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African Dance History

Autor:   •  December 17, 2017  •  1,614 Words (7 Pages)  •  835 Views

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Kapferer notes ‘….the critical importance of performance is the analysis of meaning and experience. Performance as the unity of text and enactment is realised in a variety of forms, aesthetic and otherwise, which carry with them…’ (Kapferer 1986, 202)

There is prescribed Zulu ways, just as there are prescribed Russian or French ways. Every culture has its ways which are each understood best in aesthetics. No matter how extravagant or creative one wants to get, they have to remember to stick to the general correctness of that culture.

Politics of Identity – An essentialist discourse?

Politics of identity are connected with aesthetics, language meaning which involves politics, pride and celebration of indigenous identity. Identity enables people to establish different individualism. The Pondo, Venda and Zulu women are all different in their own rights.

Opondo made sure to carefully follow the correct processes with the students while preparing to perform ‘Amaqhikiza’. She did this to avoid falling into the trap of the performance coming across as just a general South African identity.

New performance frontiers

Patricia Achieng Opondo talks about choreography in this section. She goes on to write about how contemporary has changed from the then and now and how it typically falls under the umbrella of folklore and heritage production. Elements of folklore include language, poetry, gesture, ululation, drumming, dance and iconography. For blacks, in the past in South Africa, their experience was distinguished by displacement but now the country moves towards integration. As a result, things vary in choreography such as the music, the movements, and the gestures and so on. “When we examine the notion of frontiers as physical spaces in urban contexts, they could be described as an ‘interspace’ (Opondo, 2006). The interspace provides performers with new ways to create, a safe place for them to express and find themselves. Indigenous knowledge is something within the artist which is feelings that manifest into creativity that contributes to the aesthetic choices they make. This is based on three parts that must work smoothly together. The body, voice and instruments.

It is the performer’s responsibility to educate the audience and not leave them feeling as if they simply just sat and watched something. Communication is achieved hugely through the choreography. The gestures must be clear, frequent rehearsal should occur for a strong neat performance with good movements and the correct costuming is truly important. The performers celebrate their identity, traditions and heritage with a lot of pride and the contextual features are taken into account when analysing and producing the movement. This all comes from indigenous knowledge. To maintain a level of authenticity, the performers need to stay away from ‘wishy-washy’ movements and be clear in their movements.

This concept of ‘Frontiers of Performance’ is to make it difficult for the performance space for knowledge. This provides new ideas for indigenous knowledge for performances in a different, maybe even more creative light.

Women ensembles manifest indigenous music, dance and evolve new styles in choreography. There is such a border separation between rural gatherings and theatre concerts but both expect the performance ensemble to show off their cultural heritage correctly with authenticity. Knowledge of culture is past down from generation to generation and one must keep the culture alive through creativity of dance, drama, music and literature. The ways of knowing is shown through art, and one must keep that candle burning.

References

Achieng Opondo, Patricia. "Song-Gesture-Dance: Redefined Aesthetics In The Performance Continuum As South African Women's Indigenous Groups Explore New Frontiers". Critical Arts20.2 (2006): 61-72.

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