional and modern social values to evaluate the impact of dance in Samoan culture. The article both gives good background as well as contemporary discussion of the significance of dancing in terms of coming of age, and cultural identity.
Accredited site with an expert author. This article gives a brief and precise overview of fireknife. This is a good site, because it breaks down fireknife in modern terms and focuses on main points and the rituals history without delving too far into analytics.
Fosse Dance
Fosse is a jazz style based dance created by Bob Fosse. The dance style developed around the 1950’ s-1960, a time when America had come out of World War II and the culture was still very conservative. The women had been working while their husbands were at war, and the men were experiencing “the silent generation” which was where men had been in battle and did not have anywhere to release anxiety or depression from war. There was tension of how society was supposed to look and how people were supposed to act, but then the 60’s came along creating the counter culture of hippies, free love and no war and Fosse moved in this direction. A lot of the shows from the Fosse era were created then and were seen as very offensive and racy due to their demand for sexual freedom.
Bob Fosse originally started out as a star in a show called “Tough Situation.” The show displayed his performance technique but he later moved to start a film career, which then moved to him starting choreography. He directed “Cabaret” starring Liza Minnelli and “All That Jazz,” familiar pieces for their Academy Awards. His extremely sexy dance style reflects his upbringing, and his time spent in Cabaret nightclubs [1].
The life of Fosse was highly influential of the dance. As the youngest of six children, he found his place in the family through dance, which stemmed into series of lessons and dancing professionally in nightclubs with risky burlesque shows and sexual freedom. The show that trademarked his style was “The Pajama Game” which displayed suggestive hip movement, turned in feet and hunched shoulders as well as hand movement and the well-known black dress with white gloves [2]. Due to his lessons early on, he was a classically trained ballet dancer. Although, he was known for having a bad turn out and bad feet, and therefore created his own style to cater to his feet, which is the knees touching in and feet turned in position.
I liked the Fosse style dance originally from Chicago seeing “All That Jazz” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVyg4MchBYM&feature=related As I watched them move I could feel the energy, the freedom to move how they wanted extends to the audience and I felt like I was actually there, breathing in the time, culture and lifestyle. Then as I read up on the dance style I loved the sexual freedom that is in the dance and how it corresponds with the tension in the culture at the time. The movement and gestures are very seductive, and the moves illuminate what sexual confidence looks like and genuine movement away from more conservative dance. I really was drawn to the “no strings attached” type of feel that I get from the dancers that each move is filled with impulsiveness and angst, yet smooth and sexy with a drive that goes back to history and the need for change. I love the energy to the dance that demonstrates the courage to change something so that it suits you, just how Fosse created a dance that would suit the way his body was shaped to move.
Works Cited:
1. Bedinghaus, Treva. “Bob Fosse” About.com Dance
For the second dance tradition, I decided to go with an Indian dance that I myself have had the pleasure to be a part of. Garba is a traditional dance of Navratri which is a holiday that originated in the western most Indian state of Gujarat. While Navratri is celebrated across Indian today, Gujarat is the center point of the holiday, and the epicenter of Garba. Navratri means nine nights, and as such lasts nine nights and ten days with each day devoted to the worship of a different form of the Indian mother goddess, Shakti. Since the celebration is devoted to the mother goddess, Garba is a dance of seduction and devotion to femininity. The word Garba is derived from the Sanskrit word Garbha Deep which means both womb and lamp. This accurately describes the Navratri Golu, which is a clay centerpiece filled with a lantern around which the dancers circle. The lantern is symbolic for both the fetus developing within the womb and for the divine light of Shakti present inside all life. Navratri is celebrated five times per year, coinciding with changes in the phases of the moon. The five celebrations must be done year round in order to ensure that life continues in the lineage from mother to daughter. In Guajarati culture, they realize that all life comes from a mother, so both men and women worship their mother goddess and their mother land. Before going further, a video representation of Garba is needed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6OWBRUzW7s&feature=related
Merely watching this leaves out much of the actual experience of Garba. When I attended a Navratri celebration at my sister’s university, I was first apprehensive about Garba. Most of the attendees were Indian, and I subconsciously felt isolated. However, my doubts melted away when in order to enter the ceremony, everyone needed to wear the traditional dress of Navratri. From here I enjoyed some humor at the expense of my sister. The male dress is a simple, long flowing robe topped off with a cotton shawl. After dressing, I laughed at some middle aged ladies wrapping my sister up in a traditional three piece outfit. By welcoming us at the door with traditional colorful garb, my worries melted away. However, the dance itself was another cause of worry. In the video, Garba first appears to be chaotic and random. Later it becomes evident that there is a distinct pattern of movement defined by the music. One begins Garba on the outer most edges of the circle and gradually works their way in toward the Navratri Golu. Since this was my first experience with Garba, I naturally bumped into a lot of the other dancers, but met no unpleasantness. In truth, most of my worries were self derived. After reaching the Golu once and retaking my place at the edge of the circle, I decided to stand at the side and merely clap along with the rhythm. Traditional Garba is supposed to last from sunset until sunrise the next day, with different villagers entering at different hours to refresh the Garba circle. In the United States though, dancers have much less devotion to Shakti and the Garba ended after a few hours. After the Garba was finished, they ended the night’s ceremony with a ritual specific to what night of Navratri it is. Since we visited on the first night, the ritual was done to recognize the Durga incarnation of Shakti. Durga is a cleansing, formless incarnation that purifies the festival goers’ spirits. In the ritual, we had water dyed with sandalwood dripped over our heads, which felt quite refreshing after a night of dancing. Upon leaving the ceremony, I felt a stronger connection to not only the Guajarati people, but to mankind in general. I think that everyone should make an effort to expand their cultural horizons by going to an event outside of their own heritage. It is surprising to see how similar cultures are to one another despite the geographic distance between them. During Navratri, Garba is done to also strengthen the respect between men and women. With the uniting experience of Garba, cultures can better develop peace through fostering an understanding and respect between the sexes.
References
“Folk Dances of India: Garba” http://web.archive.org/web/20090614111155/http://india.gov.in/knowindia/garba.php
“What is Navratri and Durga Puja” http://www.navratrifestival.net/navaratri-and-durga-puja/
“10 Days with the Mother Goddess” http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/mothergoddess.htm
I am a huge fan of the show, America’s Best Dance Crew and am always astounded by the level of skill needed to perform many of the hip hop dance routines. I was looking through the different styles and had my heart set on B-Boying, which has a rich history and an energetic quality. But as I was watching some of my favorite episodes from the series, I began to realize how interested I was in Finger Tutting. Although there is almost no large motion, the complexity of this dance is enough to have anyone captivated. Tutting requires the dancer to be aware of the spatial boundaries their arms and fingers create. A good way to imagine this particular dance is to try to see the lines, boxes, and triangles the dancer’s fingers create. Here is a good video that represents this and allows the viewer to picture the shapes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo9bKyRoxRI
In this particular video, the dancer is combining different elements such as finger waving and Tutting. The boxes and lines can be clearly seen as the dancer creates them.
This specific dance is interesting because the history of it is not exact. The history is usually passed verbally, and many dancers have come out of the woodwork to claim ownership of developing this specific style of dancing. The general consensus is that a very basic form began in the 90s. It was mostly used for only a few seconds and was used more so as a transition between two styles than an actual dance-form. With the realized networking capabilities the Internet had in the 2000s, hip-hop dancers began to use online forums to share their techniques and meet other dancers from across the United States. The forum, “Shut Up and Dance,” housed the beginnings of Tutting and featured Liquid Pop Crew. At the time, they were performing a very loose form of Finger Tutting called Waving. The joints in the fingers are much looser and the movements are organic. This style however, caught the eye of ShiftedShapes, an independent dancer. He is considered to be the first dancer to utilize Finger Tutting as an independent style and create dances that incorporated only this particular technique. He sites his influences as being a combination of Digits, Finger Tutting and, most importantly, a man named Greg Irwin. Irwin, was not at all involved in the hip-hop scene, but instead was interested in improving finger dexterity. He created various exercises that strengthened joints and allowed the person to perform intricate choreography quickly. As you can see, his practices had a lot of effect on ShiftedShapes and gave him the framework for what is known as Finger Tutting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRF4EICO2G0
Another huge influence for ShiftedShapes was his mentorship with a mime. During this time, he learned about fixed points, which allow mimes to create invisible barriers and objects. The key is to always have one hand placed on the invisible object and move the body around this point. ShiftedShapes realized that he could incorporate this idea into Tutting and utilized the idea of 45 and 90-degree angles to break up the body into quadrants. This allowed him to approach Tutting in an organized fashion. An important thing to note is the disagreement between ShiftedShapes and members of style, Boogaloo, who also claim ownership of Tutting. ShiftedShapes argues that in order for Finger Tutting to be successful, the dancer must be constantly improvising and experimenting with new angles and forms. Boogaloo does incorporate Tutting, but for only a few moments at a time. They are also hindered by the music because it never changes so the dancer can only do so much. ShiftedShapes’ Tutting comes from the musical genre of Electronica. This music is constantly changing the beats to the same songs and creating completely new moods. This allows the dancers to be creative and innovative in their technique.
Since the early 2000s, Finger Tutting has become much more popular and new elements have been added such as the incorporation of multiple people, and Finger Waving, which helps to break down the hard transitions into a smoother movement as seen in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuf32ANccWk&feature=relmfu
One of the more interesting hybrid videos I found was a pair of dancers that expand Finger Tutting beyond the boundaries of the hands. Some of the movements look like they are breaking the bones in their arms to create the specific angles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYvHkUn-kXA&feature=related
Samantha Motsinger
RLST 3838
Paper #3
June 28, 2012
Singin’ and Swingin’
For nearly a century Swing dancing has influenced not only my own life, but many others as well through both music, style, and of course the grooving moves within the dance itself. Originating in the 1920’s and having developed from the music of that particular time, swing dancing is a combination of different dances that have evolved over the years. Like many of the dance styles and traditions we have been introduced to so far, swing dancing is made up of a variety of different styles of dance that have come from all over the world. Swing dancing is in many ways a melting pot of different cultural backgrounds and histories. This dance tradition has developed in white communities, but most importantly came from the discovery of the Lindy Hop and the Charleston within African American communities in the 1920’s.
Here is a wonderful example of the earlier styles of the Lindy Hop.
What is so fascinating about this particular dance are the fast paced movements. The legs and feet of the dancers move so quickly, and it is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. This dance requires so much coordination in the movements, and of course the synchronization also becomes extremely important when they begin to do all of the flips and jumps that make swing dancing such a fast paced and energized form of dance.
Another example of this dance is the Charleston, which I have a personal connection to because of the musical The Boyfriend, which I was a part of the chorus about six years ago. The following video is a scene from the musical, featuring a song and dance number called “Won’t You Charleston With Me.”
This version is not necessarily the best dancing or choreography, but it gives you an idea of the influence that this dance has had on so many different artistic outlets of the world.
With the discovery of these particular dances, the communities also started dancing to the contemporary Jazz and Swing music as it also evolved. Within a few years jazz steps and also tap dancing was also incorporated into the swing dancing style. Another form of the Swing dancing style that was discovered was the Jitterbug. Having been deeply influenced by music, the Jitterbug directly came from the band leader Cab Calloway who introduced the world to his song entitled “Jitterbug” in 1934. Calloway, who stated that the dancers look like a bunch of bugs bopping and hopping around on the floor, was an American jazz singer who was often associated with this particular dance, and associated with the Cotton Club In Harlem.
Another connection I made to this dance and why I also found so much interest in Swing dancing, is because I also starred as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz a few years ago, and although many people don’t know it because it is not featured in the actual movie we are all so familiar with, the Jitterbug has its very own song and dance number in the musical and can be seen in outtakes from the film that did not make it into the final version. This dance starts at around the two minute mark, and from both the music and the movements you get a definite feel for this particular style of dance.
Like many other forms of dance, Swing is often seen in competition, and has been since 1938, when the Harvest Moon Ball featured the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug in competition for the first time. What is so amazing about this is the fact that this epic moment in dance history was captured on film and was spread like wildfire for all to see.
In many ways here we can see how Swing dancing has influenced parts of our history and our present in music, movies, dance, culture and musicals. Over the course of the years since its beginnings, Swing dance has even evolved into our modern day jive dance and you can also see influences of it in the Boogie-Woogie. Today Swing is still danced in competitions, and even here in Boulder Swing is prevalent and can be learned in classes and community clubs. It also has influences in popular television shows today including Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.
It is clear that Swing is an influential dance tradition in our cultures history.
Dane Adams
Application #3
Voodoo Dancing
Learning about dancing in this class has opened my eyes to a whole new world that I never knew existed. The first research paper that I did was on square dancing, and that was because it was the only form of dancing that I had experienced up to this point, besides the “bear-hug shuffle” of public school dances. This paper I had a deep interest in looking into a form of dancing that is taboo and provocative, to see if it really is what I have been told it is. This is why I have chosen to research Voodoo Dancing. In western Judeo-Christian culture it has been long standing tradition to attack and vilify any traditions that are not similar to Judeo-Christian beliefs. I suppose this mind set goes all the way back to the time of Constantine when he wanted to maintain power through religion. It is with this skepticism, and my new knowledge of dancing, that I have decided to take a rational look at Voodoo dancing; setting aside all preconceptions and analyzing the dance for what it is in actuality.
Voodoo is called by many names; Candomble, Macymba, Chango, and Santeria to name a few. Despite what this religious practice is called the origins are believed to be African specifically from the tiny country of Benin in West Africa. Voodoo is practiced world-wide and has large populations in Haiti, Jamaica, and even the south of the United States particularly in New Orleans. Dancing is a very pertinent part of Voodoo, so much so, that you might even say that Voodoo is dancing. To understand the dance it is important that we understand the beliefs of the Voodoo religion. Voodoo dancing is exactly like Javanese religious dancing, in that the gestures and general self-othering is a chiasm to the religious beliefs, morals, and teachings they are trying to insinuate on those practicing it. The base of the Voodoo religion is ancestor worship and beliefs in animism. These two belief systems create much of the story behind the Voodoo dancing. On one hand you have ancestors who are dead and now spiritual beings, who are able to help you in everything you need. The ancestors in Voodoo religion are the way in which one can communicate with “The God” or “One Great Spirit.” On the other hand there are evil spirits who have just as much power in the physical world to hurt an individual as the ancestors do to help an individual. The following short clip typifies a Voodoo dance where and individual is being beat down or hurt by one such evil spirit after attempting to dance around the spirit.
This theme of individuals representing spirits both good and bad carries through all of the Voodoo clips that you will see in this paper. The general belief that is being represented through dance is that spirits live side-by–side with the living, or in other words that the spirit world is right here intermingled with our physical world. The animism belief of those practicing Voodoo develops into the idea that because all things have spirits and all things were created by God, that all things are sacred and perform a divine purpose. This idea is the reason why many objects are used in Voodoo worship, items that we in Western culture would find to be mundane and NOT magical.
One such item that is considered to be Divine and have great power in Voodoo worship is the drums. You may have noticed in the last clip that I showed the extremely loud and prevalent drums. The drums are a sacred part of the Voodoo religion. The rhythm of the drums are said to speak words and the words are taught to both the dancers and practitioners of the drumming. The following clip shows some of this very drumming that I have been talking about, and the meaning behind it.
That clip was of some Voodoo practitioners from New Orleans here in the United States. This next clip is of some drumming and dancing from Haiti. Again you will see how the drumming plays an important role in the dance, and you will also see the chanting of the drummers.
One major thing that you will notice in this last clip is the “free-style” nature of the dance. There is a dance in Voodoo called the hooded dance, in which the individuals are believed to be possessed by spirits. This form of trance-dancing is common in Voodoo and is a way for individuals to get in touch with the spirits in order to gain the knowledge, wisdom, and or answers which they are seeking. Believe it or not, it is very difficult to find video of the Voodoo hooded dancing. I managed to find one that was a part of another video that is depicting many parts of the Voodoo culture. I am not quite sure if this is Voodoo hooded dancing, but was told it was when I emailed the “American Voodoo Society.” Supposedly the women you see at 3:30 in this video with the white dresses and white hoods are doing the ritual hooded dance.
One thing that is most interesting about the trance dancing being performed in this video was the guy scurrying quickly up that very tall poll. I don’t know exactly what that was all about, but it was very strange and fantastic all at the same time. As I mentioned earlier, one of the basic beliefs of Voodoo is that the spirits are here among us. Another form of trance dancing that exists in Voodoo arises in ritual dancing where some of the people become possessed and some are not. You can see in the following video that as the group dances together there is the mingling of the spirit entranced dancers with those who are not, to teach that theological principle. http://play.kendincos.com/188978/Wvzfjlplpnrptnrrv-voodoo-dancing-togo-africa.html
None in the group are seemed to be bothered too much by the possessed woman who is going back and forth in a straight line. The group continues their dancing around the spirit possessed woman.
Voodoo is a very old religion and its origin is believed to be with the start of civilization some 10,000 years ago. Regardless of when you believe Voodoo began, the effects of this religion are felt all over the world both in theology and dance. The whole genre of what we believe to be African dancing is actually Voodoo dancing are something that came from the Voodoo ceremonies and ritual dancing. Voodoo dancing and its free-style nature are felt heavily on the streets of the United States today in a form of dancing we call Krumping. This freestyle form of Hip-hop obviously has many elements of other types of dancing but the jerking arms, and chest popping, and deeply grounded bent leg movement are obviously all elements of Voodoo dancing. The freestyle nature of it allows for that element of trance dancing that is also found in Voodoo dancing. In these last two videos you can see that Voodoo dancing is alive and well in American dance and culture.
Ciao!!
Resources
1. “Voodoo.” . Last Viewed: June 2012.
2. “Voodoo – African Spiritual Religious Systems.” . Last Viewed: June 2012.
3. “Voodoo Religion – The History.” . Last Viewed: June 2012
Bollywood dance has taken the world by storm, and is an extremely interesting art form because of the culture, history, and storytelling it embodies. The term ‘Bollywood’ is a mash up of Hollywood and Bombay, which is now the city of Mumbai. Bombay was a Hindi cultural hub, with art, music, intellectual and religious inspiration around every corner. What name could be better to combine with Hollywood, which in my mind stands for action, excitement, and imagination. India gained its independence from Britain in 1947, and like the golden era of movies for Hollywood, Bollywood soared in the 50s’ and 60s’s. Bollywood movies are most well known for their clichéd romantic plots, with a mixture of comedy and antagonists to keep things interesting. The art of what we now know as Bollywood dance did not hit it big in the industry until the 80s and 90s, due to new technology. Before the 80s, Bollywood films contained more folk and classical Indian dance styles. With access to sound, advanced special effects, and better picture quality, Bollywood’s themes grew from cliché to nothing the world had seen yet; swirling colorful costumes, quintessential Indian music mixed with a new age pop feel, and most importantly, dance.
