Artist That I Respect the

¶ … artist that I respect the most for her commitment to equality is Pearl Primus. Much of her life's work related to dancing involved illustrating the authentic history of this art form for both Africans and African-Americans. Additionally, Primus choreographed a number of specific dances as protest dances that spoke out against injustices African-Americans were enduring in contemporary times. Doing so proved that she was not just a scholar, but also someone who was actively seeking social justice through the medium of art.

In addition to her contributions to the field of dance, Primus' scholarly contributions also helped to further her cause of equality for African-Americans since she devoted a great portion of her life to studying anthropology and its relationship to peoples of African descent. Primus also studied dance abroad in Africa to bring a degree of authenticity to her anthropological erudition and to her choreography and dancing as well. Her life helped to serve as an example to other influential dancers and scholars of African-based dance.

This is a link to a dancer's interpretation of Primus' "Hard Time Blues" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wKQMyGaEsM. The innovator from this week's reading that impacted me the most was Asadata Dafora. Dafora proved very vital to the understanding of African dance in the United States because he was African, first of all, and was able to replicate and perform African dancing in this country at a time when many people did not know what this dancing truly looked like.

Dafora's work was instrumental in demonstrating that African culture was as valid as anything produced in Western society, particularly in terms of dance. More importantly, he was able to show the African dancing in theater settings that offered this form of dance maximum exposure in the U.S. I agree with Nicole that one of the most impressive things about Katherine Dunham is the versatility she displayed in her work as a dancer, choreographer, author and teacher.

Aside from their interests in dance, both Dunham and Primus were both anthropologists, which is not common for dancers. They both were able to incorporate aspects of formal education and dance together to make the form of dancing they created and pioneered one of cultural expression, distinct to African-Americans. It is also noteworthy that these women danced and choreographed during the same time, and inevitably influenced the work of one another.

There are distinct similarities between Shaina's selection for a dancer who is respectable for his commitment to equality, Renni Harris, and my selection, Pearl Primus. Both of them incorporated different elements of other cultures into the type of dance they were utilizing. In fact, they even incorporated some of the same sources. Both dancers/choreographers used different forms of African dance in their productions. This sort of fusion is important because it enables an art form to progress with a certain continuity.

By taking from the past and shaping it to define a new future, each of these dancers was able to move dance forward. An important similarity between Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham that Jessica alludes to is the fact that as African-American women, they must have encountered some form of resistance to their careers as scholars and dance artists. Their perseverance in overcoming whatever obstacles that was set before them related to these factors is encouraging.

One may also argue that these obstacles inadvertently shaped the type of dance that they went on to practice, since it allowed them to dig further into the history of their people for inspiration. They certainly shared many similarities. The overall tone of From Before is raucous and joyful. There is a solemnity expressed at various times during which dancers remain motionless in elaborate poses, looking upwards at what must have been the sky during conventional African performances of such a dance.

But the music and the overall tone was a controlled sense of riotousness. Near the end of the dance, when the dancers were all gesturing up at the sky, they seemed to be asking something of nature or of God. Also, towards the end when a man and woman came out dancing in sync while hand in hand, this appeared to denote mating.

When he man in purple with the long hair had the solo in which he jumped up and down and spun around a lot, he seemed to be demanding something of nature. When all four women were dancing the same moves in synonymously, they appeared to be taking part in a mating ritual dance. The woman in the very beginning who was kicking her legs above her head appeared to be expressing her power. The sound score is based on percussion.

There seems to be at least three different types of drum instruments used. There are also vocal chanting and flute/pipe sounding instruments near the end. In terms of interpreting the work, it is crucial to note that in the beginning the male and female dancers are largely separate from one another. Even within the sex, they appear to be separate from one another.

As the dance progresses the men and the women appear to unify with one another based on sex; near the end they unify with one another as a basic group. This dance seems to be about the coming together of different peoples for a common purpose, probably religious as denoted by the constant gazing above. If the purpose is not expressly religious it appears to be to invoke nature in some sort of way. The choreographer is attempting to express this purpose through those who are dancing.

Fagan's cultural background shapes his artistic process by helping to provide the theme and the feel of the type of dance that he is choreography, particularly in From Before. There is an obvious African influence in this work, in the movements an in the music, that is part of the choreographer's culture as an African-American. One specific movement motif is when the dancers clasp their hands.