It is about living in a much deeper way instead of a superficial way. That is so important for me, because through dance, I can reach a world that we are not really able to reach when we are in our normal, everyday life. In many cultures throughout history, dance has been used to express the basic needs, struggles and strengths of the individual and community. Dance fosters collaboration and trust by breaking down barriers in a magical way, which is difficult to describe but can certainly be felt by all. As a universal language, dance speaks of joy and a hope that can never be taken away.
Ibo Presentations Personal Reflection Presentations Day One: The first day of presentations dealt with the Ibo ceremonial traditions related to tribal dancing and music as well as welcoming ceremonies for new and returning guests. For the dancing portion of the day, we were able to step into the shoes of a traditional Ibo dancer which helped me understand fully the difficulty and speed that characterized the Ibo dances. Music is very significant in Ibo culture as it is a means of celebration, piety, and communication between villages and individual people as well. I think that music and the use of drums will be useful for our reading of Things Fall Apart as music is a key representation of the Ibo tribal relations and ceremonies. For example, if the music is slow and uneventful, it could be a song of mourning for a loss of a loved one, while the faster music could suggest a celebration.
From microcosmic view, either playing magic or guitar has the same goal to work on. They both entertain people and make them feel impressive. After people listening to fascinating rhythm from guitar or watching to some amazing magic tricks, both avocations induce people to deliberate further and develop a creative view towards their life. If we try to look at my hobbies from my intriguing life experience, we will know that not only playing guitar and magic, but everything needs hard work and patience. For instance, while I was playing tricks to my family and friends, their remarkable smiles make performers cheerful and energetic.
It has the ability to evoke deep emotions, most of which are usually pleasant. Unfortunately, with this type of influence and notoriety, there are some music that communicate harmful messages or are negative reflections on a particular society. Many entertainers know that their music are listened to by young, impressionable minds, but they believe that it is the parent’s responsibility to teach their children right from wrong; and their only job as entertainers is to entertain. But is this the correct mentality? No it is not.
Even Albert Einstein marveled over Xandi’s kinetic artwork. Faith Ringgold, on the other hand, introduced the element of painting quilts to art which allowed her to really fulfill her connection to her African and American culture. Her quilt pieces were sought after for their beauty and their simplicity of transporting them for exhibits. Even though Calder and Ringgold are similar in a lot of ways, they still have quite a number of differences between them. Faith Ringgold pretty much always knew that she was going to be an artist.
Dance became a form of entertainment for themselves and their masters. It contained elements and music that they brought with them from Africa. In addition, African dance went on to influence many popular American dances and styles. Dances that originated in African-American communities spread first to the nation and then to the world—like the Cakewalk, Turkey Trot, Charleston, and the Lindy Hop (a.k.a. Jitterbug, Jive).
THE PURITY OF AN INNER BEAUTY The concept of beauty that we visualize is different from person to person. The outer beauty is easy to identity with figures and appearance of a person. However, people usually ignore the inner beauty that reflects a person’s soul and beautiful hidden thoughts. People care too much on the way they look and unintentionally forget about the existence of their inner beauty – the true value of a person which lead to some of the struggles that they meet; as a result, they create a false image and destroy their own self-image. “When the other dancer is the self” by Alice Walker and “Mirrors” by Lucy Grealy are both their autobiographies.
African music is usually call and response, which came from the early people using music as the only way of long-distance communicating. The melodic side of African music is based on short units, to which the vocalist adds extra to with complicated calls. The melody is always simple, but is arranged with a complicated rhythm. Percussion in African Music is always the main part, which adds to Africa’s tribal feel. All the instruments are played with a percussion like feel; even the pitched instruments like a Marimba, Mbira, or the bells, or even some chordophones are played with a percussion like feeling.
Chris Rock's daughter then questioned him about why does she not have 'good' hair like most people do. In an attempt to sidetrack her question, he mentioned to her that her hair was beautiful, but did not manage to convince her. What this did though, was spark an interest in him to investigate where their roots- both literally meaning hair and their background originated from. Chris Rock visited African-American barbershops, science laboratories, conventions and also beauty salons. While on his travel, he also manages to visit India and discovers the origin of the hair that black women now use as extensions and addition to their own hair.
Shortly after finishing the Indian dancers were presented in their very traditional clothing, they performed two beautiful dances that they explained are used to worship their God. All the dance performances were beautiful, each was unique with their own culture and ways of dancing; some were enthusiastic, while others were calm and soft and the crowd received and departed each and one of them with applause. All the different cultures were introduced by a person that was as well part of the culture and would give a small history background and explain any behind the dance if there was any. This multi-cultural experience was emphasized even more at the sides of room where there was stands selling souvenirs from each culture. It ranged from clothing, to accessories, to food, and finally to small things such as bookmarks.