"The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." The dances showed something different to Ama they showed unity between a group of women who were so different and all came from different places but at the same time they were all alike. This provided hope for Ama and allowed her to appreciate the art of dance. It brought her back to her childhood and she was able to relate to these women and understand their message. This reading and the guided activity showed how dancing is more then what it seems to be. Dance can have deep messages in them and it gave me a good look into a kind of dance i've never seen before. It showed me a new culture and how women should really take advantage of dance and use it more to rely messages. Maybe it will help some other girl who feels out of place just like it did for Ama.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Blog Post #7
This weeks reading and activities focused on the expression of dance. Dance is a way people can tell their stories and be themselves. It allows for freedom and can be very relaxing and also liberating. In the guided activity we watched different forms of dances being performed. "Walking With Pearls Southern Diaries" was a dance were all the women wore the same outfits but there was more then one dance. They had a lot of different dances choreographed and in the music the story was being told. "Walking With Pearls Africa" was very different from "Walking With Pearls Southern Diaries" they all wore different colored outfits but the dance was more unified. They worked together at the same time. There also was not a lot of music and just narration in the beginning. The reading Memory Walking With Urban Bush Women's Batty Moves By, Ama Oforiwaa Adunum really related these types of dances to her own life and how they are so influential. The "Batty Moves" dances that she describes shows women in their natural light. They are free and open with their dances and how they portray themselves. They show their history and where they are from and show that they are not afraid to be who they are. They really give off a strong message to all women everywhere. Ama is Ghanaian she grew up in Africa but went to college in the United States. This was obviously a huge transition for someone to go through. When she came to America she never felt at home. Her culture and the way she grew up did not fit the social stamina at the college that she attended. She was seen as different and she felt that she was looked down on for being African. Ama felt she was being pressured into pretending to be someone she was not just so she could fit in. When she saw the "Batty Moves" dances this all changed for her.
"The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." The dances showed something different to Ama they showed unity between a group of women who were so different and all came from different places but at the same time they were all alike. This provided hope for Ama and allowed her to appreciate the art of dance. It brought her back to her childhood and she was able to relate to these women and understand their message. This reading and the guided activity showed how dancing is more then what it seems to be. Dance can have deep messages in them and it gave me a good look into a kind of dance i've never seen before. It showed me a new culture and how women should really take advantage of dance and use it more to rely messages. Maybe it will help some other girl who feels out of place just like it did for Ama.
"The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." The dances showed something different to Ama they showed unity between a group of women who were so different and all came from different places but at the same time they were all alike. This provided hope for Ama and allowed her to appreciate the art of dance. It brought her back to her childhood and she was able to relate to these women and understand their message. This reading and the guided activity showed how dancing is more then what it seems to be. Dance can have deep messages in them and it gave me a good look into a kind of dance i've never seen before. It showed me a new culture and how women should really take advantage of dance and use it more to rely messages. Maybe it will help some other girl who feels out of place just like it did for Ama.
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Jaimee states,"The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." She brings clarity to the idea that dance was the major form of identity expression for these women. Because these women are low on the totem pole of power and strength, dance gave them the voice they were dying to use. Dance enabled them to tell their stories and their sorrow by costume, movement, song choice, and much more.
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