THEA 200: History & Culture of Black American Dance - Week 1

Vocabulary study flashcards for THEA 200 covering Greek philosophy, African dance principles, historical racism, and African influence on Western art.

Terpsichore

One of the Nine Muses in Greek mythology who is specifically associated with dance and choral song, demonstrating how deeply dance was integrated into Greek culture and spiritual life.

Isadora Duncan

Known as the "Mother of Modern Dance" (1877–1927), she studied at original Greek sites, danced in bare feet without traditional ballet vocabulary, and valued expression over technique.

Martha Graham

Modern dance pioneer (1894–1991) who created psychological dance dramas based on Greek tragedies (e.g., Cave of the Heart, Night Journey, Errand into the Maze, Clytemnestra) to explore dark themes such as incest, betrayal, and murder.

Ashé

A concept from Yoruba belief defined as living power activated by and through the embodiment of a divine, universal force, where movement serves as the primary vehicle to express divine nature.

Western View of Dance

A mind-body perspective based on mind-body separation and "mind over body," where technique and physical form are held in highest esteem.

African View of Dance

A holistic perspective where the body is revered as a unity of spirit, emotion, and motion—a vibrant composite of mind, body, and soul.

Natural Body Articulation

The posture and physical alignment in African dance where arms and legs work in parallel lines centered from the torso, knees are bent for a rebounding effect with the earth, and the torso is kept at a 45-degree angle with the pelvis for fluid movement.

Polyrhythmic Motion

The simultaneous movement of arms, legs, head, and torso in different rhythms, utilizing multiple centers of movement (polycentricity) where limbs explode centrifugally from the torso.

The "Tubular Effect"

The execution of movement in a vertical up-and-down plane in African dance, focusing on sculpting content through space and prioritizing weight, density, and rebound over looking weightless.

Embrace of Gravity

The African dance philosophy of embracing gravity by grounding jumps into the earth for revitalization, in contrast to European ballet which attempts to defy or escape gravity.

The "Drumatic" Relationship

The symbiotic relationship between rhythm and motion (Drum + Dramatic) in African dance, where rhythm and dance feed off each other's life energy and the body itself becomes the accompaniment.

The Power of Repetition

A core feature in African dance traditions that acts as a conduit through thresholds, elevating the dancer to heightened awareness or trance while enforcing rhythmic drive and prescribing protocols.

19th-Century Western Academic Bias

The Eurocentric perspective that dismissed unwritten African art forms as "primitive" (crude, savage, hedonistic) due to a failure to appreciate oral traditions, using these claims to justify slavery and oppression.

Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy Jim Crow" Rice

A white performer (1806–1860) who copied Black dance and improvisation to perform in blackface, creating standard racist caricatures of African Americans that later forced Black artists into blackface minstrelsy to secure work.

Cubism & African Concepts

An artistic movement (1907–1914) influenced by African art that viewed form "from within and without" simultaneously, re-forming the body in polycentric and curvilinear planes without distinguishing outer veneer from inner essence.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

A 1907 painting by Pablo Picasso created after viewing an African sculpture exhibit, in which faces and figures were abstracted with clear resemblances to traditional African masks and sculpture.

Shika

A Nigerian dance of shaking shoulders and muscles that served as the West African origin of "The Shimmy."

Earl "Snake Hips" Tucker

A performer who redefined "The Shimmy" in the early 1900s, an African-derived dance that was later adapted into mainstream rock culture by Elvis Presley.

American Tap Dance

A dance form created through the synthesis and cross-fertilization of Irish Clogging and African Dance (percussive footwork and rhythm).

Catharsis

In Aristotelian philosophy, the emotional purging or cleansing experienced through art and drama.

Mimesis

In Aristotelian philosophy, artistic imitation or representation of real life.

Vodun

A Fon word for spirit or deity.

Ring Shout

An African-American circular prayer dance accompanied by percussive shouting.

Gullah

A combined West African and European culture and language formed on the US Sea Islands.

Plato's View on Dance

The ancient Greek philosophical stance that advocated dance for the purposes of purgation and education.

Socrates' View on Dance

The ancient Greek philosophical stance that questioned and examined the specific role of dance in education.