African Dance
Dance Typologies
Sacred dance
Encompasses all movement
High importance to a culture/cultural group
Sacred religious dances
Movement that expresses or enhances spiritual experiences
Percussive dance
Highly rhythmic and musical
Precise execution of foot-based patterns
Uses the body to create a percussive sound
Social dance
Sociability and socializing are primary focuses of dancing
All of the above are dances in the US pre-Civil War
How was African American dance created?
African Americans
Descendants of enslaved Africans transported to the US in the slave trade
Descendents of indentured servants
Working to pay off debt, no salary
Free/freed men
Born free or received their freedom through payment
Completed servitude or granted from owner
Cultural Retention Factors
Factors that enable a person or people to keep cultural aspects that help define who or what they are
1. The # of enslaved Africans in disembarkation location
2. Catholic vs. Protestant practices of slavery
3. Slave master involvement
4. Size of plantations
5. Proximity of plantations
6. Banning of the drum
Enslaved Africans in the new world
1501-1505 is when Santo Domingo was the capital of the DR
1619
The White Lion brought 20-30 enslaved Africans landed at Point Comfort in VA
1807
Slave Trade Act prohibited the importation of slaves to the US
1863
Emancipation Proclamation
Freed slaves in the rebellious/Confederate states
The 13th Amendment officially abolished slavery
What the numbers show
44.8% of enslaved Africans were taken to the Caribbean Islands
49.9% were taken to South America, mostly Brazil
4.2% were taken to the USA
2. Catholic vs. Protestant practices of slavery
Keeping families/ethnic groups together
Slaves had a right to marry
Had a right to seek relief from a cruel master
Insisted slaves had a right to purchase their freedom
Protestants believed the opposite and adopted the harsher practices
Chattel slavery
One person has total ownership of another
3. Slave master involvement
Absentee slaveowner
Present slaveowner
4. Size of plantations
Plantations in the Caribbean were much bigger
Held 150+ slaves
Provided more opportunity to hide things
Half of all slaves in US worked on units with 20 or less slaves
5. Proximity of plantations
Allowed for more social interaction/exchanges between various groups
6. Banning of the drums in the US
The Stono Rebellion in 1739 banned drums
Led by “Jenny”, who used drums to call other slaves to rebel
Largest slave rebellion in the 13 colonies
Drums were banned afterward
Impact of the Stono Rebellion
Negro Act of 1740
Restricted the assembly, education, and movement of slaves
Ceased importation of African slaves for 10+ years
Penalties against slave owners for harsh treatment of slaves
This was a large reason for the rebellion
Slaveholders couldn’t free slaves w/o legislative approval
Outlawed slave dances
Banned drums, horns, and other loud instruments
8/31
Due to the new laws, Africans lost their sacred identity
Who you are as a people
Reinforcement of their religious belief
Reinforcement of their cultural and social identity
Expression of their cultural history
Example: People come to Pitt and start drinking and smoking when they were never like that, due to their environment
Africans also lost their aesthetic value system
Oral tradition
Family recipes
Oral narration
Passing stories down
Rhythmic inflection
Form and function
Movements to dancing served a certain purpose
Polycentrism
Understanding how to dance to certain music
European impressions
Percussive dances
4/4 music count
European couple dances
European ballroom dances
Aesthetics of dances on the Caribbean Plantation
Concepts of sensual perception
Extra-sensory perceptions (“sixth sense”, “vibe”, “energy”)
Personal preferences (likes and dislikes)
Cultural
Basic African dance movements
Body isolation
Body segmentation
Flat feet
Bent knees
Mimicry
Imitating work life (planting, hunting, harvesting)
Natural body motions
Staying within/near your body
Aesthetic commonalities in the Caribbean only
Oral tradition
Oral narration
Art form/cultural artifact that is used to document history and culture
Polyrhythm
Many movements going on in a dance
Repetition
Call and response
Everybody being engaged in the dancing
Musicians interacting w/ dancers and vice versa
Dances always have a lead drummer that affects the dance
The rhythm of the music dictates the dance
Audience interacting w/ dancers and vice versa
Polycentrism
Understanding how to dance to certain music
Rhythmic inflection
The usual rhythm in African dances is different than that of the rhythm in American dances
Dances done on the Caribbean plantation
Calenda
Chica
Bamboula
Juba
Considered the greatest dancer at the time
Wedding dances
Crop-over
People of color dances
Funeral dances
Banda
Bele
Parading and masquerading
John Canoe (Jonkanoo)
Mass character that comes out around Christmas time
Gombay dancers
Mass figures that walk around on stilts
Caribbean Danced Religions
Religions where dance is a major part of worship
Candomble
Danced religion in Brazil
Used aspects of the Roman Catholicism and indigenous American traditions
Publicly acknowledged/accepted
Vodoun/Voodoo
Danced religion in Haiti
“Vodou” means “spirit” or “deity”
Not publicly acknowledged/accepted
Santeria
Danced religion in Spanish speaking countries
Devotion to the saints/santos
Shouters
Dances on the US plantation
Mimicry dances
Buck and wing
Buzzard lope
Pigeon wing
Jig
Cake walk
House slave dances
Much like mimicry dances
Mimicking the owners
Percussive dances
Tap dancing
Using metal to make the sounds (without drums)
Hambone
Stepping, slapping, patting your body to make the sounds (without drums)
Response to the banning of the drums
Clogging
Much like tap dancing
More like Irish jig dancing
Ring dances
Most spiritual/sacred dance found in the US plantations
Special occasion dances
Saturday nights
Corn shucking
Weddings
Done in private areas since slaves could not marry
Ring shout
Worship dance
Like what you’d see in black churches today
Other instruments used on US plantation
Tambourine
Fiddle
Banjo
Pattin juba
Congo square
Open area in the southern US where Africans were allowed to drum and dance in NOLA
Quadroon Balls
Miscegenation - Mixing people of different races
Mulatto
Person of mixed white and black
EX: Obama
Quadroon
¼ African, ¾ European
EX: Zendaya
Octoroon
1/8 African, rest European
You could be enslaved if you had ANY African descent
Promenade Balls
White slave masters would pimp out their daughters to be mistresses to other men
Six streams of dance in the US
1st stream dance
Dancing for one’s own enjoyment
2nd stream dance
Dancing for others enjoyment
3rd stream dance
Dancing to make their owners money
Dancing on the auction block
Dancing on the slave ships
Dancing competitions
Sacred religious dances
Rare in the US because of lack of cultural history
Social dances
Focusing on socializing w/ the dances
Rebellion dances
Dancing in opposition to rules/practices
Things to know for test
Specific dances from Caribbean, North America, Dances of the Levee
Quadroon Balls
Discuss African culture in Caribbean vs. US
Define and explain African aesthetics in Caribbean vs. US
Characteristics of movements
Discuss + define various African aesthetics
Trans-Atlantic slave trade
Cultural retention
Six streams of dance
Dances in US plantations
Congo Square (history, relevancy, cultural impact