To give credit to just one Bollywood dance choreographer would be a completely impossible task. Because Bollywood is the most successful film industry in the world, specifically because of quick production, the job of choreographer has always been in extremely high demand, with many successful figures. One choreographer that really stood out to me is Saroj Khan. She has been in the industry since the 80s’, has choreographed dances for over 200 Bollywood films, and is seen as huge inspiration. She formulated many classical moves that are now distinctive to Bollywood dance. This clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ish42wa35B4 is from Nagina, Khan’s debut choreography in 1986. In contrast, this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLQmV7Tpd_Y is from her most recent choreography, for a popular Indian TV show Agent Vinod. The difference in cinematography, music, and style is immense, but there are many surprising similarities. The costumes are both extremely colorful and exuberant, even though the more modern one shows more skin. Both focus on the women’s eyes to connect and draw in the audience, and both have a level of intimacy without being overly erotic.
My interest in Bollywood dance has grown out of Hollywood’s interpretation of it. “Slumdog Millionaire,” which won best picture in 2008, was my first exposure to Bollywood Dance. The dancing at the end of the movie was exciting and exotic, with a perfect mix of cheesy choreography http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRC4QrUwo9o. Compare this dancing with the more Americanized pop version seen in this music video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaBfnmVwDt8&feature=related by the Pussycat Dolls. Both show a tribute to Bollywood culture, although now what is distinguished as classical Bollywood has changed. Some may see this as insulting, but I believe this is what great dancers and dance styles do—they inspire new artistic forms.
Bibliography:
1) Bollywood Tourism. “What is Bollywood?”. Bollywood Tourism, 2009. Web. .
2) Courtney, David. “Bollywood Dance.” Music of India. Chandrakantha, Feb 5 2012. Web. .
3) Vyas, Sonalee. “Top 5 Bollywood Best.” . Blogger, Jan 5, 2009. Web. 28 Jun 2012. .
Often considered one of the oldest forms of dance, belly dancing combines many different dance styles resulting in a truly unique dance form. Belly dancing is thought to have come from early Egyptian dances used for religious purposes. Traditionally associated with fertility rituals and childbirth, it was used as early as 1000 B.C. to prepare girls for labor and was even used as part of the delivery ritual. When the idea of belly dancing started to spread across the globe, it had a bad reputation associated with scandal and provocativeness. Today, belly dancing is a huge part of international pop culture, bringing its rich and controversial history into its allure. It is no longer used as a purely religious basis, but is used for exercise, self-expression, and meditation.
There are two forms of belly dancing; raqs baladi and raqs sharqi. Used in social and festive occasions, raqs baladi is performed for fun and celebration by men and women of all ages. Baladi dancers traditionally wear an ankle length, “baladi dress” with a matching hip scarf. It is an improvisational dance integrated with the rhythm of the music. Typically seen in America today, Raqs sharqi is a more theatrical take to belly dancing. It is associated with a “show business” so raqs sharqi dancers are known to wear bright and glitzy costumes with deep slits to draw attention to the legs. Upper body movement and shoulder shimmies and arm waves are often used.
Studying abroad in London last semester, a multicultural haven, I had the incredible opportunity to submerge myself in so many different unique cultural experiences. One night a friend and I decided to be adventurous and go to a Lebanese restaurant. Having never tried Lebanese food before, I was blown away by the unusual experience I witnessed. Not only was there live authentic jazzy Middle Eastern music playing in the background, but the waitresses were fully outfitted in traditional belly dancing costumes. Throughout the entire dinner I was submerged into an incredible cultural phenomenon that I had never witnessed before. The way that their bodies moved not only took incredible dedication and training, but definitely gave me a new appreciation to a form of dance I always considered somewhat of a joke.
Originating from religious origins, most of the dances historically associated with belly dancing were performed with the sexes separated. Men danced with men, and women danced with women to ensure that a “pure” woman would only be seen dancing by her husband and close female friends. This kept belly dancing regarded as a spiritual and meaningful dance used for prayer and meditation. The Westernization of belly dancing modernized its practice to a more casual level, not taking regards of its origins into account. There are still many people in the Middle East and North Africa who view the current performances of seductive dancers in revealing costumes as morally objective.
Shakira belly dancing in her music video “Hips don’t lie”
I chose to focus on West African dance for this assignment, specifically the Ghana court dances. After visiting West Africa last summer and seeing some of the traditional dances performed there, I was captivated by the power in the dances. As I was watching the dances, they felt like a window into their culture. African dance is greatful, powerful, and full of meaning. There is great diversity in it as it represents their culture, tribes, and region. It mirrors the lifestyle, wildlife, customs, and values of their culture. Many of the dances often mimicked the movements of animals. In the 1500’s and 1600’s both African and European kings used dance to spotlight their power. The European dances moved in the direction of dignity and elegance, highlighted by upright torsos, controlled movements, and body alignment. African dances were more uninhibited utilizing hops, jumps, spins, and isolation of body parts. Africans believed and still do that the body served the spirit. As a result, the dances celebrated spirituality and created an atmosphere for the gods. The African dances conveyed this concept, while the drummers emphasized it.
The living perform and celebrate through ritual, but it is the deceased that make the Ghana Court Dances so meaningful. The presence of ancestral spirits is a belief so pivotal to African dance, and the level of spiritual intimacy and reverence in the court dances exemplifies this. It is through dance and the knowledge passed on through dance that the people of Ghana find themselves in a state of community not only with their neighbors, but with their ancestors as well.
Dwelling within the heart of the second largest and most populated continent, the people of Ghana are among the many that are currently redefining African identity on their own terms. In order to understand the Court Dance’s significance, a glimpse in to Ghana’s past is in order. Ghana, once known as “land of gold”, is now one of the world’s poorest countries. A lengthy transition that has been excruciatingly hard on the people and the culture. Arab travelers described the king of Ghana as holding court literally weighed down by gold necklaces and bracelets. Even with their new independence, declared in 1957, the people are struggling to retain their culture. One of their best methods of preserving their culture is through the Court Dances. Dance in the Ashante court displays the royal virtues, power, and honors its ancestors. With the use of numerous, bright umbrellas and elaborate costumes, everyone in the community gathers together to take part in the ceremonial event. Men and women of all social rank come together to celebrate their peoples’ history. The king is weighted down with gold to represent the regality of the Ashante. However, it is the actual dance that delves deep within the nation’s past. The dances involve space, time, and force. Through conversational movements, men and women tell the story of their people. An unspoken language is used and through precise hand movements and angularity, the dancer is able to embody “coolness.” Here is a clip of the traditional Ashanti dancers and drummers. They exemplify the hand movements that are so important in telling the story of their culture.
Most people tend to view this dance as uncontrolled and impulsive, with no significance behind the movement. However, while somewhat impulsive, each gesture has significance . For example, angularity is vital to the dance because if the dancer is straight, it is believed that he/she is dead, spiritually. Therefore, the dancer’s body expresses something negative or postive based simply off of the angle with which they are dancing. With the Ghana Court Dances, it is not only the dancers that are involved in the ceremony; everyone plays a role, even the spectators. Dance is a way of life and a means of retaining culture and identity for those in Western Africa. Dance brings communities together, both spiritual and physical.
Work Cited
Welsh, K. (2004). African dance. Chelsea House Publishers.
Charry, E. S. (2000). Mande music, traditional and modern music
of the maninka and mandinka of western africa. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
Country western line dancing is interesting to me because I have participated in it a few times but know little to nothing about it. My only experience with line dancing has been at the Grizzly Rose here in Denver. Here’s a video of some patrons line dancing:
In this video, you can see the distinct qualities that make this dance a line dance. All of the dancers are standing in a line shoulder to shoulder. There are no partners and no distinction between genders. There is no physical contact between dancers and everyone is facing the same way. Although they may not all face the same direction throughout the dance. As a group, the dancers move to face different directions, or walls. A line dance could have one wall, meaning the dancers never turn directions during a sequence. Or it could have two walls, meaning they turn one hundred and eighty degrees twice, facing the front wall then the back and then the front in one sequence. Lastly, it could have four walls, meaning the dancers turn ninety degrees four times ending facing the wall they began facing.
This specific type of line dancing, country western, has roots in the early 1800 New English style of dancing called “Contra.” In this dance, there were two lines of people, a female line and a male line, and the two lines danced together. This folk dance slowly evolved to through the disco period to have more choreography and less emphasis on gender. There are a few songs that help pinpoint the emergence of country western line dancing into popular culture. These songs spanned from the 1970s to 90s ending with Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” which catapulted country western line dancing into the mainstream. Here is a video of Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart:”
There are some quick shots within this video of the audience performing country western line dancing.
Line dancing is an excellent example of the folk theory dancing as a social activity. Line dancing is solely a social activity and really cannot be performed alone. This is also accounted for by the fact that it takes place in a bar. One of the main purposes of bars is to create a social environment for people of similar tastes. The Grizzly Rose attracts a country crowd in its decor and music choice, and, of course, because of its famous line dancing.
I couldn’t find much information about the religious roots of country western line dancing, but I assume that because it is performed to country music, it has a lot of Christian influences as a lot of country music does. Many country songs’ lyrics have overt Christian themes. For example, the recently popular country musician Carrie Underwood has many songs with the Christian influence apparent in just the title. “Inside your Heaven,” “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Praying for Time” for example. As a result, these extremely obvious Christian themes transfer into the country western line dance which could be interpreted as the reason why there is no physical contact between the dancers.
I chose country western line dancing because I thought it would be a challenge because I do not typically enjoy listening to country music, at all. But, on both occasions I went to the Grizzly Rose I found myself really enjoying dancing and not really caring that I was dancing to country music. Both times, I went with my dancing friend and had a lot of fun because we could very easily pick up on the choreography, as it is so repetitive. I find it interesting that the dancing was exciting enough to completely outweigh the negative of hearing a genre of music that I usually cannot stand. There is a lesson to be learned here, and I am not entirely sure what it is, but maybe it is somehow tied into the idea of doubling. Dancing and music cannot exist separately, but they most certainly are completely different things. Maybe through music you can learn to appreciate a specific style of dancing and vise-versa; through dancing you can learn to appreciate a different style of music.
Works Cited
“Carrie Underwood Discography.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012. .
DeVille, Jan. “History of Country Line Dancing.” EHow. Demand Media, 26 June 2009. Web. 28 June 2012. .
“Line Dance History.” Line Dance History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 June 2012. .
“Line Dance.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012. .
Emily Read
28 July 2012
Professor Sam Gill
Application Assignment #3
Javanese Court Dancing
The lectures I read on the dances of the Javanese people piqued my interest, so I decided to get some more information! The Javanese Court Dance, in particular, has its origins in the East, combining elements of both Hinduism and Buddhism, as it draws upon both religions for inspiration. However, in the last 250 years, the dance of the Javanese people has been influenced by the influx of Islamic high courts1. The unique blending of the import of religion, arts, and philosophy from India, China, and South East Asia, with the already existing indigenous Javanese culture, resulted in a dynamic meeting of these three cultures.
Javanese dance is inspired mainly by nature, especially water. The element of water is incorporated into the dance primarily due to its fluid movement –the dancers must move like a flowing river2. Today, Javanese dance is popular in their high society and is a dance that embodies their cultural values such as refinement, elegance, and self-possession. According to an article in the LA Times, “to be a court dancer today in Jogjakarta is to belong to this majestic, intricately ordered environment.”3
I chose to research the dance of the Javanese people after Professor Gill referenced it in his lecture in Section 5. I have never been to Asia, and Sam’s description of the refined movements and self-othering piqued my interest. Furthermore, the music used was totally different and unique. I do not think I have heard any of the instruments before. When I researched the music and the types of instruments that are used, the most common musical instrument used is the Bonang, which is composed of a double row of mounted bronze kettle gongs and is usually played with two padded beaters4. It sounded so different from the hip-hop and street dances that I have had the pleasure of learning here in the West. Upon watching some videos of the Javanese Court dances, I realized I had, without knowing it, already seen some of this kind of dancing in movies and in different culture-oriented classes I had taken at the University. The Javanese court of Java and Bali dancing is unique and regal –it requires elegance and grace. I am including an example for everyone to see –be sure to listen for the Bonang!
Movement and Israeli Dance
Throughout this course it has become evident that movement is an integral part of dance, and in order to study and to fully understand all aspects of dance, one must first be able to comprehend movement. The term movement has a strange ring when first mentioned, or at least I initially felt it to sound rather abstract. Upon first consideration one is most likely not to think much of movement and what defines movement. As humans we move all the time, every day, and even every second. The concept of movement, although humans often tend to take for granted their very own capabilities to move along with the true meaning of such motions, nonetheless, is very powerful and deserves a great deal of consideration, especially the centrality of movement in regards to the establishment of dance as an art form.
Moving is not only a fundamental aspect of dance in general, but implications, meanings, and symbolism associated with movements are of particular significance in regards to the rather new emergence of Israeli Folk Dance. This paper will be begin with and in-depth discussion of movement, and will do so by incorporating ideas and concepts set-forth on behalf of Sheets-Johnstone, Johnson, and Gill. Lastly, this discussion will conclude with a detailed reflection of the significance of movement in relation to Israeli Folk Dance. The phrase: Dancing is moving, but not all moving is dancing seems to represent a conundrum. How can dance qualify as movement on one hand? Yet movement, or at least not all movement, on the other hand does not equate to dance? The aim of this paper is work through this proposed conundrum and to reveal the multi-faceted dimensions of movement in relation to dance.
The primacy of movement, discussed by Sheets-Johnstone is a very powerful description that seeks to explain the ways in which humans comes to understand themselves, their emotions, and the rest of the world, which is actually quite spectacular upon deep reflection. In addition, her description discusses how movement is the catalyst to all other actions. For instance, via movement first and foremost, it is that humans are able to realize their own potentials and abilities, which she refers to as: “I move therefore I can do.” Both Jhonstone and Sam have continually emphasized that movement doesn’t just allow humans to understand themselves and their relation to the rest of the world, but movement also allows humans to find, structure, explore, and create self-identity, awareness, perception, knowledge, value, and agency; i.e. movement enables and allows for one to be alive. However, I will return to the primacy of movement and its significance in regards to Israeli Folk Dance in a later section, and in particular the ways in which movement has structured identity, perceptions, knowledge, and values of Israeli Folk dance participants.
Movement as discussed by Johnson not only allows for the understanding of ones self and the rest of the world, but movement also is fundamental in regards to establishing and attributing meaning. One must understand where meaning, especially the meanings of various types of dances, and how meanings are attributed to dances in order to fully comprehend dancing. Obviously the word movement implies mobility, action, motion etc., and such movements become distinct patterns of movement, which according to Johnson are called image schemas. Images schemas of all different sorts are said to be the basis for attributing and understanding meaning, which will be important later in the discussion in regards to how movement attributes meaning to Israeli folk dance. In addition, I will come back to the concept of meaning originating and based completely on one’s body moving and interacting with its environment. I hope my description of meaning allowed for a better understanding of the notion that: “dancing as a quintessential human form of movement that is inseparable from the most fundamental human meaning-making.” Therefore, I also hope that one truly grasps the importance of movement and how it creates various identities, whom then create, associate, and ascribe meaning, Lastly, meaning in regards to Israeli folk dance will be discussed in the up-coming section.
So what does movement have to do with Israeli dance and why is it so important? I’d like to begin this part of the discussion with an analysis of Sheets-Jhonstone’s primacy of movement concept. As previously mentioned, movement allows for one to realize and to become aware of themselves, their feelings, and the rest of the world around them. At this point you may be wondering what the primacy of movement has to do with Israeli dance, but hang in there I will begin to guide you step-by-step through my reasoning. I’ve personally coined a phrase called “the Primacy of an Independent Israeli Nation State”, in an effort to reveal and to demonstrate the significance of movement to Israeli Folk dance.
In the first two previous papers it was discussed that Israel struggled to become an independent state, and in the beginning was occupied by Jews and non -Jews from all over the world. Although one normally refers to the U.S. as a “melting pot”, the same can be said for Israel, but in reference to the mixed amount of cultures in such a small geographic area. For instance, Romanian, Yemenite, Turkish, Eastern European, Russian, and Moroccan peoples and cultures were present in Israel at the time when the foundations for Israeli Folk dance were being created. The aim of Israeli Folk dance at the time was to create unification amongst the vast amount of different Jews in Israel. I.e. Israeli dance was created in an effort to establish one common identity, and to make Jews from all over the world feel as if Israel was there home. Therefore, I coined the term primacy of an independent nation state to refer to the notion of the movement of Israeli Folk dance being central, necessary, and essential to creating a common identity, just as if movement is fundamental to bring about self-awareness, agency, value, and one’s relation to the rest of the world.
Lastly, I’d like to discuss movement and meaning, and its relation to Israeli dance. I know some of you may be thinking what does movement have to do with meaning, and what is the significance of the meaning of Israeli Folk dance? Let me attempt to clear the air. As discussed in lecture, movement allows for one to grasp, seize, and to obtain a great deal of knowledge, which enables one to express meaning. Humans create, associate, and ascribe meaning via varying image schemas, which are based upon the world into which we are born into, our experiences, and interactions with other people and the environment around us. Let us briefly analyze the Hora, an Israeli Folk dance practiced by Jews all over the world. The Hora is a joyous dance danced in a circle to symbolize the interconnectedness of Jews. The dance itself is a celebration of life and is practiced at weddings and bar mitzvahs. Via the engagement in the celebratory dance participants through their movements become aware of themselves as Jews, but also become aware of world around them through this experience interacting with others in the environment in which they are moving together and dancing in a circle.
In terms of people at a wedding or bar mitzvah, it can be assumed that many of the people in the room, or environment share similar image schemas, whether it be because they are related or were raised with similar values, or perhaps it is because they share a similar cultural identity as Jews, nonetheless allows them to attribute meaning, and in the case of the Hora, most people in attendance at this event would probably agree that it implies the meaning of life. Therefore, it is through movement, and as discussed dance is and as movement, that attributes meaning to all things. I hope that one has a better understanding of how movement creates identity and attributes meaning, and that one also realizes how these topics apply to Israeli Folk dance. Lastly, I hope it is as clear to the reader as it became to me after intensely grappling with theories of movement, that dance is movement, but not all movement is dance.
Geom-mu is a traditional Korean folk dance created in 660 A.D. in the Silla kingdom (57 B.C. to 935 A.D.) based on the legend of Hwangchang, a young boy who was a famous sword dancer. Hwangchang’s skills were so impressive that the king of Baekje, Silla’s enemy kingdom, invited him to perform in his court, and while dancing the boy stabbed the king to death. Consequently, the Baekje military executed Hwangchang, and the Silla people created Geom-mu to commemorate his sword dancing talents. Later, in the Joseon Dynasty (1392 to 1910), the Royal Court changed Geom-mu into a court dance performed by the Kisaeng, or professional entertainers, called Jinju Geom-mu.
In the court dance adaptation, three parts changed. First, the Kisaeng wore four piece costumes that represented a stylized version of the Joseon military uniform. Specifically, the women wore a traditional Hanbok dress, a Kwaeja overcoat, a Jeon-Dae belt, and a Jeon-Rip military style cap, in a color combination of blue, red, yellow, green, and black depending on the region. Second, in place of real swords, a replica sword called Kal was now used in performances to prevent injuries. Lastly, an important difference between the folk and court versions was a mask resembling Hwangchang’s face, which was used in Geom-mu but was discontinued in Jinju Geom-mu.
