A Culture Explained

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     People were starting to get restless. It was the opening night of Les ecailles de la memoire (The scales of memory) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the show was already ten minutes late in getting started. However, once the theater went dark and the music started to play, all that frustration melted away and all that was left was awe. Les ecailles de la memoire is a show filled with breathtaking music, astonishing dance, and a sincere story about the culture of a people.

     The most striking element of the performance was the dancing. In a world filled with hip-hop or even ballroom for the more classical person, African dance is not something that is often encountered in our everyday lives. The exotic nature of the dances in the performance captivated the audience. Although it was a different style of dance, its purpose was the same – to dramatize emotion. However, beyond the wonderful peculiarities of this style of dance, the Urban Bush Women and the Compaigne Jant-Bi from Senegal were clearly skilled dancers. They moved in ways that most people could not even imagine.

     The wonderful dancing abilities of the two groups were supplemented by the music. The music was exotic and it had the ability to convey emotion through sound in order to supplement the visual experience of dance. The two complemented each other in every possible manner. When the scene was a joyous one, such as the party scene, the music was upbeat and quick, but when the scene was dark and dramatic, the music was slow and heavy. When the music pulsated like a beating heart, the dancers pulsated along with it.

     Behind the artistry of the performance, there is a spectacular underlying story. The dancers rarely speak and when they do it is often in a foreign language. In addition, the performance seems to jump from scene to scene with little concern for continuity. As a result of these things, it is difficult to understand what the piece is exactly about it. However, the trick is not to watch this performance like a movie or a Broadway show, but to immerse yourself in the emotion that the music and dance is trying to convey. Only through these emotions will you be able to understand what is going on.

     In the beginning, the story seems to be about identity as the dancers come out unto the stage and introduce themselves in terms of their ancestors. The constant jumping from scene to scene may trick you into thinking that this performance is about the different African cultures present in the world. However, you soon learn that this is the tale of the common culture of the African people.

     Although it is a story of a common culture, it is interesting to note how often the two dance groups, the Urban Bush Women and the Compaigne Jant-Bi from Senegal, perform separately. The purpose of this may be to give the dancers resting time between dances, but it also has the effect of emphasizing the differences in the dancing styles of these two groups. During the performance, it is extremely apparent that these are separate dance groups because they move differently. However, the two groups do a great job at combining their two styles during the dances in which both participate. It is in these particular dances that the magic of the African culture is revealed.