Inherited Movement, Traditions Redefined

The research for this thesis won the 2nd place award in the 2009 Denman Research Forum in the category of Arts/Architecture.Movement of the African Diaspora has a rich history that has yet to be studied and practiced as widely as other movement traditions today. The integration of movement of the African Diaspora into required curriculums across institutions of education is relatively small. Access to viewing this genre of movement also remains smaller than more prevalent forms of dance such as ballet and modern. Through this research we intended to expand our knowledge and movement vocabulary in order to help perpetuate the rich traditions that lie within movement of the African Diaspora. We desired to continue to create opportunities for citizens to view, analyze, and appreciate this type of movement. We conducted research via various texts, online articles, interviews, and study of choreographic and performance processes that represented movement of the African Diaspora. We directed a concert that involved several dancers that were allowed to learn and experience dance of the African Diaspora that is not studied intensely or as a requirement in the department of dance at The Ohio State University. We continue to bring this genre of movement to a broader audience by doing lecture/demonstrations at schools within the community, classes at The Ohio State University and various local venues. Our concert allowed our audience, fellow dancers and ourselves to indulge in and experience black dance in a concert setting. We realized that not everyone understood the history and meanings behind movement of the African Diaspora. We broadened the audience of this movement and distributed the history of this tradition. Institutions should integrate these traditions into their curriculums because it is important to provide students with knowledge of all forms of dance. We will further our studies of dance of the African Diaspora in order to offer people its history and traditional practices.Undergraduate Research ScholarshipNo embarg