Besides dance techniques and simple, quick to learn movements, including the movement diversity and expressive possibilities of West African dances, the rhythm of the drums and knowledge about the tradition and meaning of the dances are taught.
The African dances are full of vitality, promote the entire body feeling and offer a variety of movements to us in our everyday lives have been lost.
A key feature is the use and enjoyment of the spine, pelvis and shoulder movement as an independent centers.
The workshop is opened to beginners and advanced.
The workshops to the african dance is accompanied by drummers.
Beginner: 10:00 à 13:00
Advanced: 15:00 à 18:00
Dates:
22.-23. novembre 2008
Costs:
65,- Euro per weekend, each group
100,- Euro per weekend, for both groups
Registrations up to a week before the deadline 60, - Euro
Location:
Seminar room in Altstadtcafe Wedel, Rolandtstraße 2a
If not enough participants are registrating an alternative date will be suggested.
Fanta is a dancer and dance teacher.
She teaches traditional West African dances and songs -- especially the dances from Guinea.
Fanta Haba starts with an age of 11 years the training as a dancer at Manana Cisse, the director of the "Ballets africains." She was a member in various traditional dance ensembles in Guinea. Since 1998, she is teaching and gives her knowledge of the West African dances in numerous workshops to many people from Europe, America and Asia.
Since the end of 2006 she is a member of Djante Bi. Djante Bi (in the language Wolof, the twilight) is an international dance and drum ensemble, founded in the autumn of 2002 by Sana Diedhiou (dancers, drummers and choreographer). The artists from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Togo and Germany provide insights into traditional and modern dance forms from West Africa. These include choreography, as since the 1950s in the West African dance schools taught, and the solo dance, as he demonstrated at traditional festivals.
"The African dances offer a variety of movements to us that in our modern, european everyday life has been lost. They belong to the most expressive dances at all. They require the entire body feeling and always reflect events or life situations of the everyday or festive life..
They are full of joy and connect power with elegance. The head is light and airy, the feet are deeply rooted in the soil. The West African dance is a rich source of energy and zest for life. The own body movements felt in elementary and awareness with fun. "
Traditional dance in Africa occurs collectively, expressing the life of the community more than that of individuals or couples. Dances are often segregated by sex, reinforcing gender roles in children. Community structures such as kinship, age, status are also often reinforced.[5]
"Musical training" in African societies begins a birth with cradle songs, and continues on the backs of relatives both at work and at festivals and other social events. The sounding of three beats against two is expeienced in everyday life and helps develope "a two-dimensional attitude to rhythm". Throughout western and central Afirca child's play inculdes games that develope a feeling for multiple rhythms..[6]
African dance utilizes the concepts of polyrhythm and total body articulation.[7]
Shoulders, chest, pelvis, arms, legs etc., may move with different rhythms in the music. They may also add rhythmic components independent of the those in the music. Very complex movements are then possible even though the body does not move through space.[1]
Dancers are able to switch back and forth between rhythms without missing movements.[8] It is extremely important that the dancers maintain clarity.[9]
Dancers in Nigeria comonly combine at least two rhythms in their movement, and the blending of three rhythms can be seen among highly skilled dancers. Articulation of as many as four distinct rhythms is rare.[10]
African dances are largely participatory, with spectators being part of the performance. With the exceptions of spiritual, religious, or initiation dances, there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers. Even ritual dances often have a time when spectators participate.[11]
Many dances are performed by only males or females, indicating strong beliefs about what being male or female means, and strict taboos about interaction. One example would be dances that celebrate the passage from childhood to adulthood.[12] In the Jerusamera of Zimbabwe the major movement for men is the mbende step, a quick darting movement from a crouched position. Twisting of the waist and hips is the main movement of the women.[13] Master dancers and drummers are particular about the learning the dance exactly as taught. Children must learn the dance exactly as taught without variation. Improvisation or a new variation comes only after mastering the dance, performing, and receiving the appreciation of spectators and the sanction of village elders.[14]
Rather than emphasizing individual talent, Yoruba dancers and drummers express communal desires, values, and collective creativity. The drumming represents an underlying linguistic text that guides the dancing performance. However, the majority of meaning comes from the nonverbal cues and metalanguage of the performers. The spontaneity of these performances creates the impression of an extemporaneous speech. This characteristic should not, however, be confused with improvisation, which emphasizes the individual and bolsters her or his ego. The drummer's primary duty is to preserve the community. S/he mediates the audience and the performer interaction.[2]
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. One example of a warrior dance is Agbekor. Franci Elkins, a world renowned African dancer, has been quoted as saying that this is her favorite dance. Agbekor comes from the Foh and Ewe people. It is an ancient dance once known as Atamga. Agbekor is often performed at cultural events and at funerals. Dance movements mimic battlefield tactics such stabbing with the end of the horsetail. This dance consists of phrases of movements. A phrase consists of a “turn” which occurs in every phrase and then a different ending movement. These phrases are added back to back with slight variations within them, and make up the dance.
Dances of Love are performed on special accessions, such as weddings and anniversaries. One example is the Nmane dance performed in Ghana. It is done solely by women during weddings in honor of the bride.
Rites of Passage and Coming of Age Dances are performed to mark the coming of age of young men and women. They give confidence to the dancers who have to perform in front of everyone. It is then formally acknowledged they are adults. This builds pride, as well as a stronger sense of community.
Dances of Welcome are a show of respect and pleasure to visitors, as well as a show of how talented & attractive the host villagers are. 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 & catch them at the same time.
Dances of Possession and Summoning These are common themes, and very important in many Traditional African Religions. They all share one common link: a call to a Spirit. These spirits can be the spirits of Plants or Forests, Ancestors, or Deities. The Orishas are the Deities found in many forms of African religion, such as Candomble, Santeria, Yoruba mythology, Voodoo, and others. Each orisha has their favourite colours, days, times, foods, drinks, music, and dances. The dances will be used on special occasions to honor the orisha, or to seek help and guidance. The orisha may be angry and need appeasing. Kakilambe is a great spirit of the forest who is summoned using dance. He comes in the form of a giant statue carried from the forest out to the waiting village. There is much dancing and singing. During this time the statue is raised up, growing to a height of around 15". Then the priest communes and asks Kakilambe if they will have good luck over the coming years, and if there are any major events to be aware of, such as drought, war, or other things.
Yankadi and Macru are two common dances. They are from Guinea, West Africa. Yankadi is slow and mellow, while Macru has a faster tempo with lots of movement. 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 women prepares by putting on ragged and dirty clothes, then goes with a group of drummers to the tree. The group plays, and she sings and dances all around the village before returning to the tree. There she digs a hole and removes her ragged clothing; she buries these at the foot of the tree with a prayer for help.
Text from Wikipedia