The Development of African Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Development of African Dance - Essay Example There are important aspects of African dance and music that have evolved into the modern times and greatly influenced contemporary art forms worldwide. For example, rap music and hiphop dance, while they are very much part of contemporary art forms of the youth, are new versions of traditional African culture.African dances are full of symbolism. One persistent aspect of African dance is a common dance-pattern that is depicted by a wide, sweeping circle around a group of musicians situated in the center. Despite historical changes to dance, the circle formation has proved to be very durable, despite attempts to break up the circle formation. James (2000) says that the moving circle that defines the inner space for the dancers is a symbol of the celebration of the culture’s distinctiveness, and this symbol could be traced through Africa’s history of political subjugation and social change. The pattern could also be found in dances in slave plantations in the New World, a s well as the Sudanese and Ethiopian region of the upper Blue Nile.The circle formation could is evident in the Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian art form which ritualizes movements from martial arts and games and combines these with dance. (Please see powerpoint presentation.) Capoeira was popularized as a Brazilian dance, but evidence supports that it is a folk dance form developed by African slaves from traditional African dances and rituals. While African dance has influenced dance in other cultures, some authors such as Loots (2006).