I try to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater -- under the artistic direction of dancer par excellent Judith Jamison -- whenever they are in town. I happen to love this troupe that has performed for an estimated 23 million people in 71 countries on six continents. I totally relate to the dances and to the music that happens to be rooted in the unique African-American experience. I also love that while creating his dances, the late great formally trained founder, Mr. Ailey called forth his memories of the American south. He summoned the universal human experience so aptly expressed in the blues, gospel music, and Negro spirituals. Doing so caused him to create unbelievable works, one of which is his critically acclaimed and most popular, entitled Revelations.
Now don't get me wrong. The company performs ballet and other dance genres. They also strive to preserve the wholly American modern dance heritage. Therefore, knowing this, while watching the performers, whose ethnicities widely vary, I felt powerfully moved, and stirred, and I began to think about the origins of African Dance. Thus, there are a few things I'd like to share.
African dance has played a most vital role in the lives of tribal people since their earliest existence. Dance was used in many ways in everyday life. It was significant in religious rituals; it was used to request success from the supernatural, to deter danger, to express emotion, and to celebrate life’s milestones. I am aware that other ethnicities use dance in similar manners. However African dancers do what some others do not. They use their body’s different centers to create complex movements; whereas in parts of the world others dance by simply using the body as a whole. I love the isolation that African dance employs, causing different areas of the body to rhythmically move while creating a breathtaking whole.
I love the mood, set by the drum, the beat -- the actual steady heartbeat of the dance. The drum and the beat were carried to the 'new world' when the enslavement of Africans began, in the 15 and 1600's. In Portugal, Spain, the Caribbean, and in the Americas, dance and the drumbeat were used to keep alive the African's cultural connection with his and her homeland. However, in North America this became prohibited. Yet despite the often times degrading harshness of their new existence, the African found a way to allow his and her spirit to occasionally soar, through beautiful transcendent dance. They did so by allowing their moves, and their bodies -- unlike their souls and their dreams -- to adapt. Instead of lifting the feet, as prohibited, the hips took over, and the feet were slid or shuffled, while keeping the beat, the rest of the body continued to undulate.
This type of dance is a powerful thing to watch. Not only does it speak to those of African descent, it simply speaks...to humans no matter their race, or ethnicity. This is evidenced by the millions, who like me; flock to see the Ailey Dance Theater. This is also evidenced by the dances that we see throughout the world, innumerable dances that have been Afro-Rhythmically inspired. As an African-American, I am proud to say: beautiful dance – African dance, and ethnic dance -- will forever live on.