World Culture

"World Culture"
Written by Jose Diaz
September 4, 2001

I attended an assembly on African culture four years ago. I expected it to be nothing more than a summary of the history of African society and culture. I was proven wrong. This was a very lively and interactive meeting. Through their styles of dance I was shown how they live.

When I say that, I say it because what I got out of the assembly is that dance is a huge part of African culture. Although my memory of that event has faded somewhat a standout fact was how important masks are in African dances. The masks represent a spectrum of emotion. Certain masks symbolize happiness and grief. Some masks even symbolize respect for the dead. These masks, used in conjunction with the proper dance will produce a certain effect for the audience. It can best be compared to how a stage's setting during an opera can set the tone for the audience and even be an indication as to what kind of story is about to be told.

All types of stories could be told through these dances. The dances chiefly consist of drum beats through various instruments and maracas. Maracas are used very frequently in African dance sequences. The acoustics of the room are very important as well. The sound has to carry very far and loud in order for the dancers to move in sync with the beat. If the venue has poor acoustics, the performance will most likely be dismal. The dancers often seem connected to the music as their sequences of stepping and prancing around the set is about as fluid as water from a faucet.

I was mesmerized by the gracefulness of some of the dancers. Their bodies moved so freely that it appeared as if gravity was dictating their every movement. These dancers were also the fastest I had seen too. The pace of the music picks up and the dancers keep up with it even at amazing speeds. It made me wonder at times how they built up the endurance to keep that type of a pace up for a 6-10 minute segment. Facial expression was also very key in this assembly, as I noticed without some of the intense looks these performers had the dances wouldn't have made as much sense. The faster the pace became, the more angered the faces seemed to correspond with their frantic movements.

Dance is very important to their society but not only for the performance reasons. Folk stories and other tales are told through these dance methods as well. The style varies within each African region but the composition remains relatively the same. This assembly opened my eyes to a new culture I was never quite entirely aware of and I was very thankful for that. I strongly recommend anyone reading this article to pick up some literary material on African dance or to even perhaps see a live performance yourself. You will not be disappointed.

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