Cross‐Cultural Perspectives on the Creation of American ...
Moore 1
Cross-CulturalPerspectivesontheCreationofAmericanDance
1619?1950
ByAlexMoore ProjectAdvisor:DyaneHarvey SeniorGlobalStudiesThesiswithHonorsDistinction
December2010
[We]needtounderstandthatAfricanslaves,throughlargelyself-generativeactivity, moldedtheirnewenvironmentatleastasmuchastheyweremoldedbyit. ...AfricanAmericansaredescendantsofapeoplewhoweresecondtononeinlayingthe foundationsoftheeconomicandculturallifeofthenation. ...Therefore,...honestAmericanhistoryisinextricablytiedtoAfricanAmericanhistory, and...neithercanbecompletewithoutafullconsiderationoftheother. --SterlingStuckey
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Index
1) FindingtheFamiliarandExpressionsofResistanceinPlantationDances--------------6
a) TheRingShout b) TheCakeWalk
2) ExperimentationandRespondingtoHostilityinEarlyPartnerDances----------------14
a) HuggingDances b) SlaveBallsandRaceImprovement
c) TheBluesandtheRoleoftheJook 3) CrossingtheRacialDividetoFindUniquelyAmericanFormsinSwingDances------22
a) TheCharleston
b) TheLindyHop
TopicsforFurtherStudy--------------------------------------------------------------------------------30
Acknowledgements--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31
WorksCited------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32
AppendixA
AppendixB
AppendixC
AppendixD
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Cross-CulturalPerspectivesontheCreationofAmericanDance
Whenpeopleleavethesocietyintowhichtheywereborn(whetherbychoiceorby
force),theybringasmuchoftheircultureastheyareablewiththem.Cultureservesasan
extensionofidentity.Danceisoneoftheculturalelementseasiesttobringalong;itisone
ofthemostmobileelementsofculture,tuckedawayinthemusclememoryofourbodies.
Whenpeoplefromdifferentbackgroundsfindthemselveslivingsidebysideina newsetting,theresultisoftenafusionofdanceforms,aspeopleborrowfromone anotherandtransformwhattheyborrowtoreflectnewsocialrealities.Nowhere hasthisprocessbeenasdramaticinitsconsequencesasinNorthandSouth AmericaandtheCaribbean,whereEuropeanandAfricaninfluencescombinedto createnewdanceformsofgreatpowerandlastingimport.(Jonas164)
InordertogainaglobalperspectiveondanceintheUnitedStates,onemust
recognizethemanyimmigrantstotheU.S.andtheculturesthattheybrought,particularly
thosefromWestAfricaandfromEurope.Europeansbroughtcourtdancessuchasthe
WaltzaswellasfolkdancessuchasIrishclogging.1Thesedancesmixedwithdances
broughtbyAfricans2tocreateuniquelyAmericanstyles.
Thus,asthedanceevolved,theAfro-Americanelementsbecamemoreformaland diluted,theBritish-Europeanelementsmorefluidandrhythmic,buttheover-all trendwasoneway--Afro-Americandanceexertedanincreasinglystronginfluence onthedanceasawhole.Thistrendreversestheusualpatterndescribedby anthropologistsinwhichthecultureofanearlymajorityswallowsuptheculturesof ingasitdidfrompeoplewhoarrivelateintheUnitedStates, theAfro-Americanvernaculardemonstratedararevitality.(Stearns24)
Itisnormalforthecultureoftheoppressortobetakenupbytheoppressed;itis
muchlesscommonthatthecultureoftheoppressedprofoundlyinfluencesthatofthe
oppressor.ThatAfricandancehasplayedsuchahistoricallyimportantroleinAmerican
lifeandsocietyisatestamenttotheimportancethatdanceplayedinAfricansociallife,to
itsresiliency,andtoitsabilitytochangewiththepressuresofnewsurroundings.Asimilar 1SeeAppendixAforbasicprinciplesoftheEuropeandanceaesthetic. 2SeeAppendixBforbasicprinciplesoftheAfricandanceaesthetic.
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studycouldbeginwithEuropeandancebroughttotheNewWorld,followitthroughthe generationstounderstandauniqueAmericanstory,watchitmergeslowlywithAfrican Americanforms,andconclude,asIwill,withSwingdances.However,thisstudywillbegin withtheAfricantrajectoryinordertoreachthesameend.Inchoosingthistrajectory,I hopetoraiseawarenessofandgiverespecttotheinordinatelylargeinfluencethatAfrican andAfricanAmericanculturehashadinthecreationofAmericandanceandculture;to understandthroughalandscapeofdancethedifficultandmanystrugglesofAfrican Americanhistory;andtodemonstratehowdancecanbeusedtoilluminateotherfieldsthat studythesocial,politicalandculturalevolutionthattookplaceintheAmericas.