Although I was unable to find out why the Kisaeng stopped wearing the mask, there is a significant distinction between folk and court dances. The former were for personal, religious, and cultural occasions within a non-royal community, whereas the latter were performed as entertainment for royalty. Therefore, we can speculate that the kings of the Joseon Dynasty might not have wanted to see Hwangchang’s face since he was an assassin or perhaps they wanted to enjoy the Kisaengs’ beauty. On the other hand, maybe the kings did not like the other the dancers produced while wearing the mask. To me, the Korean Geom-mu and the Javanese Wayang topeng are appropriately comparable because of the similarities between the purposes of the mask.
In Wayang topeng, the mask acts as a way for the dancers to fully express otherness because they use the mask as a way for their batin to come alive. In other words, instead of the mask only expressing the lahir, it expresses both because it acts as an outwardly and visible representation (lahir), and it is given life from the dancer’s gestural patterns (batin). Furthermore, it is important to realize that “the entity identified with the mask, rather than the personal identity of the dancer, comes to life by being moved and manipulated in the gestural patterns distinctive to the figure danced by the dancer.” That is, the dancer is not moving the mask but their batin is, which is how the lahir and batin are both expressed. Likewise, a similar case could be made of Geom-mu because the original purpose of the dance was to honor Hwangchang, and a key element signifying his heroism was the mask resembling his face. Thus, by wearing the mask, the Geom-mu dancer’s personal identity, or lahir, is covered so Hwangchang, “the entity identified with the mask,” can come to life through the dancer’s batin. Accordingly, because his movements are expressed through the dancer’s body and distinctive gestural patterns, it provides the non-royal community a way to connect with the legend through the other produced by their own body, thereby creating an embodied way to commend Hwangchang’s sacrifice.
Traditionally, a group of six to eight people performed Geom-mu, and the dance had two distinct characteristics: Changdan, a long and short rhythm, and Chum-sawi dance motions. Nowadays, groups of any size can perform Jinju Geom-mu, yet it generally has an even number of people to accommodate three types of Chum-sawi dance motions. Ipchum-sawi is to dance standing up, in two rows, face to face (0:04-0:45, 1:47-2:15); Anjeon-sawi is to dance kneeling down while maintaining the two rows of Ipchum-sawi (0:46-0:58, 1:13-1:33, 1:39-1:46); and Yeonpungdae is to dance in a rotating circular pattern (2:55-3:17).
After considering the performance and legend together, I wonder if the three dance motions, as well as the version in the video, are supposed to tell Hwangchang’s story. Specifically, at the beginning of the video the dancers are split into two groups (0:04-0:08, 0:26-0:30, 0:36-0:41), which could symbolize the Silla and Baekje kingdoms, and the dancer in the middle could be Hwangchang, and since he is danced by a woman we identify him as the other she creates with her body (0:20-0:25, 0:31-0:35). The way both groups gradually kneel could indicate that they are all now within the Baekje king’s royal court (0:42-0:58), and when the camera focuses on Hwangchang, he is performing similar bowing and praising gestures (0:59-1:10). When he grabs his sword he still moves humbly on his knees signifying that he is continuing to dance for the king (1:11-1:13), and the groups mirror his movements (1:14-1:32). Following suit, when he begins to stand (1:33-1:38), the other dancers do (1:39-1:50), and when he dances standing up (1:51-1:56), so do the others (1:57-2:10). Remarkably, we are able to identify the moment Hwangchang begins to stab the king by his quick outward thrusts of both arms (2:13) that continue briefly (2:14-2:18). Ironically, this is also the last time we see Hwangchang alone, symbolizing the Silla people’s approval of his actions by incorporating him back into their culture. Then, the movement fluidly turns into a spiraling dance representing a fight with the king’s guards (2:19-2:26). When the dancers begin to form a line, it figuratively begins the Silla people’s folk dance because they are mimicking Hwangchang’s stabbing movements in a modified frontal thrust (2:29-2:47), and his fight with the king’s guards (2:48-2:57). Finally, when they begin the Yeonpungdae motion it marks the celebration of his actions shown by dancing a combination of all his previous moves while adding energetic bends and turns (2:58-3:17).
I am interested in Geom-mu and Jinju Geom-mu because I had a great time researching and interpreting Salp’uri in the first set of application projects, and decided to do my second set on another Korean dance. However, a main goal in picking this dance was to do something very different from my first choice, and since the modified Jinju Geom-mu is a court dance rather than a folk dance, and both are based on a legend rather than a religion, I am sure I succeeded.
-Works Cited-
“Dance: Korea’s Traditional Dance.” Dprk-tour.com. Arirang Tour Guide, n.d. Web. 28 June 2012.
“Geommu.” Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 August 2011. Web. 27 June 2012.
Gill, Sam. “Dancing as Self-Othering – 2: Javanese Classical Dancing.” Dancing, Culture, and Religion Lecture Series, n.d. PDF file.
“Korean Traditional Dance: Geommu.” WorldWestArts.org. People Like Me, n.d. Web. 28 June 2012.
Lee, Heoak. “Traditional Korean Dance.” 2010. PDF file.
I recently was looking over the blogs to read up on who wrote about what dance. My mind was blank and I had no idea what to write on other than Irish dancing. Irish dancing has been my life and I have had no other connection to any other dances. Then I saw the mentioning of The Haka, or the War Dance. Immediately I remembered a very special connection to, not necessarily the dance itself, but a dear, dear friend who performed the powerful dance.
My best friend Simona Tosi, will not mention last name, the second (how great of a name is THAT!?) is Samoan and we both grew up together in a very small town. He grew up Mormon (he was adopted) and became confused on where to focus; his adopted religion or his true cultural background? He and I had several talks about what would best fit him. We both went through high school and college talking to each other almost everyday. He went to a smaller college in Eastern Kentucky for a full ride football scholarship. I got on his Facebook one day to check in on him and he had this video posted by a friend:
(He is the BIG dude in the sarong yelling and smacking the other guys on the shoulders.) Eyes are opened wide, tongues are being stuck out and strong body actions of slapping and stomping the feet.
Growing up, Bo (Samoan for “bull”) was so quiet and soft spoken. His 6’6”, 360lbs body would NEVER hurt a fly. Seeing the video of my best friend finally finding where he has chosen culturally was extremely emotional for me. I have watched this video hundreds of times and I cry every time. I never thought of having such a strong connection to this dance simply through a dear, loving friend.
The Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, or dance that derives from a tribe in New Zealand. By the video, you can tell that the vigorous movements and stamping of the feet are accompanied by loud chants and yelling. The dance is performed for various reasons, be it entertainment, a welcoming to guests or for special occasions. The dance was originally performed by warriors before battle not only to get the warriors prepped, but to scare off the enemy. It was their way of showing the enemy who was bigger, badder, and louder!
Ka mate, ka mate
Ka ora, ka ora
Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru
Nana i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra
Upane, upane
Upane kaupane
Whiti te ra.
These words are translated as:
It is death, it is death
It is life, it is life
This is the hairy man
Who caused the sun to shine again for me
Up the ladder, up the ladder
Up to the top
The sun shines.
Because of my best friend (I could go on about him for HOURS), I can easily and respectfully fall in love with the Haka, though it is meant to scare enemies. Not only do I want to learn the Haka now (Bo will teach me one day and I will teach the big lug to Irish dance. It’s our deal), but it is a powerful dance that I never knew I was so strongly connected to. It’s funny how a dance can pull you in so emotionally just because of one person you know who performs it so gracefully.
In the lecture on playing, Professor Gill began by sharing his experience of seeing the figurines of Shiva as Nataraja and explaining the more intricate, religious meaning of these replicas. After hearing this, I immediately made a connection to a very similar story my father once told me. When he was growing up in Argentina, a country with a high population of Catholics, many people manufactured, purchased, and used estampitas, or prayer cards. Each card featured a painting of a different saint and were very popular among the Catholic community. However, one card in particular always stood out to my father – the card depicting Carlos Gardel. If that doesn’t sound like a Biblical name to you, it’s because this “saint” was born long after the Bible was written in 1890, and rather than parting seas or receiving the Ten Commandments, Carlos Gardel was a famous Argentine tango singer.
Similarly to the figurine of Shiva and how dancing is not represented in the Hindu religion, tango music and dancing are in no way represented in the Bible. As we have learned before, such dancing would go with Catholicism in the same way that Ugg boots go with mini skirts – it is generally frowned upon. But Argentines have a different way of thinking; rather than rejecting the cultural background of their European ancestors, they have embraced the “other” part of their culture with open arms to the point where a tango-singing legend is venerated on the same level as Biblical saints.
The concept of self-othering becomes the magic of the Argentine tango. Like the Javanese shadow puppets, an object comes to life through the gestural movements it creates. The two bodies are the objects and the “othering” is the dance and emotions the bodies create. Tango artists, such as Carlos Gardel, contribute to this “othering” through their lyrics, which are generally sad and represent a longing for something or someone. As professor Gill states in reference to the shadow puppets, “The play depends on gestural movement. What we see is not a simple literal presentation. It is a seduction—an appearance, a promise of something always unfulfilled–that invites comparison to facets of our human existence,” (1). When looking at two bodies dancing the tango we don’t just see their movement to music, we see compassion and hear the compassion through the artist’s vocal gestures.
As I have stated in my previous paper about the movement of the tango, there are three main aspects to consider: the embrace, the walk, and the figures. Each of these have various gestural meanings such as longing or seduction. Bringing self-othering and Merleau-Ponty’s flesh ontology into the picture, one dancer touching the other has a deeper meaning – it shows the connection and thus the relationship of the dancers. I would even go as far to say that the gesturing in the tango is like the gestures with the Javanese shadow puppets – it tells a story.
Along with the music lyrics, the touching can further imply a sadness or longing for the other person. The video below, although absent of speech or lyrics, tells a very emotional story of two people solely through the art of the tango.
In his lecture on self-othering, Professor Gill said “Dancing both gives rise to the very idea of otherness while it also grounds our connection with the other,” and this really stuck with me. For me, this quote comes to life in the video posted above portraying two bodies that share a connection and tell a story of love.
Along with the touching, other aspects of the tango are very gestural as well. The touching shows the relationship connection, but other body movements are gestures for the smaller aspects of that relationship. Different embraces, such as a close embrace or open embrace, would represent the closeness or longing in the particular connection. The figures the dancers use to add “flare” to their dance, such as kicks or leg-wrapping for example, imply a level of seduction or passion in the relationship. As the two bodies (flesh) dance, their dancing creates an otherness in such a way that we develop a deeper understanding for their movement.
The Western folk theory of dancing as a form of personal expression resurfaced in the self-othering lecture and it made me think about how the gestural patterns in the tango enable self-expression. As you said in the lecture, this belief is limiting since not everybody dancing the tango has feelings of passion or longing they are trying to express, but these gestures enable dancers to express a story, whether or not it is their own. Even if the story is imagined, it is still a projection from the inside out.
One aspect of self-othering that I loved was how dancing enables people to create and uphold an identity. Although several forms of tango exist worldwide, most people would associate it with Argentina because it is an aspect of their cultural identity. I spoke briefly about the tango in my first paper and how it was started by European (and some African) immigrants to this new land of hope, and inspired both the music and dance culture of Argentina. As opportunity arose in this South American country, many European men immigrated there in hopes of making a quick fortune and returning to their families back home. Most men never received their fortunes and were unable to return home to their loved ones, resulting in a country with a very dense male population. As men lined up at brothels, they were entertained by a new form of music called the tango, and from that arose the dance.
The history of the tango explains the emotions felt in the dance gestures as well as the song lyrics. It’s a dance of passion, yet longing for their loved ones back home. As Professor Gill said in his lecture, once the higher society in Argentina accepted the tango, the dance and the music became a cultural identity of the country, so much to the point where a tango artist is on an equal playing field as Biblical saints.
The type of dance I have selected may sound controversial and unordinary to some, but it is a popular form of dance all the same. This style of dance is performed to rhythmic music- typically by women- involves gyration of the hips and body in a sensual and sexual cadence, and may or may not involve the removal of clothing. Yes, I am talking about Exotic Dance. With the upcoming release of the new movie “Magic Mike”- a story of a male stripper- in movie theaters at the end of this month, I thought this would be the perfect time to delve into this type of dance. Not only is Exotic dance exciting, controversial, and rich in history, there is also art and beauty in and of the dance itself. Exotic dance is a broad genre of dance that encompasses anything from striptease, to belly dancing, to a new form of exercise. In the erotic sense of the term, “exotic dance” is used to refer to the “striptease” or “pole dance”, while in the non-erotic sense it can be applied to multiple forms of foreign dance, such as the belly dance or cabaret. The following three video clips are examples of some of the many forms of exotic dance:
(this clip shows the typical “striptease” dance seen in nightclubs)
(this clip shows an example of a pole dance fitness competition)
(this clip shows belly dance, which is also classified as “erotic dance”)
In Western culture, when one thinks of the term “Exotic Dance” it is often stigmatized and correlates with the idea of a female entertainer whom degrades herself by gradually undressing to music in a provocative, seductive, and sexually suggestive manner- all for the sake of a man’s sexual pleasure. The dance combination may involve a pole that the “stripper” performs acrobatic tricks on in a sexualized manner. Because sex is at the focus of this specific type of exotic dance, in this era can be quite controversial. “Female entertainers engaging in striptease is opposed by many feminists who argue that the practice objectifies women and undermines gender equality by reinforcing the notion that women exist merely for men’s sexual pleasure” (Striptease). While in some instances it may seem reasonable to say this form of dance is taboo, before judging the striptease- or any form of Exotic dance- it is necessary to appreciate the history of it.
Exotic dance has been around since the dawn of man. There is evidence that it existed some 20,000 years ago back in the Paleolithic times. Cave paintings found in Southern France suggest that “these dances were used to increase fertility, and to represent the hunt- both the hunt for animals, and the hunt for a sexual partner” (The Exotic Dance Guide). Exotic dance has also been recorded in ancient Egypt, Turkey, and Syria as a form of entertainment and also as a way to appease the gods, thus making exotic dance a form of goddess worship. “Dancing formed a part of this worship and evidence can be seen for example in pagan rituals such as dancing around the Maypole. The Maypole has been attributed by some, as one of the origins of pole dancing” (ArticleClick).
While in the Middle East belly dancing became a form of exotic dance entertainment, burlesque became popular in America, as did the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
Here is an example of burlesque dance:
Striptease was actually first introduced in burlesque shows at the beginning of the 1900’s. “The first American strip tease (or belly dance) was performed in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair. The woman’s name was Little Egypt and she created a sensation with her fully-clothed belly dance. She came from a troupe of mid-east dancers…she was among the most famous and is credited to this day with introducing Erotic Dance to our popular culture (The Erotic Dance Guide). While striptease may have been brought to America by Middle Eastern culture, “Pole dancing however didn’t start to appear until the 1960’s and it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the first ‘modern’ pole dancing clubs were born in Canada. Canada even had the first champion pole dancer who started teaching the art to ladies from everyday life.” (ArticleClick).
Exotic dance has even made its way into dance fitness competitions, as well as into fitness classes. Take for example this video clip from NBC news of a fitness class that incorporates exotic dance as a way to empower women (at the 17 second mark).
Jazz music gave rise to swing dancing back in the 1920’s. Much like jazz music during this time, swing dancing begun with the influence of African Americans. During the 1920’s hot jazz was making a transition to swing jazz, which gave way to the dance craze of the Lindy Hop. The Lindy Hop was named after the first solo aviator, Charles Lindbergh, who “hopped” the Atlantic in 1927 the same time the dance emerged (Samuels). My interest in swing dancing came from the motion picture Swing Kids, which came out in the 90’s. I think what fascinated me most about the movie and swing dancing’s history itself were the racial barriers that it crossed.
Here is a video clip from Swing Kids:
The Lindy Hop was the first of the original swing dances. The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem became home to swing music and the Lindy Hop. It was the first integrated ballroom, which opened up a huge racial barrier. African Americans began teaching white people how to do the Lindy as well. African Americans use to tape their phone numbers to their backs while they danced. They did this because there was competition among African Americans and who would teach white people the Lindy. White folks generally paid very well during a very racist period of time for African Americans (Just the Swing). While some attributed the Savoy and the Lindy Hop as opening up racial barriers, many disagreed believing by posting their numbers on their shirts they were selling themselves short (Spring 201). This can directly correlate to the topic of self-expression that we covered in lecture and how the modernity within dance focuses on the individual. African Americans did not dance this dance just as a way to express themselves, but as a way to boost their worth as individuals. No matter what one believes, there is no denying that African American’s began to really become of influence into mainstream popular culture.
When I think of the dance I think of it as controlled chaos and very up-tempo. It is a dance that uses the whole body. The Lindy Hop was different from other dances in this time period because it involved, “four movements for each measure of music,” (Spring 187). The dance pulled people in by its use of flips and lifts. Here is a video of the original Lindy Hop.
The movements of the dancers are so fast and quick. To me it looks like a very tough dance because you physically have to use your entire body. It is easy for me to see why the dance became so popular. It was truly a form of entertainment for the audience watching.
Also, through my research I came to find out it can also be danced slow and smooth. The slower version of the Lindy Hop is called “Smooth Lindy” or “Hollywood” and can be credited to Dean Collins. Collins learned the Lindy Hop originally at the Savoy, changed the choreography and brought it to Los Angeles (Just the Swing). Here is a video of the slower version.
Looking at the movement and gesture within the Lindy Hop I better understand these concepts. Within the Lindy Hop improvisation is used by using different, attention grabbing moves. The knowledge these dancers have of the movements and gestures of the typical steps is what leads them to be successful in adding new moves. Sam wrote, “This is essential perspective we need to appreciate dancing which is necessarily highly repetitious, yet always creative and new,” (Gill). This is exactly what Dean Collins did by taking the original Lindy Hop and tweeking it to something a bit different.
There’s no denying the influence swing dance and the Lindy Hop had on our culture. Here is a video from So You Think You Can Dance of two contestants dancing the Lindy Hop. Enjoy!
Sources:
Spring, Howard. “Swing and the Lindy Hop: Dance, Venue, Media, and Tradition.” American Music, Vol. 15, No. 2 (1997) Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 June 2012.
Samuels, Shayna. “Love, Life And The Lindy Hop. (Cover Story).” Dance Magazine 75.2 (2001): 53. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 June 2012.
Gill, Sam. “Gesture and Agency, Dancing as Gesturing.” Dancing, Culture, and Religion Lecture Series.
I can always remember my least favorite day in gym class. I would dread this day more than “report card” day. And from my own recollections, I was not the only one who felt this way. See, when you are 7 years old, the last thing you want to do is pick a boy partner and have someone call out how you were supposed to move. The choreography seemed ridiculous and one person in every group would mess up somewhere along the line. I am, of course, talking about square dancing day. “Swing your partner round and round” would ring out through the microphone, as I would barely link arms with my partner. My partner would always spin me around too fast so by the end I would be confused and dizzy. But I decided that after many years of haunting memories, I would take a look at this dance from a different perspective. Thinking about it made me wonder why it was taught in the different schools I attended growing up. I remember learning square dancing while I was in Chicago and then learned it after we moved to Colorado. After learning that it has made the state dance in nineteen different states, I figured there had to more to it than what I had remembered.
