Kwanzaa: A Dance of Your Own

Using a West African Traditional Dance Model

Most traditional West African dance is gestural. This means that the movement shows a specific idea using the body, particularly the hands and arms. The ideas are linked together to form a story, telling of a time in history. Dance is like a record of stories from the past. The dancers create movement so that the past can be remembered. Often the dances tell about traveling to a new place, going to a special event, or learning how to do or make something important to one's life.

Decide your Theme

Begin making your story by choosing one of the following themes, topics, that you experienced:

• taking a trip,
• going to a memorable celebration,
• doing activities at home, in the backyard, or at the park.

Create the Actions

1. Write down the ideas for four gestural movements to tell the story of your theme. Remember, gestural movement is movement that uses your arms, hands and body, but you stay in one space. You can bend down, twist, and stretch. These are called non-locomotor or stationary movements. Write down the four movements. For example, if you took a trip, list the first thing you might do to prepare for travel. Now think of three more movement actions that can be placed one after the other to tell about your trip. You might show how you traveled and what you did on the trip.
2. Practice doing your four movements, but stay in one space.

Create the Movement Phrases

The next step is to create movement phrases.

• Start with the first movement, repeat the action 8 times but allow the gesture to move your body through space. This is called locomotor movement. Practice the phrase so that you design a large circle while moving. Increase the size of the gesture so that you are using your arms, legs, head, and torso to communicate your idea.
• Next, add your second gesture but make it stationary. Repeat this movement 4 times while making the action small.
• Continue the sequence with the third gesture, which is locomotor again, and travels in the same circular direction. Repeat this gesture 8 times and use large movements.
• Finally, add the last gesture, which will be stationary, smaller in size, and repeated 4 times.
• Now, start from the beginning and repeat the whole "dance" one more time. The sequence is:
  1. First gesture, large, 8 times, moving in a circle
  2. Second gesture, small, 4 times, stationary (in the same place)
  3. Third gesture, large, 8 times, moving in the same circle
  4. Fourth gesture, small, 4 times, stationary.

Share with a Partner

Exchange "dance" with one other person so that you teach your dance and learn another. Keep your steps simple. They can alternate right, left, right, left, or any combination of patterns such as right, right, left, left or right, left, left. The arms, head and upper body will be telling the four parts of your story.

• Practice doing your entire sequence twice
• Then add the other person's "dance." Repeat it twice.

Add the Rhythm

The way you organize, put together, the movement in time is called rhythm. One basic rhythm, used for all social dances in West African tradition, follows the basic time signature 4/4. It is a syncopated or accented rhythm, which has a basic 4-count pulse.

• With your partner, have one person clap his or her hands slowly and evenly while counting out loud, 1,2,3,4.
• The other person will syncopate the basic pattern by accenting the time in between pulses or counts. The traditional West African 4/4 time involves three slow claps and two fast claps (slow, slow, slow, fast, fast) x/x/x/xx/. Two fast claps equals one slow clap.
• You can even try slapping the rhythm on your body, stamping your feet, or creating sounds with your voice.
• Practice the pulse and syncopation several times and switch parts so each person has a chance to do both rhythms.

Put the Dance Together

Next look at the movements from above and decide what the tempo or speed of the rhythm will be. Do you want it fast, slow, or in between? Work in groups of four people so that one group performs the "dance" sequence, which actually combines two individual dances repeated twice in a row, while another group claps, stomps, sings, or uses percussion instruments to create the rhythm and tempo.

Thinking about your Dance

After you have performed, write down thoughts about your story. Describe your movements and feelings in words. How did the story make you feel? What was it like to perform another person's story? Why did you choose this story? How did your dance symbolize important values in your life? What did you learn about the values of the other person whose dance you performed?