ThattheAfricancultureofdance[didn'tdisappearbut]persistedagainstthe oppressivesurroundingsintheUnitedStatesislesssurprisingwhenwetakeadeeperlook atAfricandances'culturalrole.IndescribingAfricandancesofthepeople,itisimportant nottolet"traditional"beconfusedwithanythingthatisstatic;ratherAfricandances'great cultureofimprovisationactsasacatalystforchange,creatingaconstantlyflowingand changingartform.Also,unlikeEuropeanswhohistoricallysawadistinctseparation betweenworkandthecreationofart,
TheAfricanattitudetowardworkcouldscarcelyhavebeenmoredifferent: AfricansandtheirdescendantsinAmericawentoncreatingwhileworkingas before.Withsuchaheritageoffashioningartwhileworking,ofseeingnoconflict betweenthetwo,artisticexpressionwaslargelyregardedbyslaves,asithadbeen bytheirancestors,aspartofthelifeprocess,likeworkitself.Smallwonderthat blacks--exceptforNativeAmericansthemostoppressedpeopleinAmerican historyandpreeminentlyaworking-classpeople--haveremainedattheforefront ofartisticcreativityinmodernworldhistory.(Stuckey1) ArichvarietyofAfricandanceformsmergedontheplantation;reactedtosocial realitiesinthenewenvironment;andmixedwithEuropeandanceformstoeventually createnotonlyuniquelyAfricanAmericandanceforms,butuniquelyAmericandance forms.Inthisthesis,Iwillcompareseveraldancesandassesstheircreationand progressionchronologicallyastimesandinfluenceschanged,analyzingtheinfluencesthat cametogethertoaffecttheirchange.Iwilldothisbycomparingmovementquality,music, setting,participantsandcontemporarysociety.Throughout,thisthesiswillshowhowthe
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principlesoftheAfricanaestheticeitherbecamemoreorlesspronouncedassuch influenceschanged,howcertainprinciplesinterestinglyre-emergegenerationslater,and howprinciplesoftheEuropeanaestheticalsohadlastinginfluence.
ThethreeprincipledancecategoriesthatIwillexploreinchronologicalorderare earlyplantationdances,earlypartnerdances,andSwingdances.Whilemyanalysiswill unfortunatelyonlybrushuponasmallfractionoftherichhistorythroughwhichAfrican AmericanandAmericandancepassed,thedancesthatIchosecanbeusedtotraceAfrican culturethroughthelandscapeoftheAfricanAmericanexperiencefromtheplantationto emancipation,andfinallytowardintegration.Ihaveincludedfourappendixeswithmore indepthdescriptionsofcertaindanceforms,terminology,andvideoexamples.Thiswill hopefullyproveausefulaidtothereaderwhilenotclutteringthecontentofthisthesis. ThedatesthatIpresenttoframeeachperiodandeachdancearenottobeseenas demarcatingeachfromtheothersintosuccessive,definitivecategories.Rather,they shouldbeunderstoodtobefluid,oneoftenbleedingintoandoftenoverlappingwith another.
Whiledraftingthisthesisandresearchingdozensoftexts,Ifoundnumerous differenttermsinusetodescribepeople.Asthiscanbeasensitivesubjectandtermsflow inandoutofpopularusageandpoliticalcorrectnesswithtimeandlocation,Iwouldliketo addresstheterminologythatIwilluseinthediscourseofthisthesis.Someofthe numeroustermsIencounteredinmyresearchwere:African,AfricanAmerican,Black, Negro,Colored,Slave,EnslavedAfrican;White,EuropeanorEuro-American,slaveowner, andplantationowner,amongothers.Whenreferringtopre-CivilWarAmerica,Iwilluse theterm"EnslavedAfricans"ratherthan"Slaves",definingthosesoldintoslaverybywho theyareasAfricansratherthanbytheroleofslaveryintowhichtheywereforced.Iwill use"plantationowner"ratherthan"slaveowner"astodelegitimizetheconceptofowning anyone.Post-Emancipation,IwilldefineAmericansbasedontheirheritage,usingeither "AfricanAmerican"or"EuropeanAmerican".Thisisbecausea)othertermscanorhaveat timeshadnegativeconnotation,andb)termssuchas"Black"and"White"conveythat everyindividualpresumablycomesfromeitherahomogeneous"white"backgroundora homogenous"black"background,ignoringnotonlythespectrumofdifferencewithin Africa,butalsothatwithinEuropeandthatwhichwascreatedwithintheAmericas.The
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