Besides being the national gym class dance taught, the square dance has deep cultural ties in the United States. There are two “types” of square dancing: traditional and western. I chose to focus more on Western square dancing because that was the specific style that I remembered learning. Square dancing comes from traditional European folk dancing and was brought over when immigrants came to America from Europe. From there, the dance evolved into what it is today. Square dancing is between four couples (8 people) that follow the calling of the caller to know what moves to do next. Based on a set of key moves that are learned before hand, the couples know how to move and even where to move. It is expected that you know the moves before going to a real square dance. The calling is fast and every couple knows what he or she is doing.
The cultural aspect of the dance is what I found to be most interesting. The dance is not associated with any sort of religion. So it is its cultural roots and implications that create a good grasp on this dance. The square dance is mostly associated with Western/Southern culture. This is because it is commonly performed to country music. The traditional form of square dancing comes from the Appalachian region in America. The dance became an “American” staple and represented generations of square dancers. It represented something “American”. The use of American Country music with choreographed dance moves was something that became imbedded in people’s cultures and was passed on. Square dancing, I found, could be best described in the lectures on “Playing”. In one reading, it states that, “Play then appears as self-movement, movement without purpose or goal.8 It renews itself through repetition.” It would seem that square dancing almost has no intention in the movement; the couples follow along to what the caller is telling them to do. It builds itself on the repetition of certain movements over and over within a dance. Culturally, the dance is important to a large portion of the US population and has its dancers feeling connected to America. It emphasizes teamwork and organized movement that is still fun to those who participate. So, yes, it leaves many school-going participants questions the validity of this dance but it also represents the “American” dream for many as well.
Resources:
Eaasdc. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://eaasdc.eu/
Gill, S. (2012). Play – 3: Hans-georg gadamer.
One of my first memories of dance growing up was one of watching the Irish step dance (also referred to as riverdance) performance group, The Lord of the Dance, on television with my mother. At the time, I was so engrossed in the music and movements of Irish step dancing that I would watch the performances repeatedly, and try to step dance on the coffee table in front of the television. Today, I can much better understand my fascination with Irish step dancing, because it is one of the most energetic and lively dance styles I have ever seen.
Below is a clip of the Irish step dancing I grew up watching.
There are two aspects of Irish step dancing that particularly interest me. While researching this dance style, I have come to realize that Irish step dancing has not always been embraced, but was actually stifled for many years during the struggles between Ireland and England. According to the Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance, during the 1600’s, the practice of Irish culture (be it from social practices to commerce or industry) was banned, and punishable by law. Because of this, much of Irish culture has since been lost or diluted from what it once was. Interestingly, the influence and importance of Irish step dance remained a dominant (albeit secret) practice, and was thus able to withstand centuries of oppression of Irish culture.
Another aspect of Irish step dance that interests me is the structure of the dance itself, and how the physicality of the movements reflects its roots in Irish Catholicism. Irish step dancing is notably severe in that all movements are in unusually perfect formation, and both foot and had placement are flawless. The stiffness and rigidness of the style may sound unappealing, but it actually creates awe within the audience. From the shoulders down, the dancers seemingly dance both frantically, yet with a grace and pointedness that makes the structured dance seem flawless, although the extreme physical difficulty is apparent. According to Darrah Carr, the perfect unison and repetitive nature of Irish step dancing acts to have a profound effect on the audience (Carr 58), by showing both extreme physical difficulty and a seeming ease in which the dancers are able to perform. Because of this binary between effort and ease, stiffness and fluidity, I found a connection between the dance style itself and its history within religion. Traditional Irish step dance was developed within communities that were deeply rooted in Catholicism. I am extremely interested in further examining the ways in which the dance reflects the religion in that for many, religion acts as both freeing and stifling, which is uncannily similar to the ways in which Irish step dance can be viewed.
Today, Irish step dance has become a relatively mainstream dance style. This can be seen in Michael Flatley’s, Lord of the Dance, which has an ever-growing fan base and tours the world. Interestingly, however, some traditional Irish step dancers do not approve of the direction in which Irish step dancing is moving in the modern world. According to Colin Dunne, an Irish step dancing world champion, Irish step dance is “”now about more and bigger and better and faster and louder,’ instead of about art (Mulrooney 37),” indicating that although the style has survived both time and oppression, it is still changing and morphing as a style (to the disappointment of some).
Interestingly, when I turned twenty-one in April, I took a trip to Las Vegas, where I thoroughly enjoyed an Irish step dance performance by a group called, “Spirit of the Dance.” I found this show to be highly entertaining for a number of reasons. Not only was the dancing spectacular, but I found it comical that a traditional Irish dance style would be popular enough to be showcased as a “Las Vegas” show, rivaling other notable shows like the “Blue Men” and “Cirque du Soleil,” which are known worldwide as staples of the most fantastic and extravagant city on Earth. The fact that Irish step dance has had such a revival is a testament to the awe-inspiring and spirit-lifting style, that has proven to be timeless.
Below is a “stripped down” version of Irish step dance. The use of relatively plain costuming and backdrop allows for the audience to fully appreciate the complexity and intricacies of the style.
Cotillion
I chose to take an in-depth look into cotillion not only as a social dance, or simply just as an event, but also with a particular emphasis on the traditional dances performed at cotillions today. I was also curious as to what the cultural, historical, and social significance of cotillion actually meant, and what such meanings implied, as I was familiar with the event so commonly referred to as one’s ‘coming-of-age’ debut, yet so unfamiliar with its true origins. In addition, I choose to research and analyze cotillion, which at first I didn’t even think qualified as a ‘dance’, but then I remembered how Sam mentioned Cotillion in his introductory lectures, so I decided to go with what sparked my interest.
Moreover, in high school I had the opportunity to participate in a similar experience. However, our cotillion was called Tux & Boots to incorporate the South-West, wild-West, desert life, cowboy lifestyle—quintessential of Arizona, where I was born and raised. Nonetheless, the entire event was basically the same as cotillion, and incorporated the same meaning and symbolism behind and central to it, as does cotillion, which I will get to in a minute. However, the one difference was that all the girls wore cowboy boots under their fancy gowns! This interesting flare and touch of cowboy culture was mainly the only thing that differentiated Tux & Boots from cotillion, but as far as I’m concerned I participated in a ‘coming-of-age’ social dance. Furthermore, I decided to choose cotillion because of its deeply rooted and on-going traditional practice, compared to my last dance topic Israeli dance, which was only 60 years old as movement and practice. Lastly, I feel as if the connections to all major concepts covered thus far in this course are much more parallel, easier to see, and are more identifiable to people unfamiliar with cotillion, compared Israeli dance, which people did not seem to be so familiar with.
Prior to this assignment I hadn’t thought about Tux & Boots for a while, and doing this assignment allowed me to reflect back and recall this time period, which I remember being so incredibly happy, free, young, and at play, but I shall save that aspect for assignment 5! To begin this assignment I started with basic research about the historical, social, and cultural significance of the cotillion movement, not only did I learn a great deal about each of these three categories, but I also discovered how this very old French tradition evolved to become a prominent American tradition, the ways in which it has transformed, and how it is currently practiced modern day throughout the world. I don’t want to give too much away because more is to come in follow-up assignment 4, but here is a brief summary of my findings, at least what I felt to be the most significant and intriguing.
Its origins are said to have been in France circa the 1800’s. Contrary to popular belief, or at least my beliefs regarding the lavishness of cotillion, however, was that cotillion originated from French country dance, as bits and pieces of country dance were combined to create the ‘contradanse’ (Whittaker 2009 & A History of Social Dance in America). The dances performed at cotillion are typically influenced and premised upon ballroom dance, but are also said to incorporate dance styles, such as: the tango, cha cha, swing, waltz and foxtrot (Prontes). Moreover, dances at cotillion balls are danced, or performed by two partners, in a square formation, and the partners were composed of one male and one female, while the entire dance is composed of couples dancing with partners in unison. Cotillion is known for its complex steps that are repetitive and rather hard to master. In addition, cotillion dance steps involve a great deal of movement in terms of changes. “Changes signaled movements such as circles and various types of turns, (that) occurred up to nine or ten times during a cotillion.” (A History of Social Dance in America).
As mentioned briefly, cotillion has always been known as and referred to as social dance, which takes place at a social gathering, however, social implications of cotillion have evolved over the years to take on a great deal of meaning, symbolism, and significance. For instance, “The cotillion afforded both male and female the opportunity for a flirtatious encounter with other dancers of interest.” (Whitaker 2009). Originally, a great deal of social status was implicated by choosing to partake in and to attend cotillion dances. The level of extravagance in regards to a cotillion gathering was based and decided upon social statuses of attendees. However, much has changed since the times of traditional French cotillions of the 1800s. Today, there still remains a great deal of the social aspect associated with cotillion, but now the social emphasis has evolved to revolve around female teenagers coming of age and making their debut to society.
As previously mentioned part of the reason as to why I picked cotillion, other then pure interest, was because I could relate countless examples of class theory to cotillion, and I felt that a great deal of course material thus far is nicely illustrated by cotillion in and of itself. In particular movement, play, making, and seduction are not only central to cotillion as a dance, but are also revealed, portrayed, and depicted very strongly by cotillion as dance movement, that is when one truly takes into consideration all aspects of cotillion. However, these main themes of dance also representative of cotillion just happen to be a few amongst many parallel connections that exist and can be drawn to course materials. In the next assignment, I hope to take up an in-depth look into seductive nature of cotillion, or perhaps I will emphasize and analyze cotillion in the light of play or making. I haven’t quite decided my direction yet, and currently need to reassess some course material before I make a final decision about my future analysis of cotillion.
Dancing Culture Religion 
Katie Nooning
Application Assignment #3
Samoan War Dance
This afternoon I asked my older brother and his girlfriend, “What dance tradition would you two study? If you could look into a dance at this exact moment, any dance possible, what would you choose and why?” They both responded with, “Have you seen these guys do their dance during their rugby games? It is so cool and you should do some research on it.” Even though I already planned on doing my research on Krumping because of the aggressive, powerful, and valued dance it has become, and even with the lack of explanation as to why I should look into the Samoan War Dance, I was definitely up for learning something new. At the end of the day, that is what each day is for, whether it is for dancing or not, everyone should break out of their comfort zone and dive into something that they had not thought of before. This time, it is the Samoan War Dance – Siva Tau.
For the Samoan Captain, Semo Sititi, “the siva sau honors his country’s history and represents the team as warriors ready to fight: “It’s to fire us up, to show that we’re there ready to battle, not just to go through the motions”. Isn’t that what Sam discusses? That the motions mean something, more than just an unconscious movement, and a movement that comes from internally, from the soul, from the heart. Samoan dance involves both the traditional and modern forms of choreography, incorporating separate choreography for both men and women, but the dances themselves tell a story relating to the Samoan people and their culture, which is what Sam discusses in the Movement section of the course. In the Samoan culture, they believe that there are three main components to life. Those three main components are family, faith and music. Going along with the “Playing” section of this course and incorporating culture into the dancing to connect the two in order to tell a story, the Samoans believe in the same ideology. They aim “to keep tradition alive while still involving the ever-changing viewpoints of younger generations”.
Their Manu Siva Tau cultural dance is traditionally a war dance, which goes along with the intimidating dance name that was done in ancient times before going into battle. In present day, the Siva Tau dance is performed by Manu Samoans before rugby matches to honor the traditional dance and intimidate their opponent. The dance that the rugby players perform can be seen in this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUP3v1xgObQ . The dance is also performed in order to energize and inspire the players before the enduring competition. In English, the chant that they sing along with their movement goes like this:
The Manu Samoa, may you succeed in your mission
The Manu Samoa, here I come
There is no other Manu (team) anywhere
Here I come completely prepared
My strength is at its peak
Make way and move aside
Because this Manu is unique
The Manu Samoa
The Manu Samoa
The Manu Samoa reigns from Samoa
It is said that the Manu Siva Tau “is the perfect example of how ancient Samoan dance is still celebrated by younger, progressive generations”. The dance, taken from generations ago, has been revitalized into a young, intimidating sporting dance used in the same manner as it was in the past. It is used as an intimidating war tactic, whether that war is on the rugby field or battlefield – the culture and message is still rich in the dance.
Images:
Videos:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6107263n
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/welsh/6944798.stm
Works Cited:
Gill, Sam. “Playing.” Dance/Religion/Culture. University of Colorado – Boulder. Boulder. Jun 2012. Lecture.
McGrath, Olivia. “Rugby’s War of Words.” Rugby World Cup 2015. Rugby News Service, 14 Sep 2007. Web. 24 Jun 2012. .
Warta , Tamara. “Samoan Dance.” Lovetoknow Dance. N.p., 2012. Web. 24 Jun 2012. .
Katie, My best friend since middle school is Samoan and knows the haka. It is an EXTREMELY powerful dance in my opinion. I first saw Bo (my best friend) do the Haka was on a video on Facebook. He was in school for a full ride football scholarship in Eastern Kentucky and taught his team the dance for a sports talent show. He was always so quiet and would NEVER hurt a fly, but to see him yell and scream and look mean was so touching to me. I saw it and cried. I watched it over and over and over again. I love this dance and the power behind it!
That is so awesome, especially since it sounds like he was a quiet, unassuming type of person. It is always really neat to see those people break out of their shell and break into this other person with a different mindset/motive. Dancing does that to people — it takes them from the world that is almost predictable and calculated to a world that is consuming in the senses and movement that the world around them goes blank and all that matters is the motion and emotion behind the dance. That is so neat though!
Emily Fetterly
June 24, 2012
Dance, Religion, and Culture
Application Project #2
During the second part of the online class Dance, Religion and Culture taught by Sam Gill, I have continued to be motivated to examine another form of dance, a traditional Chinese dance, called the Yangge. I am excited to research and discover the art of the Yangge because my older brother and his wife are moving to Beijing, China at the end of this month. My brother and I have always grown up close to each other, sharing in each other’s daily activities, learning together, and offering each other unconditional support. Now that he is moving to the other side of the world, I am eager to learn more about the culture of the Chinese people. I hope that by examining and learning about a Chinese dance I will be able to show my brother that I know something about the culture that he is moving too and by doing this establish a new connection with him. I have also been intrigued by the Yangge because this dance involves people who are hearing impaired. I felt drawn to this because of my major in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, but also because of the connection in brought into what we have been learning with self othering by use of gestures.
China is a country of diversity and tradition, and the different forms of Chinese dance embody the country’s rich diversity. During the winter season, Han Chinese people group of Northern China gather together to perform the Yangge. The Yangge is a dance that symbolizes a greeting to the spring months and a hope for a good spring season. Furthermore, the Yangge is a way for people to communicate traditional folk stories to the younger generation. In this sense, the Yangge is a way for the Han Chinese to express their hope for a prosperous spring season as well as a medium for story telling. Many individuals will dress in traditional Chinese outfits while others will wear animal costumes to better portray the animals in the folk tales. This immediately reminded me of the self othering that we have been learning in class. Dancing the Yangge is a means in which the Chinese people experience the doubling of self and other, the other being the characters of the traditional folk stories. The outer bodies are the physical moving bodies of the dancers that are simultaneously interacting with the inner body of the other (the folk character). This interplay between self and other is vital and dependent upon each other as seen in the Yangge. The dancer tells the story of the folk character through the use of gesture and movement which in turn is reaching out to express and gain knowledge about the traditional folk stories of the Han Chinese.
In this video that I found on youtube:
the dancers are members of a hearing-impaired dance team organized by the Red Cross. Being a Speech Language and Hearing Sciences Major, my heart was automatically pulled towards this group of individuals who, though they are hearing impaired they have found a venue through which they can express emotion and communicate important cultural stories and values. Throughout my major I have been able to work with numerous individuals who experience such sadness and frustration and their inability to communicate and express their thoughts and feelings. It touched my heart to watch the hearing impaired Chinese dancers experience a deeper sense of their Chinese identity through their dance. I thought this was a good example of dancing as the “chiasm” because I can see how in a culture that values dancing, the body of the hearing impaired dancer would not be denied in this culture. While part of their body might not be able to function in a correct way, the movement that these dancers do is connected to their identity. Their identity comes from both culture as told through the othering of the folk characters, and both from their own physical bodies in identifying as an individual with a hearing impairment.
Because my brother in leaving today, going to a place that is very foreign to me, I am glad that I have had this opportunity to learn about an aspect of the Chinese culture. Furthermore, the realization that dance can be used for those individuals to connect and discover a deeper sense of their traditional Chinese identity along side those who can identify with hearing impairment is powerful. Taking steps within a dance is just merely one little speck in the gigantic mural that is dance. It is an avenue to discover more about one’s self as well as gain knowledge and experience the traditional roots of their Chinese heritage through the characters of the folk tale.
Resources:
1. China Dance. 2008. China Fact Tours. June 24, 2012.
Belly dancing is an actual term that has risen from the Western area. The correct term for this is the West Asian dance, or the Arabic dance. This term belly dance comes from the French. The French term implies that every part of the body is used and it all comes mostly from the hips. There are many different cultural aspects of belly dancing as of today because there are so many different cultures that perform this type of dance, whether it may be a costume dance or a particular dance style. Although, women may be the only ones that usually practice this particular dance, it is said that there are male origins of this type of dance.
In a cultural aspect, this dance style is performed as festivities such as weddings, or social gatherings in the Middle East. There are many different countries that practice this type of dance all over the world today. There is costume belly dance that exists in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey. Along with this, there is Egyptian belly dance, Greek belly dance, Turkish belly dance, and belly dance in the west. These different types of dances all are diversified through the music, and the culture of the dance in where it is usually performed.
Belly dancing is a dance that requires a lot of midsection strength. Muscle control and posture is evidently important in this dance because otherwise, it can be presented as very sloppy. The pelvic area is the focus of this dance and there are key movements that are required to accomplish this dance. This particular dance can help prevent osteoporosis because of its extreme movements of each body part. It has many health benefits with menstruation for women because of the pelvic focus and it can be practiced as an exercised for better balance and control.
Belly dancing often times requires clothing that unveils the midriff. Along with this, dancers desire to accentuate their hips to portray and emphasize the movements by attaching something to their hips. As Dr. Sam Gill mentions in one of his lectures, that belly dancers have a certain body type which allows them specific movements and this is all apart of body gesturing.
Belly dancers are not loaded with muscles, but they are more rounded . Belly dancers never have the ideal body type because their curves allow them to move the way they do and the curves of their body adds to speific movements. This contributes to the flowing body gestures of the dance. The bodies of these dancers are extremely significant. The belly is not always moving, but that is where is starts and it moves outward from the belly or the midsection.
I am interested in this dance because it is more than what meets the eye. It may just look like a dance that appears seductive, but it is not at all in this case. I have been interested in belly dancing ever since seeing Shakira dancing on an award show. I was always curious to how she moved in the way that she did with such grand movements while keeping her spirit in tact. Through watching her dance, I have gained so much respect for this dance and practice it every chance that I get.
Bedinghaus, Treva. “Belly Dancing.” About, Print. .
Dance Web. “Belly Dance.” Dance Web. Web. 26 Jun 2012. .
Gill, Sam. “Gesture and Agency, Dancing and Gesturing.” Dance, Religion, and Culture. University of Colorado Online Courses, Boulder. Lecture.
