Title: "Zehil" and "Rugaro nekutamba"
Performer: Etienne Cakpo, Laura Lue Chiorah (choreographer), Dance This dance intensive program, musical performers are unknown
Culture/Origin: mixture of African countries
Orchestration: African drum ensemble
I went looking for African dance because I remembered the reading on resources that can be used. This includes bringing in other people who are experts in the field. This dance is not an "authentic" dance of a particular African country, but a mixture of groups. This is what I am lead to believe by the description, anyway. (I tried looking into it on other sites, but found no such luck.) In high school I remember going to about three different workshops on either African dance or drumming, so the idea of bringing culture bearers into the classroom is one that I can easily relate to. Through Feierabend technique we are trained to teach our students folk dances, which we could say at this point in time is from a different culture. Allowing our students the freedom to dance in an African style will help them open their mind to different types of dance and ways of expressing themselves through music.
The movements look toward the authentic end of the spectrum. I'd love to know more behind the story that seems to be being told in this dance. From your growing knowledge of musics, can you specify what part of Africa you think these examples might be from?
ReplyDeleteWest African influences definitely with the instruments that are used in the drum ensemble and dance movements that are used in the dance. The first dance looks like it might be Nigerian because of the hip movements. The second dance looks more like it is using more of the limbs of the body, so possibly Ghana.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's very important to bring in African dancing into your curriculum, and as authentically as possible. Even if the dancing is too difficult for the students you have, you can still find a way to simplify the dance, or at least show videos of the dance. This way the students can be exposed to an entirely different culture at a young age.
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ReplyDeleteI think this is a great way to incorporate dance into a curriculum. In my middle school we did African dancing as well as Irish dancing in my music class. I love it and also learned a lot from it, since it was an active way of learning. I would say this is pretty authentic. Finding something better or more authentic than this would be tricky in my opinion.
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