The most common form of dance within the sub-Saharan tradition, performed either in a closed circle or in a linear formation controlled by a team leader. Dance teams may include a soloist, or encourage each team member to leave the circle in turn and improvise freely in the centre. African dances are percussive, employing hand and foot movements and posture to express the rhythmic pulses of their dance. They are often led by musicians playing a flute, drum, xylophone, or bamboo gong. In some traditions, individuals break into an ecstatic trance while in other cultures the dancers may sing either before or during the dance. Dancers may carry staves or horse-tail switches and wear flowing gowns or brief skirts, with girdles or brass bells, and seed pod rattles around their ankles to accentuate their movements. As part of a spiritual ritual, dancers may wear masks, thus assuming the temporary identity of a god or a powerful ancestral spirit. A characteristic of African dance is the encouragement given to improvisation and innovation within the framework of traditional patterns, creating new, intricate, and intertwining rhythms and movements. In the 20th-c the influence of African dance rhythm, music, and gesture on modern and popular dance forms has spread from the Caribbean to the South and North American continents and to Europe.
The term African dance refers mainly to the dances of subsaharan and West Africa. The music and dances of northern Africa and the Sahara are generally more closely connected to those of the Near East. Also the dances of immigrants of European and Asian descent (e.g.
African dance has to be viewed in close connection with African Music.
A central trait of African dance is that it is polycentric. This means that - unlike many other regions of the world - the body is not treated as a "stiff" unit but is segmented into several centers of movement (shoulders, chest, pelvis, arms, legs etc.) that may be moved according to different rhythmical components of the music or even add rhythmical components of their own.
Cultural functions of African dances
Traditional dances often don't appear in isolation but are parts of broader cultural activities:
There are many forms of African dances, some of which are detailed below:
Warrior Dances. They give confidence to the dancers who have to perform in front of everyone. Yabara is a West African Dance of Welcome marked by ''The Beaded Net Covered Gourd Rattle'' (sekere-pronounced Shake-er-ay). It is thrown into the air to different heights by the female dancers to mark tempo and rhythm changes. This is an impressive spectacle, as all the dancers will throw & Dances of Possession and Summoning These are common themes, and very important in many Traditional African Religions. The Orishas are the Deities found in many forms of African religion, such as Candomble, Santeria, Yoruba, Voodoo, and others. Each orisha has their favourite colours, days, times, foods, drinks, music, and, of course, dances. The dances will be used on special occasions to honour the orisha, or to seek help and guidance. Kakilambe is a great spirit of the forest who is summoned using dance. There is much dancing and singing.Examples of African dances
Concern has been expressed that this article or section is missing information about: Area of origin of the first two dances.The specific information has been noted on the talk page where it may be discussed whether to include it. Yankadi and Macru are two common dances. The men and women who participate in the dance face each other in rows; everyone has a scarf, and the dancers put their scarf on the one whom they wish to dance with. Moribayasa is a dance used by women who have bad luck. It is also the name of a particular tree that grows near the village in Guinea where this dance originated. The group plays, and she sings and dances all around the village before returning to the tree.
User Comments Add a comment…