Sarah Park
Application #3
Belly dancing is an actual term that has risen from the Western area. The correct term for this is the West Asian dance, or the Arabic dance. This term belly dance comes from the French. The French term implies that every part of the body is used and it all comes mostly from the hips. There are many different cultural aspects of belly dancing as of today because there are so many different cultures that perform this type of dance, whether it may be a costume dance or a particular dance style. Although, women may be the only ones that usually practice this particular dance, it is said that there are male origins of this type of dance.
In a cultural aspect, this dance style is performed as festivities such as weddings, or social gatherings in the Middle East. There are many different countries that practice this type of dance all over the world today. There is costume belly dance that exists in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey. Along with this, there is Egyptian belly dance, Greek belly dance, Turkish belly dance, and belly dance in the west. These different types of dances all are diversified through the music, and the culture of the dance in where it is usually performed.
Belly dancing is a dance that requires a lot of midsection strength. Muscle control and posture is evidently important in this dance because otherwise, it can be presented as very sloppy. The pelvic area is the focus of this dance and there are key movements that are required to accomplish this dance. This particular dance can help prevent osteoporosis because of its extreme movements of each body part. It has many health benefits with menstruation for women because of the pelvic focus and it can be practiced as an exercised for better balance and control.
Belly dancing often times requires clothing that unveils the midriff. Along with this, dancers desire to accentuate their hips to portray and emphasize the movements by attaching something to their hips. As Dr. Sam Gill mentions in one of his lectures, that belly dancers have a certain body type which allows them specific movements and this is all apart of body gesturing.
Belly dancers are not loaded with muscles, but they are more rounded . Belly dancers never have the ideal body type because their curves allow them to move the way they do and the curves of their body adds to speific movements. This contributes to the flowing body gestures of the dance. The bodies of these dancers are extremely significant. The belly is not always moving, but that is where is starts and it moves outward from the belly or the midsection.
I am interested in this dance because it is more than what meets the eye. It may just look like a dance that appears seductive, but it is not at all in this case. I have been interested in belly dancing ever since seeing Shakira dancing on an award show. I was always curious to how she moved in the way that she did with such grand movements while keeping her spirit in tact. Through watching her dance, I have gained so much respect for this dance and practice it every chance that I get.
Bedinghaus, Treva. “Belly Dancing.” About, Print. .
Dance Web. “Belly Dance.” Dance Web. Web. 26 Jun 2012. .
Gill, Sam. “Gesture and Agency, Dancing and Gesturing.” Dance, Religion, and Culture. University of Colorado Online Courses, Boulder. Lecture.
Lily Grace Nolan
APP #3
FIREKNIFE: HOT BED OF TRADITION
There has been one thing on my mind for the last couple of weeks and especially in the last few days. Fire. This got me thinking, what is it about fire that gets me so nervous. After some consideration it became clear. The movement. Fire’s movement is both fast, sly, graceful, unpredictable and powerful. As an entity of nature and science, I can appreciate the complexities of fires power and intrigue, but what happens, in terms of movement, when fire is introduced to dance? I became perplexed. This is why for my next investigation I have decided to cover the Samoan dance (siva) tradition known as fireknife, or ailao (siva sate).
Performed in an individualistic sense – the dance itself is the twirling of machete’s, rods, or tradition paddle weaponry, in fierce rhythmic patterns, set to drums. These twirling objects are then set on fire, exaggerating the motion of the twirl and the acrobatics of the performer. The dance is a very aggressive one and is preformed by men. Still popularly seen and preformed today, the dance emphasized small isolated movements of the hands and can be considered (in my opinion) a hard-core version of baton twirling.
The fireknife, as we know it, can be thought of as amelting pot of traditonas that have come to form a variation of a cultural dance tradition. Stemming from several different historical traditions in Polynesian culture. Broken down, the fireknife, or “ailao” tradition has two very distinctive lines of origins: historic/ceremonial and modern/entertainment. The ailio refers to a traditional mans dance of club twirling performed as a wartime ritual in classic Samoan culture and is mostly (but not always, as is the case with the Nafanua) performed by men. The dance was performed as a way to celebrate a victory, as Samoan island culture often warring with neighboring islands and ethnic groups. Traditionally the dance was either part a parade, men’s-only caberet, or feast ceremony. Across Polynesian culture, the dance began to stem several al different variations, one of which from Uvean culture required the end of the twirling clubs to be lit on fire and preformed at night as a group dance. This was called the kailao afi. The knife component, comes from the dance known as “Nafanua,” which is a from of ailao where the performer(s) use traditional machetes. The Nafanua, was a religious dance, which celebrated the fierce and victorious war-goddess, Nafanua.
How we have come to understand fireknife is accredited to a Samoan performer by the name of Letuli. He makes the claim that he ‘invented’ the fireknife dance which occurred in the 20thC. Letuli accredits himself to adding the fire component to the ailao, cementing his contribution in legend in his book “Flaming Sword of Samoa: The Story of the Samoan Fire Knife Dance.” That being said, it is important to emphasize that even if Letuli was the contemporary “creator” of the dance, that the fireknife, as a whole has its main roots tied to this tradition of ailao. Today, the dance has been popularized in Samoan culture and is usually a popular part of Hawaiian tourism and luah.
I suppose the reason why I have found myself interested in this dance goes beyond my anxiousness about the burning fires. The fireknife, I believe, is one of the most interesting and best examples of how a culture identifies itself through dance. The fireknife, as I have said before, is a exemplified melting pot of traditional and modern components that come together to form a dance. Considering that the origins are tied to island nations- I find it entirely appropriate that there is such a diverse and scattered history of the fire dance. This is because, over time, islands, because of their physical geography would lead to people forming distinctive sub-cultures and rituals that were distinctive to that location. Fireknife, as a mainstay in popular Hawaiian tourism, exemplifies that melding and evolution of traditions and modern invented showmanship, that come together to form a dance that is rich in gesture, tradition, and cultural significance and still is used to emphasize a sub-cultures unique motivations (tourist industry).
The dance is both ephemeral with the fire component and an exquisite example of othering. As its exclusiveness and individual celebration of guise and costume emphasize the importance of cultural values and traditions. As we saw in the lectures of reversibility, the dancer cannot completely ever separate from the modern self and goal of performer/ance, but as you see with the video examples, the use of costume, stage setting, and emotive acting, really illustrate how we can see a dance in terms of “dancer”, “dancing”, and “danced.” That said, I know there is still tons more to learn and research when it comes to fireknife! Let it burn.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Georgina, Dianna M. Performing Selves: The Semiotics of Selfhood in Samoan Dance. Washington State University. 2007.
A scholarly article. Traces and uses historical analytics as well as traditional and modern social values to evaluate the impact of dance in Samoan culture. The article both gives good background as well as contemporary discussion of the significance of dancing in terms of coming of age, and cultural identity.
Thompson, Rene. The Story of the Samoan Fire Knife Dance. Tikiarticles February 2, 2012. Royal-tiki.com. http://www.royaltiki.com/Articles/History-And-Culture/The-Story-Of-The-Samoan-Fire-Knife-Dance.
Accredited site with an expert author. This article gives a brief and precise overview of fireknife. This is a good site, because it breaks down fireknife in modern terms and focuses on main points and the rituals history without delving too far into analytics.
Fosse Dance
Fosse is a jazz style based dance created by Bob Fosse. The dance style developed around the 1950’ s-1960, a time when America had come out of World War II and the culture was still very conservative. The women had been working while their husbands were at war, and the men were experiencing “the silent generation” which was where men had been in battle and did not have anywhere to release anxiety or depression from war. There was tension of how society was supposed to look and how people were supposed to act, but then the 60’s came along creating the counter culture of hippies, free love and no war and Fosse moved in this direction. A lot of the shows from the Fosse era were created then and were seen as very offensive and racy due to their demand for sexual freedom.
Bob Fosse originally started out as a star in a show called “Tough Situation.” The show displayed his performance technique but he later moved to start a film career, which then moved to him starting choreography. He directed “Cabaret” starring Liza Minnelli and “All That Jazz,” familiar pieces for their Academy Awards. His extremely sexy dance style reflects his upbringing, and his time spent in Cabaret nightclubs [1].
The life of Fosse was highly influential of the dance. As the youngest of six children, he found his place in the family through dance, which stemmed into series of lessons and dancing professionally in nightclubs with risky burlesque shows and sexual freedom. The show that trademarked his style was “The Pajama Game” which displayed suggestive hip movement, turned in feet and hunched shoulders as well as hand movement and the well-known black dress with white gloves [2]. Due to his lessons early on, he was a classically trained ballet dancer. Although, he was known for having a bad turn out and bad feet, and therefore created his own style to cater to his feet, which is the knees touching in and feet turned in position.
This image I found gives a great step by step of his known positions: http://www.thebarnplayers.org/pastshows/2010/pippin/images/fosseposter.jpg
I liked the Fosse style dance originally from Chicago seeing “All That Jazz”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVyg4MchBYM&feature=related As I watched them move I could feel the energy, the freedom to move how they wanted extends to the audience and I felt like I was actually there, breathing in the time, culture and lifestyle. Then as I read up on the dance style I loved the sexual freedom that is in the dance and how it corresponds with the tension in the culture at the time. The movement and gestures are very seductive, and the moves illuminate what sexual confidence looks like and genuine movement away from more conservative dance. I really was drawn to the “no strings attached” type of feel that I get from the dancers that each move is filled with impulsiveness and angst, yet smooth and sexy with a drive that goes back to history and the need for change. I love the energy to the dance that demonstrates the courage to change something so that it suits you, just how Fosse created a dance that would suit the way his body was shaped to move.
Works Cited:
1. Bedinghaus, Treva. “Bob Fosse” About.com Dance
2. ST. JAMES ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE. 5 VOLS., St. James Press, © 2000 St. James Press. Reprinted by permission of The Gale Group.
For the second dance tradition, I decided to go with an Indian dance that I myself have had the pleasure to be a part of. Garba is a traditional dance of Navratri which is a holiday that originated in the western most Indian state of Gujarat. While Navratri is celebrated across Indian today, Gujarat is the center point of the holiday, and the epicenter of Garba. Navratri means nine nights, and as such lasts nine nights and ten days with each day devoted to the worship of a different form of the Indian mother goddess, Shakti. Since the celebration is devoted to the mother goddess, Garba is a dance of seduction and devotion to femininity. The word Garba is derived from the Sanskrit word Garbha Deep which means both womb and lamp. This accurately describes the Navratri Golu, which is a clay centerpiece filled with a lantern around which the dancers circle. The lantern is symbolic for both the fetus developing within the womb and for the divine light of Shakti present inside all life. Navratri is celebrated five times per year, coinciding with changes in the phases of the moon. The five celebrations must be done year round in order to ensure that life continues in the lineage from mother to daughter. In Guajarati culture, they realize that all life comes from a mother, so both men and women worship their mother goddess and their mother land. Before going further, a video representation of Garba is needed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6OWBRUzW7s&feature=related
Merely watching this leaves out much of the actual experience of Garba. When I attended a Navratri celebration at my sister’s university, I was first apprehensive about Garba. Most of the attendees were Indian, and I subconsciously felt isolated. However, my doubts melted away when in order to enter the ceremony, everyone needed to wear the traditional dress of Navratri. From here I enjoyed some humor at the expense of my sister. The male dress is a simple, long flowing robe topped off with a cotton shawl. After dressing, I laughed at some middle aged ladies wrapping my sister up in a traditional three piece outfit. By welcoming us at the door with traditional colorful garb, my worries melted away. However, the dance itself was another cause of worry. In the video, Garba first appears to be chaotic and random. Later it becomes evident that there is a distinct pattern of movement defined by the music. One begins Garba on the outer most edges of the circle and gradually works their way in toward the Navratri Golu. Since this was my first experience with Garba, I naturally bumped into a lot of the other dancers, but met no unpleasantness. In truth, most of my worries were self derived. After reaching the Golu once and retaking my place at the edge of the circle, I decided to stand at the side and merely clap along with the rhythm. Traditional Garba is supposed to last from sunset until sunrise the next day, with different villagers entering at different hours to refresh the Garba circle. In the United States though, dancers have much less devotion to Shakti and the Garba ended after a few hours. After the Garba was finished, they ended the night’s ceremony with a ritual specific to what night of Navratri it is. Since we visited on the first night, the ritual was done to recognize the Durga incarnation of Shakti. Durga is a cleansing, formless incarnation that purifies the festival goers’ spirits. In the ritual, we had water dyed with sandalwood dripped over our heads, which felt quite refreshing after a night of dancing. Upon leaving the ceremony, I felt a stronger connection to not only the Guajarati people, but to mankind in general. I think that everyone should make an effort to expand their cultural horizons by going to an event outside of their own heritage. It is surprising to see how similar cultures are to one another despite the geographic distance between them. During Navratri, Garba is done to also strengthen the respect between men and women. With the uniting experience of Garba, cultures can better develop peace through fostering an understanding and respect between the sexes.
References
“Folk Dances of India: Garba” http://web.archive.org/web/20090614111155/http://india.gov.in/knowindia/garba.php
“What is Navratri and Durga Puja”
http://www.navratrifestival.net/navaratri-and-durga-puja/
“10 Days with the Mother Goddess”
http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/mothergoddess.htm
Sarah McSheehy
Assignment # 3
I am a huge fan of the show, America’s Best Dance Crew and am always astounded by the level of skill needed to perform many of the hip hop dance routines. I was looking through the different styles and had my heart set on B-Boying, which has a rich history and an energetic quality. But as I was watching some of my favorite episodes from the series, I began to realize how interested I was in Finger Tutting. Although there is almost no large motion, the complexity of this dance is enough to have anyone captivated. Tutting requires the dancer to be aware of the spatial boundaries their arms and fingers create. A good way to imagine this particular dance is to try to see the lines, boxes, and triangles the dancer’s fingers create. Here is a good video that represents this and allows the viewer to picture the shapes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo9bKyRoxRI
In this particular video, the dancer is combining different elements such as finger waving and Tutting. The boxes and lines can be clearly seen as the dancer creates them.
This specific dance is interesting because the history of it is not exact. The history is usually passed verbally, and many dancers have come out of the woodwork to claim ownership of developing this specific style of dancing. The general consensus is that a very basic form began in the 90s. It was mostly used for only a few seconds and was used more so as a transition between two styles than an actual dance-form. With the realized networking capabilities the Internet had in the 2000s, hip-hop dancers began to use online forums to share their techniques and meet other dancers from across the United States. The forum, “Shut Up and Dance,” housed the beginnings of Tutting and featured Liquid Pop Crew. At the time, they were performing a very loose form of Finger Tutting called Waving. The joints in the fingers are much looser and the movements are organic. This style however, caught the eye of ShiftedShapes, an independent dancer. He is considered to be the first dancer to utilize Finger Tutting as an independent style and create dances that incorporated only this particular technique. He sites his influences as being a combination of Digits, Finger Tutting and, most importantly, a man named Greg Irwin. Irwin, was not at all involved in the hip-hop scene, but instead was interested in improving finger dexterity. He created various exercises that strengthened joints and allowed the person to perform intricate choreography quickly. As you can see, his practices had a lot of effect on ShiftedShapes and gave him the framework for what is known as Finger Tutting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRF4EICO2G0
Another huge influence for ShiftedShapes was his mentorship with a mime. During this time, he learned about fixed points, which allow mimes to create invisible barriers and objects. The key is to always have one hand placed on the invisible object and move the body around this point. ShiftedShapes realized that he could incorporate this idea into Tutting and utilized the idea of 45 and 90-degree angles to break up the body into quadrants. This allowed him to approach Tutting in an organized fashion. An important thing to note is the disagreement between ShiftedShapes and members of style, Boogaloo, who also claim ownership of Tutting. ShiftedShapes argues that in order for Finger Tutting to be successful, the dancer must be constantly improvising and experimenting with new angles and forms. Boogaloo does incorporate Tutting, but for only a few moments at a time. They are also hindered by the music because it never changes so the dancer can only do so much. ShiftedShapes’ Tutting comes from the musical genre of Electronica. This music is constantly changing the beats to the same songs and creating completely new moods. This allows the dancers to be creative and innovative in their technique.
Since the early 2000s, Finger Tutting has become much more popular and new elements have been added such as the incorporation of multiple people, and Finger Waving, which helps to break down the hard transitions into a smoother movement as seen in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuf32ANccWk&feature=relmfu
One of the more interesting hybrid videos I found was a pair of dancers that expand Finger Tutting beyond the boundaries of the hands. Some of the movements look like they are breaking the bones in their arms to create the specific angles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYvHkUn-kXA&feature=related
Citation for Finger Tutting:
“The History of Finger Tutting.” Youtube.com. Interview by Tiny1Love. Dec 2011. Web. .
Samantha Motsinger
RLST 3838
Paper #3
June 28, 2012
Singin’ and Swingin’
For nearly a century Swing dancing has influenced not only my own life, but many others as well through both music, style, and of course the grooving moves within the dance itself. Originating in the 1920’s and having developed from the music of that particular time, swing dancing is a combination of different dances that have evolved over the years. Like many of the dance styles and traditions we have been introduced to so far, swing dancing is made up of a variety of different styles of dance that have come from all over the world. Swing dancing is in many ways a melting pot of different cultural backgrounds and histories. This dance tradition has developed in white communities, but most importantly came from the discovery of the Lindy Hop and the Charleston within African American communities in the 1920’s.
Here is a wonderful example of the earlier styles of the Lindy Hop.
What is so fascinating about this particular dance are the fast paced movements. The legs and feet of the dancers move so quickly, and it is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. This dance requires so much coordination in the movements, and of course the synchronization also becomes extremely important when they begin to do all of the flips and jumps that make swing dancing such a fast paced and energized form of dance.
Another example of this dance is the Charleston, which I have a personal connection to because of the musical The Boyfriend, which I was a part of the chorus about six years ago. The following video is a scene from the musical, featuring a song and dance number called “Won’t You Charleston With Me.”
This version is not necessarily the best dancing or choreography, but it gives you an idea of the influence that this dance has had on so many different artistic outlets of the world.
With the discovery of these particular dances, the communities also started dancing to the contemporary Jazz and Swing music as it also evolved. Within a few years jazz steps and also tap dancing was also incorporated into the swing dancing style. Another form of the Swing dancing style that was discovered was the Jitterbug. Having been deeply influenced by music, the Jitterbug directly came from the band leader Cab Calloway who introduced the world to his song entitled “Jitterbug” in 1934. Calloway, who stated that the dancers look like a bunch of bugs bopping and hopping around on the floor, was an American jazz singer who was often associated with this particular dance, and associated with the Cotton Club In Harlem.
Another connection I made to this dance and why I also found so much interest in Swing dancing, is because I also starred as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz a few years ago, and although many people don’t know it because it is not featured in the actual movie we are all so familiar with, the Jitterbug has its very own song and dance number in the musical and can be seen in outtakes from the film that did not make it into the final version. This dance starts at around the two minute mark, and from both the music and the movements you get a definite feel for this particular style of dance.
Like many other forms of dance, Swing is often seen in competition, and has been since 1938, when the Harvest Moon Ball featured the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug in competition for the first time. What is so amazing about this is the fact that this epic moment in dance history was captured on film and was spread like wildfire for all to see.
In many ways here we can see how Swing dancing has influenced parts of our history and our present in music, movies, dance, culture and musicals. Over the course of the years since its beginnings, Swing dance has even evolved into our modern day jive dance and you can also see influences of it in the Boogie-Woogie. Today Swing is still danced in competitions, and even here in Boulder Swing is prevalent and can be learned in classes and community clubs. It also has influences in popular television shows today including Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.
