Dance confiscation and fusion

Dance Confiscation and Fusion

In this short essay, we will consider the dynamic between confiscation and fusion in the development of modern dance. The author will begin by defining confiscation and how it relates to dance and culture. In the opinion of the author, modern American dance relies heavily upon elements that were "confiscated" (taken) from -non-European dance. We will explore Begin by fusion and how it relates to dance and culture by examining the combination of European and non-European aspects.

We will begin by defining confiscation and how it relates to dance and culture, particularly modern dance. According to Richard A. Rogers in an article in the Howard Journal of Communications, the term confiscation emphasizes the conflicting relationship between cultures (especially between the main and sub-cultures. Confiscation in dance represents the adoption of techniques and influences that are from these outside native culture(s). The fact that modern American dance is circumscribed by and defined so much in the light of non-European influences such as African-American forms is evidence in favor of this proposition. As Rogers further puts it, the colonized peoples are able to have a profound effect upon the culture of the colonizers, especially when they have a cultural void (Rogers, 1998, 6-7).

Dance is frequently a means of communication and there is no exception in dance. Historically, dance has been a critical form of communication in the African-American community. While lacking native cultural influences may be a disadvantage on one hand, it can be tremendously advantageous in terms of development because circumstances force innovation to create new styles and forms. This forces fusion of the two forms in new ways. This type of approach rejects the present politically correct portrayal of muliticulturalism dual to the conflict (ibid.). The term confiscation can be used because African-Americans felt pride that their dance forms were coveted by whites. However, they also feared loss of control over those forms. Black dance performer Norma Savoy documents that this happened in the form, technique and structure in black ballroom dancing. Savoy specifically expresses her fears over loss of control over the form to whites who would appropriate them (ibid., 13).

Fusion is the combination of the two disparate above cultures. As documented above, the development of the Lindy Hop during the Harlem Renaissance is typical of this. At this time, millions of southern blacks migrated to northern cities where Afro-American dance fused with white ballroom dancing, especially in dance halls such as the Savoy Theater. On the white side of dialectic, we can find a European-American dancer such as Ernie Smith. He remarked that the Lindy was a black dance even though it was danced by whites because it arose from black culture and experience. However, as Smith documents, as it came into white ballrooms, it was no longer a "cool" dance but became jerky and something different: the Jitterbug. While form and technique remain very similar, they became structurally different to please whites. Neither the Lindy or the Jitterbug were exclusively black or white. Rather, they were related and came from the fusion of the cultures (ibid., 14).