It is clear that Swing is an influential dance tradition in our cultures history.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_(dance)
http://dance.about.com/od/partnerdancestyles/p/Swing_Dance.htm
http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/swing.htm
http://www.youtube.com
Dane Adams
Application #3
Voodoo Dancing
Learning about dancing in this class has opened my eyes to a whole new world that I never knew existed. The first research paper that I did was on square dancing, and that was because it was the only form of dancing that I had experienced up to this point, besides the “bear-hug shuffle” of public school dances. This paper I had a deep interest in looking into a form of dancing that is taboo and provocative, to see if it really is what I have been told it is. This is why I have chosen to research Voodoo Dancing. In western Judeo-Christian culture it has been long standing tradition to attack and vilify any traditions that are not similar to Judeo-Christian beliefs. I suppose this mind set goes all the way back to the time of Constantine when he wanted to maintain power through religion. It is with this skepticism, and my new knowledge of dancing, that I have decided to take a rational look at Voodoo dancing; setting aside all preconceptions and analyzing the dance for what it is in actuality.
Voodoo is called by many names; Candomble, Macymba, Chango, and Santeria to name a few. Despite what this religious practice is called the origins are believed to be African specifically from the tiny country of Benin in West Africa. Voodoo is practiced world-wide and has large populations in Haiti, Jamaica, and even the south of the United States particularly in New Orleans. Dancing is a very pertinent part of Voodoo, so much so, that you might even say that Voodoo is dancing. To understand the dance it is important that we understand the beliefs of the Voodoo religion. Voodoo dancing is exactly like Javanese religious dancing, in that the gestures and general self-othering is a chiasm to the religious beliefs, morals, and teachings they are trying to insinuate on those practicing it. The base of the Voodoo religion is ancestor worship and beliefs in animism. These two belief systems create much of the story behind the Voodoo dancing. On one hand you have ancestors who are dead and now spiritual beings, who are able to help you in everything you need. The ancestors in Voodoo religion are the way in which one can communicate with “The God” or “One Great Spirit.” On the other hand there are evil spirits who have just as much power in the physical world to hurt an individual as the ancestors do to help an individual. The following short clip typifies a Voodoo dance where and individual is being beat down or hurt by one such evil spirit after attempting to dance around the spirit.
This theme of individuals representing spirits both good and bad carries through all of the Voodoo clips that you will see in this paper. The general belief that is being represented through dance is that spirits live side-by–side with the living, or in other words that the spirit world is right here intermingled with our physical world. The animism belief of those practicing Voodoo develops into the idea that because all things have spirits and all things were created by God, that all things are sacred and perform a divine purpose. This idea is the reason why many objects are used in Voodoo worship, items that we in Western culture would find to be mundane and NOT magical.
One such item that is considered to be Divine and have great power in Voodoo worship is the drums. You may have noticed in the last clip that I showed the extremely loud and prevalent drums. The drums are a sacred part of the Voodoo religion. The rhythm of the drums are said to speak words and the words are taught to both the dancers and practitioners of the drumming. The following clip shows some of this very drumming that I have been talking about, and the meaning behind it.
That clip was of some Voodoo practitioners from New Orleans here in the United States. This next clip is of some drumming and dancing from Haiti. Again you will see how the drumming plays an important role in the dance, and you will also see the chanting of the drummers.
One major thing that you will notice in this last clip is the “free-style” nature of the dance. There is a dance in Voodoo called the hooded dance, in which the individuals are believed to be possessed by spirits. This form of trance-dancing is common in Voodoo and is a way for individuals to get in touch with the spirits in order to gain the knowledge, wisdom, and or answers which they are seeking. Believe it or not, it is very difficult to find video of the Voodoo hooded dancing. I managed to find one that was a part of another video that is depicting many parts of the Voodoo culture. I am not quite sure if this is Voodoo hooded dancing, but was told it was when I emailed the “American Voodoo Society.” Supposedly the women you see at 3:30 in this video with the white dresses and white hoods are doing the ritual hooded dance.
One thing that is most interesting about the trance dancing being performed in this video was the guy scurrying quickly up that very tall poll. I don’t know exactly what that was all about, but it was very strange and fantastic all at the same time. As I mentioned earlier, one of the basic beliefs of Voodoo is that the spirits are here among us. Another form of trance dancing that exists in Voodoo arises in ritual dancing where some of the people become possessed and some are not. You can see in the following video that as the group dances together there is the mingling of the spirit entranced dancers with those who are not, to teach that theological principle.
http://play.kendincos.com/188978/Wvzfjlplpnrptnrrv-voodoo-dancing-togo-africa.html
None in the group are seemed to be bothered too much by the possessed woman who is going back and forth in a straight line. The group continues their dancing around the spirit possessed woman.
Voodoo is a very old religion and its origin is believed to be with the start of civilization some 10,000 years ago. Regardless of when you believe Voodoo began, the effects of this religion are felt all over the world both in theology and dance. The whole genre of what we believe to be African dancing is actually Voodoo dancing are something that came from the Voodoo ceremonies and ritual dancing. Voodoo dancing and its free-style nature are felt heavily on the streets of the United States today in a form of dancing we call Krumping. This freestyle form of Hip-hop obviously has many elements of other types of dancing but the jerking arms, and chest popping, and deeply grounded bent leg movement are obviously all elements of Voodoo dancing. The freestyle nature of it allows for that element of trance dancing that is also found in Voodoo dancing. In these last two videos you can see that Voodoo dancing is alive and well in American dance and culture.
Ciao!!
Resources
1. “Voodoo.” . Last Viewed: June 2012.
2. “Voodoo – African Spiritual Religious Systems.” . Last Viewed: June 2012.
3. “Voodoo Religion – The History.” . Last Viewed: June 2012
Monica Gauthier
Application Assignment 3
Bollywood Dance
Bollywood dance has taken the world by storm, and is an extremely interesting art form because of the culture, history, and storytelling it embodies. The term ‘Bollywood’ is a mash up of Hollywood and Bombay, which is now the city of Mumbai. Bombay was a Hindi cultural hub, with art, music, intellectual and religious inspiration around every corner. What name could be better to combine with Hollywood, which in my mind stands for action, excitement, and imagination. India gained its independence from Britain in 1947, and like the golden era of movies for Hollywood, Bollywood soared in the 50s’ and 60s’s. Bollywood movies are most well known for their clichéd romantic plots, with a mixture of comedy and antagonists to keep things interesting. The art of what we now know as Bollywood dance did not hit it big in the industry until the 80s and 90s, due to new technology. Before the 80s, Bollywood films contained more folk and classical Indian dance styles. With access to sound, advanced special effects, and better picture quality, Bollywood’s themes grew from cliché to nothing the world had seen yet; swirling colorful costumes, quintessential Indian music mixed with a new age pop feel, and most importantly, dance.
To give credit to just one Bollywood dance choreographer would be a completely impossible task. Because Bollywood is the most successful film industry in the world, specifically because of quick production, the job of choreographer has always been in extremely high demand, with many successful figures. One choreographer that really stood out to me is Saroj Khan. She has been in the industry since the 80s’, has choreographed dances for over 200 Bollywood films, and is seen as huge inspiration. She formulated many classical moves that are now distinctive to Bollywood dance. This clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ish42wa35B4 is from Nagina, Khan’s debut choreography in 1986. In contrast, this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLQmV7Tpd_Y is from her most recent choreography, for a popular Indian TV show Agent Vinod. The difference in cinematography, music, and style is immense, but there are many surprising similarities. The costumes are both extremely colorful and exuberant, even though the more modern one shows more skin. Both focus on the women’s eyes to connect and draw in the audience, and both have a level of intimacy without being overly erotic.
My interest in Bollywood dance has grown out of Hollywood’s interpretation of it. “Slumdog Millionaire,” which won best picture in 2008, was my first exposure to Bollywood Dance. The dancing at the end of the movie was exciting and exotic, with a perfect mix of cheesy choreography http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRC4QrUwo9o. Compare this dancing with the more Americanized pop version seen in this music video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaBfnmVwDt8&feature=related by the Pussycat Dolls. Both show a tribute to Bollywood culture, although now what is distinguished as classical Bollywood has changed. Some may see this as insulting, but I believe this is what great dancers and dance styles do—they inspire new artistic forms.
Bibliography:
1) Bollywood Tourism. “What is Bollywood?”. Bollywood Tourism, 2009. Web. .
2) Courtney, David. “Bollywood Dance.” Music of India. Chandrakantha, Feb 5 2012. Web. .
3) Vyas, Sonalee. “Top 5 Bollywood Best.” . Blogger, Jan 5, 2009. Web. 28 Jun 2012. .
Application 3—Belly Dancing
Often considered one of the oldest forms of dance, belly dancing combines many different dance styles resulting in a truly unique dance form. Belly dancing is thought to have come from early Egyptian dances used for religious purposes. Traditionally associated with fertility rituals and childbirth, it was used as early as 1000 B.C. to prepare girls for labor and was even used as part of the delivery ritual. When the idea of belly dancing started to spread across the globe, it had a bad reputation associated with scandal and provocativeness. Today, belly dancing is a huge part of international pop culture, bringing its rich and controversial history into its allure. It is no longer used as a purely religious basis, but is used for exercise, self-expression, and meditation.
There are two forms of belly dancing; raqs baladi and raqs sharqi. Used in social and festive occasions, raqs baladi is performed for fun and celebration by men and women of all ages. Baladi dancers traditionally wear an ankle length, “baladi dress” with a matching hip scarf. It is an improvisational dance integrated with the rhythm of the music. Typically seen in America today, Raqs sharqi is a more theatrical take to belly dancing. It is associated with a “show business” so raqs sharqi dancers are known to wear bright and glitzy costumes with deep slits to draw attention to the legs. Upper body movement and shoulder shimmies and arm waves are often used.
Studying abroad in London last semester, a multicultural haven, I had the incredible opportunity to submerge myself in so many different unique cultural experiences. One night a friend and I decided to be adventurous and go to a Lebanese restaurant. Having never tried Lebanese food before, I was blown away by the unusual experience I witnessed. Not only was there live authentic jazzy Middle Eastern music playing in the background, but the waitresses were fully outfitted in traditional belly dancing costumes. Throughout the entire dinner I was submerged into an incredible cultural phenomenon that I had never witnessed before. The way that their bodies moved not only took incredible dedication and training, but definitely gave me a new appreciation to a form of dance I always considered somewhat of a joke.
Originating from religious origins, most of the dances historically associated with belly dancing were performed with the sexes separated. Men danced with men, and women danced with women to ensure that a “pure” woman would only be seen dancing by her husband and close female friends. This kept belly dancing regarded as a spiritual and meaningful dance used for prayer and meditation. The Westernization of belly dancing modernized its practice to a more casual level, not taking regards of its origins into account. There are still many people in the Middle East and North Africa who view the current performances of seductive dancers in revealing costumes as morally objective.
Shakira belly dancing in her music video “Hips don’t lie”
Works Cited
http://www.aleenah.com/index.html
http://www.bellydancing.co.il/
http://www.worldbellydance.com/history.html
I chose to focus on West African dance for this assignment, specifically the Ghana court dances. After visiting West Africa last summer and seeing some of the traditional dances performed there, I was captivated by the power in the dances. As I was watching the dances, they felt like a window into their culture. African dance is greatful, powerful, and full of meaning. There is great diversity in it as it represents their culture, tribes, and region. It mirrors the lifestyle, wildlife, customs, and values of their culture. Many of the dances often mimicked the movements of animals. In the 1500’s and 1600’s both African and European kings used dance to spotlight their power. The European dances moved in the direction of dignity and elegance, highlighted by upright torsos, controlled movements, and body alignment. African dances were more uninhibited utilizing hops, jumps, spins, and isolation of body parts. Africans believed and still do that the body served the spirit. As a result, the dances celebrated spirituality and created an atmosphere for the gods. The African dances conveyed this concept, while the drummers emphasized it.
The living perform and celebrate through ritual, but it is the deceased that make the Ghana Court Dances so meaningful. The presence of ancestral spirits is a belief so pivotal to African dance, and the level of spiritual intimacy and reverence in the court dances exemplifies this. It is through dance and the knowledge passed on through dance that the people of Ghana find themselves in a state of community not only with their neighbors, but with their ancestors as well.
Dwelling within the heart of the second largest and most populated continent, the people of Ghana are among the many that are currently redefining African identity on their own terms. In order to understand the Court Dance’s significance, a glimpse in to Ghana’s past is in order. Ghana, once known as “land of gold”, is now one of the world’s poorest countries. A lengthy transition that has been excruciatingly hard on the people and the culture. Arab travelers described the king of Ghana as holding court literally weighed down by gold necklaces and bracelets. Even with their new independence, declared in 1957, the people are struggling to retain their culture. One of their best methods of preserving their culture is through the Court Dances. Dance in the Ashante court displays the royal virtues, power, and honors its ancestors. With the use of numerous, bright umbrellas and elaborate costumes, everyone in the community gathers together to take part in the ceremonial event. Men and women of all social rank come together to celebrate their peoples’ history. The king is weighted down with gold to represent the regality of the Ashante. However, it is the actual dance that delves deep within the nation’s past. The dances involve space, time, and force. Through conversational movements, men and women tell the story of their people. An unspoken language is used and through precise hand movements and angularity, the dancer is able to embody “coolness.” Here is a clip of the traditional Ashanti dancers and drummers. They exemplify the hand movements that are so important in telling the story of their culture.
Most people tend to view this dance as uncontrolled and impulsive, with no significance behind the movement. However, while somewhat impulsive, each gesture has significance . For example, angularity is vital to the dance because if the dancer is straight, it is believed that he/she is dead, spiritually. Therefore, the dancer’s body expresses something negative or postive based simply off of the angle with which they are dancing. With the Ghana Court Dances, it is not only the dancers that are involved in the ceremony; everyone plays a role, even the spectators. Dance is a way of life and a means of retaining culture and identity for those in Western Africa. Dance brings communities together, both spiritual and physical.
Work Cited
Welsh, K. (2004). African dance. Chelsea House Publishers.
Charry, E. S. (2000). Mande music, traditional and modern music
of the maninka and mandinka of western africa. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
Country western line dancing is interesting to me because I have participated in it a few times but know little to nothing about it. My only experience with line dancing has been at the Grizzly Rose here in Denver. Here’s a video of some patrons line dancing:
In this video, you can see the distinct qualities that make this dance a line dance. All of the dancers are standing in a line shoulder to shoulder. There are no partners and no distinction between genders. There is no physical contact between dancers and everyone is facing the same way. Although they may not all face the same direction throughout the dance. As a group, the dancers move to face different directions, or walls. A line dance could have one wall, meaning the dancers never turn directions during a sequence. Or it could have two walls, meaning they turn one hundred and eighty degrees twice, facing the front wall then the back and then the front in one sequence. Lastly, it could have four walls, meaning the dancers turn ninety degrees four times ending facing the wall they began facing.
This specific type of line dancing, country western, has roots in the early 1800 New English style of dancing called “Contra.” In this dance, there were two lines of people, a female line and a male line, and the two lines danced together. This folk dance slowly evolved to through the disco period to have more choreography and less emphasis on gender. There are a few songs that help pinpoint the emergence of country western line dancing into popular culture. These songs spanned from the 1970s to 90s ending with Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” which catapulted country western line dancing into the mainstream. Here is a video of Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart:”
There are some quick shots within this video of the audience performing country western line dancing.
Line dancing is an excellent example of the folk theory dancing as a social activity. Line dancing is solely a social activity and really cannot be performed alone. This is also accounted for by the fact that it takes place in a bar. One of the main purposes of bars is to create a social environment for people of similar tastes. The Grizzly Rose attracts a country crowd in its decor and music choice, and, of course, because of its famous line dancing.
I couldn’t find much information about the religious roots of country western line dancing, but I assume that because it is performed to country music, it has a lot of Christian influences as a lot of country music does. Many country songs’ lyrics have overt Christian themes. For example, the recently popular country musician Carrie Underwood has many songs with the Christian influence apparent in just the title. “Inside your Heaven,” “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Praying for Time” for example. As a result, these extremely obvious Christian themes transfer into the country western line dance which could be interpreted as the reason why there is no physical contact between the dancers.
I chose country western line dancing because I thought it would be a challenge because I do not typically enjoy listening to country music, at all. But, on both occasions I went to the Grizzly Rose I found myself really enjoying dancing and not really caring that I was dancing to country music. Both times, I went with my dancing friend and had a lot of fun because we could very easily pick up on the choreography, as it is so repetitive. I find it interesting that the dancing was exciting enough to completely outweigh the negative of hearing a genre of music that I usually cannot stand. There is a lesson to be learned here, and I am not entirely sure what it is, but maybe it is somehow tied into the idea of doubling. Dancing and music cannot exist separately, but they most certainly are completely different things. Maybe through music you can learn to appreciate a specific style of dancing and vise-versa; through dancing you can learn to appreciate a different style of music.
Works Cited
“Carrie Underwood Discography.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012. .
DeVille, Jan. “History of Country Line Dancing.” EHow. Demand Media, 26 June 2009. Web. 28 June 2012. .
“Line Dance History.” Line Dance History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 June 2012. .
“Line Dance.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 June 2012. Web. 28 June 2012. .
Emily Read
28 July 2012
Professor Sam Gill
Application Assignment #3
Javanese Court Dancing
The lectures I read on the dances of the Javanese people piqued my interest, so I decided to get some more information! The Javanese Court Dance, in particular, has its origins in the East, combining elements of both Hinduism and Buddhism, as it draws upon both religions for inspiration. However, in the last 250 years, the dance of the Javanese people has been influenced by the influx of Islamic high courts1. The unique blending of the import of religion, arts, and philosophy from India, China, and South East Asia, with the already existing indigenous Javanese culture, resulted in a dynamic meeting of these three cultures.
Javanese dance is inspired mainly by nature, especially water. The element of water is incorporated into the dance primarily due to its fluid movement –the dancers must move like a flowing river2. Today, Javanese dance is popular in their high society and is a dance that embodies their cultural values such as refinement, elegance, and self-possession. According to an article in the LA Times, “to be a court dancer today in Jogjakarta is to belong to this majestic, intricately ordered environment.”3
I chose to research the dance of the Javanese people after Professor Gill referenced it in his lecture in Section 5. I have never been to Asia, and Sam’s description of the refined movements and self-othering piqued my interest. Furthermore, the music used was totally different and unique. I do not think I have heard any of the instruments before. When I researched the music and the types of instruments that are used, the most common musical instrument used is the Bonang, which is composed of a double row of mounted bronze kettle gongs and is usually played with two padded beaters4. It sounded so different from the hip-hop and street dances that I have had the pleasure of learning here in the West. Upon watching some videos of the Javanese Court dances, I realized I had, without knowing it, already seen some of this kind of dancing in movies and in different culture-oriented classes I had taken at the University. The Javanese court of Java and Bali dancing is unique and regal –it requires elegance and grace. I am including an example for everyone to see –be sure to listen for the Bonang!
RESOURCES:
1. “The Way of Dance: Javanese Court Dance.” Web.
http://www.thewayofdance.com/javanese-court-dance.html
2. “Urnama Sari Balinese Dance Company.” Web. http://www.Urnamasaribali.com/javanesedance.html
3. “A Timeless Ritual From Java: Culture: Royal court dancers will perform programs rich in island heritage beginning today at the Arboretum.” LATimes.com. Segal, Lewis. August 31, 1990.
4. “Bonang, Gamelan Javanese Musical Instrument.” Web. http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om06500.html
Lenore Silberman
6/28/2012
Assignment 3
Movement and Israeli Dance
Throughout this course it has become evident that movement is an integral part of dance, and in order to study and to fully understand all aspects of dance, one must first be able to comprehend movement. The term movement has a strange ring when first mentioned, or at least I initially felt it to sound rather abstract. Upon first consideration one is most likely not to think much of movement and what defines movement. As humans we move all the time, every day, and even every second. The concept of movement, although humans often tend to take for granted their very own capabilities to move along with the true meaning of such motions, nonetheless, is very powerful and deserves a great deal of consideration, especially the centrality of movement in regards to the establishment of dance as an art form.
Moving is not only a fundamental aspect of dance in general, but implications, meanings, and symbolism associated with movements are of particular significance in regards to the rather new emergence of Israeli Folk Dance. This paper will be begin with and in-depth discussion of movement, and will do so by incorporating ideas and concepts set-forth on behalf of Sheets-Johnstone, Johnson, and Gill. Lastly, this discussion will conclude with a detailed reflection of the significance of movement in relation to Israeli Folk Dance. The phrase: Dancing is moving, but not all moving is dancing seems to represent a conundrum. How can dance qualify as movement on one hand? Yet movement, or at least not all movement, on the other hand does not equate to dance? The aim of this paper is work through this proposed conundrum and to reveal the multi-faceted dimensions of movement in relation to dance.
The primacy of movement, discussed by Sheets-Johnstone is a very powerful description that seeks to explain the ways in which humans comes to understand themselves, their emotions, and the rest of the world, which is actually quite spectacular upon deep reflection. In addition, her description discusses how movement is the catalyst to all other actions. For instance, via movement first and foremost, it is that humans are able to realize their own potentials and abilities, which she refers to as: “I move therefore I can do.” Both Jhonstone and Sam have continually emphasized that movement doesn’t just allow humans to understand themselves and their relation to the rest of the world, but movement also allows humans to find, structure, explore, and create self-identity, awareness, perception, knowledge, value, and agency; i.e. movement enables and allows for one to be alive. However, I will return to the primacy of movement and its significance in regards to Israeli Folk Dance in a later section, and in particular the ways in which movement has structured identity, perceptions, knowledge, and values of Israeli Folk dance participants.
Movement as discussed by Johnson not only allows for the understanding of ones self and the rest of the world, but movement also is fundamental in regards to establishing and attributing meaning. One must understand where meaning, especially the meanings of various types of dances, and how meanings are attributed to dances in order to fully comprehend dancing. Obviously the word movement implies mobility, action, motion etc., and such movements become distinct patterns of movement, which according to Johnson are called image schemas. Images schemas of all different sorts are said to be the basis for attributing and understanding meaning, which will be important later in the discussion in regards to how movement attributes meaning to Israeli folk dance. In addition, I will come back to the concept of meaning originating and based completely on one’s body moving and interacting with its environment. I hope my description of meaning allowed for a better understanding of the notion that: “dancing as a quintessential human form of movement that is inseparable from the most fundamental human meaning-making.” Therefore, I also hope that one truly grasps the importance of movement and how it creates various identities, whom then create, associate, and ascribe meaning, Lastly, meaning in regards to Israeli folk dance will be discussed in the up-coming section.
So what does movement have to do with Israeli dance and why is it so important? I’d like to begin this part of the discussion with an analysis of Sheets-Jhonstone’s primacy of movement concept. As previously mentioned, movement allows for one to realize and to become aware of themselves, their feelings, and the rest of the world around them. At this point you may be wondering what the primacy of movement has to do with Israeli dance, but hang in there I will begin to guide you step-by-step through my reasoning. I’ve personally coined a phrase called “the Primacy of an Independent Israeli Nation State”, in an effort to reveal and to demonstrate the significance of movement to Israeli Folk dance.
In the first two previous papers it was discussed that Israel struggled to become an independent state, and in the beginning was occupied by Jews and non -Jews from all over the world. Although one normally refers to the U.S. as a “melting pot”, the same can be said for Israel, but in reference to the mixed amount of cultures in such a small geographic area. For instance, Romanian, Yemenite, Turkish, Eastern European, Russian, and Moroccan peoples and cultures were present in Israel at the time when the foundations for Israeli Folk dance were being created. The aim of Israeli Folk dance at the time was to create unification amongst the vast amount of different Jews in Israel. I.e. Israeli dance was created in an effort to establish one common identity, and to make Jews from all over the world feel as if Israel was there home. Therefore, I coined the term primacy of an independent nation state to refer to the notion of the movement of Israeli Folk dance being central, necessary, and essential to creating a common identity, just as if movement is fundamental to bring about self-awareness, agency, value, and one’s relation to the rest of the world.
Lastly, I’d like to discuss movement and meaning, and its relation to Israeli dance. I know some of you may be thinking what does movement have to do with meaning, and what is the significance of the meaning of Israeli Folk dance? Let me attempt to clear the air. As discussed in lecture, movement allows for one to grasp, seize, and to obtain a great deal of knowledge, which enables one to express meaning. Humans create, associate, and ascribe meaning via varying image schemas, which are based upon the world into which we are born into, our experiences, and interactions with other people and the environment around us. Let us briefly analyze the Hora, an Israeli Folk dance practiced by Jews all over the world. The Hora is a joyous dance danced in a circle to symbolize the interconnectedness of Jews. The dance itself is a celebration of life and is practiced at weddings and bar mitzvahs. Via the engagement in the celebratory dance participants through their movements become aware of themselves as Jews, but also become aware of world around them through this experience interacting with others in the environment in which they are moving together and dancing in a circle.
In terms of people at a wedding or bar mitzvah, it can be assumed that many of the people in the room, or environment share similar image schemas, whether it be because they are related or were raised with similar values, or perhaps it is because they share a similar cultural identity as Jews, nonetheless allows them to attribute meaning, and in the case of the Hora, most people in attendance at this event would probably agree that it implies the meaning of life. Therefore, it is through movement, and as discussed dance is and as movement, that attributes meaning to all things. I hope that one has a better understanding of how movement creates identity and attributes meaning, and that one also realizes how these topics apply to Israeli Folk dance. Lastly, I hope it is as clear to the reader as it became to me after intensely grappling with theories of movement, that dance is movement, but not all movement is dance.
Geom-mu is a traditional Korean folk dance created in 660 A.D. in the Silla kingdom (57 B.C. to 935 A.D.) based on the legend of Hwangchang, a young boy who was a famous sword dancer. Hwangchang’s skills were so impressive that the king of Baekje, Silla’s enemy kingdom, invited him to perform in his court, and while dancing the boy stabbed the king to death. Consequently, the Baekje military executed Hwangchang, and the Silla people created Geom-mu to commemorate his sword dancing talents. Later, in the Joseon Dynasty (1392 to 1910), the Royal Court changed Geom-mu into a court dance performed by the Kisaeng, or professional entertainers, called Jinju Geom-mu.
In the court dance adaptation, three parts changed. First, the Kisaeng wore four piece costumes that represented a stylized version of the Joseon military uniform. Specifically, the women wore a traditional Hanbok dress, a Kwaeja overcoat, a Jeon-Dae belt, and a Jeon-Rip military style cap, in a color combination of blue, red, yellow, green, and black depending on the region. Second, in place of real swords, a replica sword called Kal was now used in performances to prevent injuries. Lastly, an important difference between the folk and court versions was a mask resembling Hwangchang’s face, which was used in Geom-mu but was discontinued in Jinju Geom-mu.
Although I was unable to find out why the Kisaeng stopped wearing the mask, there is a significant distinction between folk and court dances. The former were for personal, religious, and cultural occasions within a non-royal community, whereas the latter were performed as entertainment for royalty. Therefore, we can speculate that the kings of the Joseon Dynasty might not have wanted to see Hwangchang’s face since he was an assassin or perhaps they wanted to enjoy the Kisaengs’ beauty. On the other hand, maybe the kings did not like the other the dancers produced while wearing the mask. To me, the Korean Geom-mu and the Javanese Wayang topeng are appropriately comparable because of the similarities between the purposes of the mask.
In Wayang topeng, the mask acts as a way for the dancers to fully express otherness because they use the mask as a way for their batin to come alive. In other words, instead of the mask only expressing the lahir, it expresses both because it acts as an outwardly and visible representation (lahir), and it is given life from the dancer’s gestural patterns (batin). Furthermore, it is important to realize that “the entity identified with the mask, rather than the personal identity of the dancer, comes to life by being moved and manipulated in the gestural patterns distinctive to the figure danced by the dancer.” That is, the dancer is not moving the mask but their batin is, which is how the lahir and batin are both expressed. Likewise, a similar case could be made of Geom-mu because the original purpose of the dance was to honor Hwangchang, and a key element signifying his heroism was the mask resembling his face. Thus, by wearing the mask, the Geom-mu dancer’s personal identity, or lahir, is covered so Hwangchang, “the entity identified with the mask,” can come to life through the dancer’s batin. Accordingly, because his movements are expressed through the dancer’s body and distinctive gestural patterns, it provides the non-royal community a way to connect with the legend through the other produced by their own body, thereby creating an embodied way to commend Hwangchang’s sacrifice.
Traditionally, a group of six to eight people performed Geom-mu, and the dance had two distinct characteristics: Changdan, a long and short rhythm, and Chum-sawi dance motions. Nowadays, groups of any size can perform Jinju Geom-mu, yet it generally has an even number of people to accommodate three types of Chum-sawi dance motions. Ipchum-sawi is to dance standing up, in two rows, face to face (0:04-0:45, 1:47-2:15); Anjeon-sawi is to dance kneeling down while maintaining the two rows of Ipchum-sawi (0:46-0:58, 1:13-1:33, 1:39-1:46); and Yeonpungdae is to dance in a rotating circular pattern (2:55-3:17).
After considering the performance and legend together, I wonder if the three dance motions, as well as the version in the video, are supposed to tell Hwangchang’s story. Specifically, at the beginning of the video the dancers are split into two groups (0:04-0:08, 0:26-0:30, 0:36-0:41), which could symbolize the Silla and Baekje kingdoms, and the dancer in the middle could be Hwangchang, and since he is danced by a woman we identify him as the other she creates with her body (0:20-0:25, 0:31-0:35). The way both groups gradually kneel could indicate that they are all now within the Baekje king’s royal court (0:42-0:58), and when the camera focuses on Hwangchang, he is performing similar bowing and praising gestures (0:59-1:10). When he grabs his sword he still moves humbly on his knees signifying that he is continuing to dance for the king (1:11-1:13), and the groups mirror his movements (1:14-1:32). Following suit, when he begins to stand (1:33-1:38), the other dancers do (1:39-1:50), and when he dances standing up (1:51-1:56), so do the others (1:57-2:10). Remarkably, we are able to identify the moment Hwangchang begins to stab the king by his quick outward thrusts of both arms (2:13) that continue briefly (2:14-2:18). Ironically, this is also the last time we see Hwangchang alone, symbolizing the Silla people’s approval of his actions by incorporating him back into their culture. Then, the movement fluidly turns into a spiraling dance representing a fight with the king’s guards (2:19-2:26). When the dancers begin to form a line, it figuratively begins the Silla people’s folk dance because they are mimicking Hwangchang’s stabbing movements in a modified frontal thrust (2:29-2:47), and his fight with the king’s guards (2:48-2:57). Finally, when they begin the Yeonpungdae motion it marks the celebration of his actions shown by dancing a combination of all his previous moves while adding energetic bends and turns (2:58-3:17).
I am interested in Geom-mu and Jinju Geom-mu because I had a great time researching and interpreting Salp’uri in the first set of application projects, and decided to do my second set on another Korean dance. However, a main goal in picking this dance was to do something very different from my first choice, and since the modified Jinju Geom-mu is a court dance rather than a folk dance, and both are based on a legend rather than a religion, I am sure I succeeded.
-Works Cited-
“Dance: Korea’s Traditional Dance.” Dprk-tour.com. Arirang Tour Guide, n.d. Web. 28 June 2012.
“Geommu.” Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 August 2011. Web. 27 June 2012.
Gill, Sam. “Dancing as Self-Othering – 2: Javanese Classical Dancing.” Dancing, Culture, and Religion Lecture Series, n.d. PDF file.
“Korean Traditional Dance: Geommu.” WorldWestArts.org. People Like Me, n.d. Web. 28 June 2012.
Lee, Heoak. “Traditional Korean Dance.” 2010. PDF file.
Emily Potter
Project App #3
The Haka
I recently was looking over the blogs to read up on who wrote about what dance. My mind was blank and I had no idea what to write on other than Irish dancing. Irish dancing has been my life and I have had no other connection to any other dances. Then I saw the mentioning of The Haka, or the War Dance. Immediately I remembered a very special connection to, not necessarily the dance itself, but a dear, dear friend who performed the powerful dance.
My best friend Simona Tosi, will not mention last name, the second (how great of a name is THAT!?) is Samoan and we both grew up together in a very small town. He grew up Mormon (he was adopted) and became confused on where to focus; his adopted religion or his true cultural background? He and I had several talks about what would best fit him. We both went through high school and college talking to each other almost everyday. He went to a smaller college in Eastern Kentucky for a full ride football scholarship. I got on his Facebook one day to check in on him and he had this video posted by a friend:
(He is the BIG dude in the sarong yelling and smacking the other guys on the shoulders.) Eyes are opened wide, tongues are being stuck out and strong body actions of slapping and stomping the feet.
Growing up, Bo (Samoan for “bull”) was so quiet and soft spoken. His 6’6”, 360lbs body would NEVER hurt a fly. Seeing the video of my best friend finally finding where he has chosen culturally was extremely emotional for me. I have watched this video hundreds of times and I cry every time. I never thought of having such a strong connection to this dance simply through a dear, loving friend.
The Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, or dance that derives from a tribe in New Zealand. By the video, you can tell that the vigorous movements and stamping of the feet are accompanied by loud chants and yelling. The dance is performed for various reasons, be it entertainment, a welcoming to guests or for special occasions. The dance was originally performed by warriors before battle not only to get the warriors prepped, but to scare off the enemy. It was their way of showing the enemy who was bigger, badder, and louder!
Ka mate, ka mate
Ka ora, ka ora
Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru
Nana i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra
Upane, upane
Upane kaupane
Whiti te ra.
These words are translated as:
It is death, it is death
It is life, it is life
This is the hairy man
Who caused the sun to shine again for me
Up the ladder, up the ladder
Up to the top
The sun shines.
Because of my best friend (I could go on about him for HOURS), I can easily and respectfully fall in love with the Haka, though it is meant to scare enemies. Not only do I want to learn the Haka now (Bo will teach me one day and I will teach the big lug to Irish dance. It’s our deal), but it is a powerful dance that I never knew I was so strongly connected to. It’s funny how a dance can pull you in so emotionally just because of one person you know who performs it so gracefully.
I tried to post pictures, too, but it didn’t work. Sorry!
The Tango and Self-Othering
In the lecture on playing, Professor Gill began by sharing his experience of seeing the figurines of Shiva as Nataraja and explaining the more intricate, religious meaning of these replicas. After hearing this, I immediately made a connection to a very similar story my father once told me. When he was growing up in Argentina, a country with a high population of Catholics, many people manufactured, purchased, and used estampitas, or prayer cards. Each card featured a painting of a different saint and were very popular among the Catholic community. However, one card in particular always stood out to my father – the card depicting Carlos Gardel. If that doesn’t sound like a Biblical name to you, it’s because this “saint” was born long after the Bible was written in 1890, and rather than parting seas or receiving the Ten Commandments, Carlos Gardel was a famous Argentine tango singer.
Similarly to the figurine of Shiva and how dancing is not represented in the Hindu religion, tango music and dancing are in no way represented in the Bible. As we have learned before, such dancing would go with Catholicism in the same way that Ugg boots go with mini skirts – it is generally frowned upon. But Argentines have a different way of thinking; rather than rejecting the cultural background of their European ancestors, they have embraced the “other” part of their culture with open arms to the point where a tango-singing legend is venerated on the same level as Biblical saints.
The concept of self-othering becomes the magic of the Argentine tango. Like the Javanese shadow puppets, an object comes to life through the gestural movements it creates. The two bodies are the objects and the “othering” is the dance and emotions the bodies create. Tango artists, such as Carlos Gardel, contribute to this “othering” through their lyrics, which are generally sad and represent a longing for something or someone. As professor Gill states in reference to the shadow puppets, “The play depends on gestural movement. What we see is not a simple literal presentation. It is a seduction—an appearance, a promise of something always unfulfilled–that invites comparison to facets of our human existence,” (1). When looking at two bodies dancing the tango we don’t just see their movement to music, we see compassion and hear the compassion through the artist’s vocal gestures.
As I have stated in my previous paper about the movement of the tango, there are three main aspects to consider: the embrace, the walk, and the figures. Each of these have various gestural meanings such as longing or seduction. Bringing self-othering and Merleau-Ponty’s flesh ontology into the picture, one dancer touching the other has a deeper meaning – it shows the connection and thus the relationship of the dancers. I would even go as far to say that the gesturing in the tango is like the gestures with the Javanese shadow puppets – it tells a story.
Along with the music lyrics, the touching can further imply a sadness or longing for the other person. The video below, although absent of speech or lyrics, tells a very emotional story of two people solely through the art of the tango.
In his lecture on self-othering, Professor Gill said “Dancing both gives rise to the very idea of otherness while it also grounds our connection with the other,” and this really stuck with me. For me, this quote comes to life in the video posted above portraying two bodies that share a connection and tell a story of love.
Along with the touching, other aspects of the tango are very gestural as well. The touching shows the relationship connection, but other body movements are gestures for the smaller aspects of that relationship. Different embraces, such as a close embrace or open embrace, would represent the closeness or longing in the particular connection. The figures the dancers use to add “flare” to their dance, such as kicks or leg-wrapping for example, imply a level of seduction or passion in the relationship. As the two bodies (flesh) dance, their dancing creates an otherness in such a way that we develop a deeper understanding for their movement.
The Western folk theory of dancing as a form of personal expression resurfaced in the self-othering lecture and it made me think about how the gestural patterns in the tango enable self-expression. As you said in the lecture, this belief is limiting since not everybody dancing the tango has feelings of passion or longing they are trying to express, but these gestures enable dancers to express a story, whether or not it is their own. Even if the story is imagined, it is still a projection from the inside out.
One aspect of self-othering that I loved was how dancing enables people to create and uphold an identity. Although several forms of tango exist worldwide, most people would associate it with Argentina because it is an aspect of their cultural identity. I spoke briefly about the tango in my first paper and how it was started by European (and some African) immigrants to this new land of hope, and inspired both the music and dance culture of Argentina. As opportunity arose in this South American country, many European men immigrated there in hopes of making a quick fortune and returning to their families back home. Most men never received their fortunes and were unable to return home to their loved ones, resulting in a country with a very dense male population. As men lined up at brothels, they were entertained by a new form of music called the tango, and from that arose the dance.
The history of the tango explains the emotions felt in the dance gestures as well as the song lyrics. It’s a dance of passion, yet longing for their loved ones back home. As Professor Gill said in his lecture, once the higher society in Argentina accepted the tango, the dance and the music became a cultural identity of the country, so much to the point where a tango artist is on an equal playing field as Biblical saints.
1. Sam Gill’s lecture on self-othering.
The type of dance I have selected may sound controversial and unordinary to some, but it is a popular form of dance all the same. This style of dance is performed to rhythmic music- typically by women- involves gyration of the hips and body in a sensual and sexual cadence, and may or may not involve the removal of clothing. Yes, I am talking about Exotic Dance. With the upcoming release of the new movie “Magic Mike”- a story of a male stripper- in movie theaters at the end of this month, I thought this would be the perfect time to delve into this type of dance. Not only is Exotic dance exciting, controversial, and rich in history, there is also art and beauty in and of the dance itself. Exotic dance is a broad genre of dance that encompasses anything from striptease, to belly dancing, to a new form of exercise. In the erotic sense of the term, “exotic dance” is used to refer to the “striptease” or “pole dance”, while in the non-erotic sense it can be applied to multiple forms of foreign dance, such as the belly dance or cabaret. The following three video clips are examples of some of the many forms of exotic dance:
(this clip shows the typical “striptease” dance seen in nightclubs)
(this clip shows an example of a pole dance fitness competition)
(this clip shows belly dance, which is also classified as “erotic dance”)
In Western culture, when one thinks of the term “Exotic Dance” it is often stigmatized and correlates with the idea of a female entertainer whom degrades herself by gradually undressing to music in a provocative, seductive, and sexually suggestive manner- all for the sake of a man’s sexual pleasure. The dance combination may involve a pole that the “stripper” performs acrobatic tricks on in a sexualized manner. Because sex is at the focus of this specific type of exotic dance, in this era can be quite controversial. “Female entertainers engaging in striptease is opposed by many feminists who argue that the practice objectifies women and undermines gender equality by reinforcing the notion that women exist merely for men’s sexual pleasure” (Striptease). While in some instances it may seem reasonable to say this form of dance is taboo, before judging the striptease- or any form of Exotic dance- it is necessary to appreciate the history of it.
Exotic dance has been around since the dawn of man. There is evidence that it existed some 20,000 years ago back in the Paleolithic times. Cave paintings found in Southern France suggest that “these dances were used to increase fertility, and to represent the hunt- both the hunt for animals, and the hunt for a sexual partner” (The Exotic Dance Guide). Exotic dance has also been recorded in ancient Egypt, Turkey, and Syria as a form of entertainment and also as a way to appease the gods, thus making exotic dance a form of goddess worship. “Dancing formed a part of this worship and evidence can be seen for example in pagan rituals such as dancing around the Maypole. The Maypole has been attributed by some, as one of the origins of pole dancing” (ArticleClick).
While in the Middle East belly dancing became a form of exotic dance entertainment, burlesque became popular in America, as did the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
Here is an example of burlesque dance:
Striptease was actually first introduced in burlesque shows at the beginning of the 1900’s. “The first American strip tease (or belly dance) was performed in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair. The woman’s name was Little Egypt and she created a sensation with her fully-clothed belly dance. She came from a troupe of mid-east dancers…she was among the most famous and is credited to this day with introducing Erotic Dance to our popular culture (The Erotic Dance Guide). While striptease may have been brought to America by Middle Eastern culture, “Pole dancing however didn’t start to appear until the 1960’s and it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the first ‘modern’ pole dancing clubs were born in Canada. Canada even had the first champion pole dancer who started teaching the art to ladies from everyday life.” (ArticleClick).
Exotic dance has even made its way into dance fitness competitions, as well as into fitness classes. Take for example this video clip from NBC news of a fitness class that incorporates exotic dance as a way to empower women (at the 17 second mark).
“Today, Exotic dancing is more popular than ever. It is now called ‘urban striptease aerobics’. With the advent of pole dancing, many dancers have turned this style of dance into a beautiful art form that is sensual and entertaining. So there is a whole new aspect to dancing that appealed to the free society that we have today, where staying fit and looking good are two very important things” (The Exotic Dancer Guide).
Sources Used:
ArticleClick.”The History of Exotic Dance”. Web. 28 June 2012. http://www.articleclick.com/Article/The-History-of-Exotic-Dancing/1052970
The Exotic Dancer Guide. “The History of Exotic Dance”. Web. 28 June 2012. http://exoticdancerguide.webs.com/articles/exoticdancehistory.html
Striptease. Web. 28 June 2012. http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/ajb/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Striptease.html
Jazz music gave rise to swing dancing back in the 1920’s. Much like jazz music during this time, swing dancing begun with the influence of African Americans. During the 1920’s hot jazz was making a transition to swing jazz, which gave way to the dance craze of the Lindy Hop. The Lindy Hop was named after the first solo aviator, Charles Lindbergh, who “hopped” the Atlantic in 1927 the same time the dance emerged (Samuels). My interest in swing dancing came from the motion picture Swing Kids, which came out in the 90’s. I think what fascinated me most about the movie and swing dancing’s history itself were the racial barriers that it crossed.
Here is a video clip from Swing Kids:
The Lindy Hop was the first of the original swing dances. The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem became home to swing music and the Lindy Hop. It was the first integrated ballroom, which opened up a huge racial barrier. African Americans began teaching white people how to do the Lindy as well. African Americans use to tape their phone numbers to their backs while they danced. They did this because there was competition among African Americans and who would teach white people the Lindy. White folks generally paid very well during a very racist period of time for African Americans (Just the Swing). While some attributed the Savoy and the Lindy Hop as opening up racial barriers, many disagreed believing by posting their numbers on their shirts they were selling themselves short (Spring 201). This can directly correlate to the topic of self-expression that we covered in lecture and how the modernity within dance focuses on the individual. African Americans did not dance this dance just as a way to express themselves, but as a way to boost their worth as individuals. No matter what one believes, there is no denying that African American’s began to really become of influence into mainstream popular culture.
When I think of the dance I think of it as controlled chaos and very up-tempo. It is a dance that uses the whole body. The Lindy Hop was different from other dances in this time period because it involved, “four movements for each measure of music,” (Spring 187). The dance pulled people in by its use of flips and lifts. Here is a video of the original Lindy Hop.
The movements of the dancers are so fast and quick. To me it looks like a very tough dance because you physically have to use your entire body. It is easy for me to see why the dance became so popular. It was truly a form of entertainment for the audience watching.
Also, through my research I came to find out it can also be danced slow and smooth. The slower version of the Lindy Hop is called “Smooth Lindy” or “Hollywood” and can be credited to Dean Collins. Collins learned the Lindy Hop originally at the Savoy, changed the choreography and brought it to Los Angeles (Just the Swing). Here is a video of the slower version.
Looking at the movement and gesture within the Lindy Hop I better understand these concepts. Within the Lindy Hop improvisation is used by using different, attention grabbing moves. The knowledge these dancers have of the movements and gestures of the typical steps is what leads them to be successful in adding new moves. Sam wrote, “This is essential perspective we need to appreciate dancing which is necessarily highly repetitious, yet always creative and new,” (Gill). This is exactly what Dean Collins did by taking the original Lindy Hop and tweeking it to something a bit different.
There’s no denying the influence swing dance and the Lindy Hop had on our culture. Here is a video from So You Think You Can Dance of two contestants dancing the Lindy Hop. Enjoy!
Sources:
Spring, Howard. “Swing and the Lindy Hop: Dance, Venue, Media, and Tradition.” American Music, Vol. 15, No. 2 (1997) Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 June 2012.
Samuels, Shayna. “Love, Life And The Lindy Hop. (Cover Story).” Dance Magazine 75.2 (2001): 53. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 June 2012.
Gill, Sam. “Gesture and Agency, Dancing as Gesturing.” Dancing, Culture, and Religion Lecture Series.
http://1940s.org/music-2/dance-lindy-hop/
http://history.just-the-swing.com/swing-history/lindy-hop
http://history.just-the-swing.com/swing-history/swing-dance-era
Square Dancing
Michelle Milko
I can always remember my least favorite day in gym class. I would dread this day more than “report card” day. And from my own recollections, I was not the only one who felt this way. See, when you are 7 years old, the last thing you want to do is pick a boy partner and have someone call out how you were supposed to move. The choreography seemed ridiculous and one person in every group would mess up somewhere along the line. I am, of course, talking about square dancing day. “Swing your partner round and round” would ring out through the microphone, as I would barely link arms with my partner. My partner would always spin me around too fast so by the end I would be confused and dizzy. But I decided that after many years of haunting memories, I would take a look at this dance from a different perspective. Thinking about it made me wonder why it was taught in the different schools I attended growing up. I remember learning square dancing while I was in Chicago and then learned it after we moved to Colorado. After learning that it has made the state dance in nineteen different states, I figured there had to more to it than what I had remembered.
Besides being the national gym class dance taught, the square dance has deep cultural ties in the United States. There are two “types” of square dancing: traditional and western. I chose to focus more on Western square dancing because that was the specific style that I remembered learning. Square dancing comes from traditional European folk dancing and was brought over when immigrants came to America from Europe. From there, the dance evolved into what it is today. Square dancing is between four couples (8 people) that follow the calling of the caller to know what moves to do next. Based on a set of key moves that are learned before hand, the couples know how to move and even where to move. It is expected that you know the moves before going to a real square dance. The calling is fast and every couple knows what he or she is doing.
The cultural aspect of the dance is what I found to be most interesting. The dance is not associated with any sort of religion. So it is its cultural roots and implications that create a good grasp on this dance. The square dance is mostly associated with Western/Southern culture. This is because it is commonly performed to country music. The traditional form of square dancing comes from the Appalachian region in America. The dance became an “American” staple and represented generations of square dancers. It represented something “American”. The use of American Country music with choreographed dance moves was something that became imbedded in people’s cultures and was passed on. Square dancing, I found, could be best described in the lectures on “Playing”. In one reading, it states that, “Play then appears as self-movement, movement without purpose or goal.8 It renews itself through repetition.” It would seem that square dancing almost has no intention in the movement; the couples follow along to what the caller is telling them to do. It builds itself on the repetition of certain movements over and over within a dance. Culturally, the dance is important to a large portion of the US population and has its dancers feeling connected to America. It emphasizes teamwork and organized movement that is still fun to those who participate. So, yes, it leaves many school-going participants questions the validity of this dance but it also represents the “American” dream for many as well.
Resources:
Eaasdc. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://eaasdc.eu/
Gill, S. (2012). Play – 3: Hans-georg gadamer.
email: michelle.milko@colorado.edu
Aleah Toyokura
Application Assignment #3
RLST 3838
Irish Step Dance
One of my first memories of dance growing up was one of watching the Irish step dance (also referred to as riverdance) performance group, The Lord of the Dance, on television with my mother. At the time, I was so engrossed in the music and movements of Irish step dancing that I would watch the performances repeatedly, and try to step dance on the coffee table in front of the television. Today, I can much better understand my fascination with Irish step dancing, because it is one of the most energetic and lively dance styles I have ever seen.
Below is a clip of the Irish step dancing I grew up watching.
There are two aspects of Irish step dancing that particularly interest me. While researching this dance style, I have come to realize that Irish step dancing has not always been embraced, but was actually stifled for many years during the struggles between Ireland and England. According to the Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance, during the 1600’s, the practice of Irish culture (be it from social practices to commerce or industry) was banned, and punishable by law. Because of this, much of Irish culture has since been lost or diluted from what it once was. Interestingly, the influence and importance of Irish step dance remained a dominant (albeit secret) practice, and was thus able to withstand centuries of oppression of Irish culture.
Another aspect of Irish step dance that interests me is the structure of the dance itself, and how the physicality of the movements reflects its roots in Irish Catholicism. Irish step dancing is notably severe in that all movements are in unusually perfect formation, and both foot and had placement are flawless. The stiffness and rigidness of the style may sound unappealing, but it actually creates awe within the audience. From the shoulders down, the dancers seemingly dance both frantically, yet with a grace and pointedness that makes the structured dance seem flawless, although the extreme physical difficulty is apparent. According to Darrah Carr, the perfect unison and repetitive nature of Irish step dancing acts to have a profound effect on the audience (Carr 58), by showing both extreme physical difficulty and a seeming ease in which the dancers are able to perform. Because of this binary between effort and ease, stiffness and fluidity, I found a connection between the dance style itself and its history within religion. Traditional Irish step dance was developed within communities that were deeply rooted in Catholicism. I am extremely interested in further examining the ways in which the dance reflects the religion in that for many, religion acts as both freeing and stifling, which is uncannily similar to the ways in which Irish step dance can be viewed.
Today, Irish step dance has become a relatively mainstream dance style. This can be seen in Michael Flatley’s, Lord of the Dance, which has an ever-growing fan base and tours the world. Interestingly, however, some traditional Irish step dancers do not approve of the direction in which Irish step dancing is moving in the modern world. According to Colin Dunne, an Irish step dancing world champion, Irish step dance is “”now about more and bigger and better and faster and louder,’ instead of about art (Mulrooney 37),” indicating that although the style has survived both time and oppression, it is still changing and morphing as a style (to the disappointment of some).
Interestingly, when I turned twenty-one in April, I took a trip to Las Vegas, where I thoroughly enjoyed an Irish step dance performance by a group called, “Spirit of the Dance.” I found this show to be highly entertaining for a number of reasons. Not only was the dancing spectacular, but I found it comical that a traditional Irish dance style would be popular enough to be showcased as a “Las Vegas” show, rivaling other notable shows like the “Blue Men” and “Cirque du Soleil,” which are known worldwide as staples of the most fantastic and extravagant city on Earth. The fact that Irish step dance has had such a revival is a testament to the awe-inspiring and spirit-lifting style, that has proven to be timeless.
Below is a “stripped down” version of Irish step dance. The use of relatively plain costuming and backdrop allows for the audience to fully appreciate the complexity and intricacies of the style.
Works Cited
Carr, Darrah. “Colorful, Complex Creations Adorn Irish Dancers.” Dance Magazine 75.10 (2001): 72. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 June 2012.
Mulrooney, Deirdre R. “Colin Dunne Deconstructing Irish Dance.” Dance Magazine 77.11 (2003): 36-84. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 June 2012.
Richens, Ann, and Donald Haurin. “Irish Step Dance: A Brief History.” The Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2012. .
Lenore Silberman
7/3/2012
Application 3
Cotillion
I chose to take an in-depth look into cotillion not only as a social dance, or simply just as an event, but also with a particular emphasis on the traditional dances performed at cotillions today. I was also curious as to what the cultural, historical, and social significance of cotillion actually meant, and what such meanings implied, as I was familiar with the event so commonly referred to as one’s ‘coming-of-age’ debut, yet so unfamiliar with its true origins. In addition, I choose to research and analyze cotillion, which at first I didn’t even think qualified as a ‘dance’, but then I remembered how Sam mentioned Cotillion in his introductory lectures, so I decided to go with what sparked my interest.
Moreover, in high school I had the opportunity to participate in a similar experience. However, our cotillion was called Tux & Boots to incorporate the South-West, wild-West, desert life, cowboy lifestyle—quintessential of Arizona, where I was born and raised. Nonetheless, the entire event was basically the same as cotillion, and incorporated the same meaning and symbolism behind and central to it, as does cotillion, which I will get to in a minute. However, the one difference was that all the girls wore cowboy boots under their fancy gowns! This interesting flare and touch of cowboy culture was mainly the only thing that differentiated Tux & Boots from cotillion, but as far as I’m concerned I participated in a ‘coming-of-age’ social dance. Furthermore, I decided to choose cotillion because of its deeply rooted and on-going traditional practice, compared to my last dance topic Israeli dance, which was only 60 years old as movement and practice. Lastly, I feel as if the connections to all major concepts covered thus far in this course are much more parallel, easier to see, and are more identifiable to people unfamiliar with cotillion, compared Israeli dance, which people did not seem to be so familiar with.
Prior to this assignment I hadn’t thought about Tux & Boots for a while, and doing this assignment allowed me to reflect back and recall this time period, which I remember being so incredibly happy, free, young, and at play, but I shall save that aspect for assignment 5! To begin this assignment I started with basic research about the historical, social, and cultural significance of the cotillion movement, not only did I learn a great deal about each of these three categories, but I also discovered how this very old French tradition evolved to become a prominent American tradition, the ways in which it has transformed, and how it is currently practiced modern day throughout the world. I don’t want to give too much away because more is to come in follow-up assignment 4, but here is a brief summary of my findings, at least what I felt to be the most significant and intriguing.
Its origins are said to have been in France circa the 1800’s. Contrary to popular belief, or at least my beliefs regarding the lavishness of cotillion, however, was that cotillion originated from French country dance, as bits and pieces of country dance were combined to create the ‘contradanse’ (Whittaker 2009 & A History of Social Dance in America). The dances performed at cotillion are typically influenced and premised upon ballroom dance, but are also said to incorporate dance styles, such as: the tango, cha cha, swing, waltz and foxtrot (Prontes). Moreover, dances at cotillion balls are danced, or performed by two partners, in a square formation, and the partners were composed of one male and one female, while the entire dance is composed of couples dancing with partners in unison. Cotillion is known for its complex steps that are repetitive and rather hard to master. In addition, cotillion dance steps involve a great deal of movement in terms of changes. “Changes signaled movements such as circles and various types of turns, (that) occurred up to nine or ten times during a cotillion.” (A History of Social Dance in America).
As mentioned briefly, cotillion has always been known as and referred to as social dance, which takes place at a social gathering, however, social implications of cotillion have evolved over the years to take on a great deal of meaning, symbolism, and significance. For instance, “The cotillion afforded both male and female the opportunity for a flirtatious encounter with other dancers of interest.” (Whitaker 2009). Originally, a great deal of social status was implicated by choosing to partake in and to attend cotillion dances. The level of extravagance in regards to a cotillion gathering was based and decided upon social statuses of attendees. However, much has changed since the times of traditional French cotillions of the 1800s. Today, there still remains a great deal of the social aspect associated with cotillion, but now the social emphasis has evolved to revolve around female teenagers coming of age and making their debut to society.
As previously mentioned part of the reason as to why I picked cotillion, other then pure interest, was because I could relate countless examples of class theory to cotillion, and I felt that a great deal of course material thus far is nicely illustrated by cotillion in and of itself. In particular movement, play, making, and seduction are not only central to cotillion as a dance, but are also revealed, portrayed, and depicted very strongly by cotillion as dance movement, that is when one truly takes into consideration all aspects of cotillion. However, these main themes of dance also representative of cotillion just happen to be a few amongst many parallel connections that exist and can be drawn to course materials. In the next assignment, I hope to take up an in-depth look into seductive nature of cotillion, or perhaps I will emphasize and analyze cotillion in the light of play or making. I haven’t quite decided my direction yet, and currently need to reassess some course material before I make a final decision about my future analysis of cotillion.
Sources
http://www.cotillionballroom.org/Cotillion%20History%20-%201997.html
http://suite101.com/article/the-cotillion-a88136
http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Dance/types.htm