When the word “dance” comes to mind, I usually think of dances that are unique in form and style, like ballet, breakdance, country dancing, or even folk dancing, among the many others types of dances. These dances are usually defined by their distinct characteristics: structured movements, specific type of music, and even rhythm.
Breakdancing
Ballet Dancing
Country Dancing
When I first heard of “Black Dance”, there wasn’t really any specific dance moves that came to mind. After reading the article, “History of Black Dance: 20th-Century Black American Dance”, I quickly discovered how significant of an impact black culture had on dance, especially Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus with their influence that inspired the emergence of black modern dance. After learning about a new dance category, I became curious as to what dance actually means, so I actually looked up what the word Dance, and I found that the Encyclopedia Britannica even refers to dance as a “nonverbal language”. So regardless of dance category, each dance must, without words, communicate a story, an emotion, or and idea.
Kyle Abraham
But this is no simple task, and choreographer, Kyle Abraham, knows just how difficult it is to convey a message. Knowing he admits that conveying a story that makes sense for its audience without being too abstract is “tough”, makes me wonder how truly “tough” it will be, as a member of the audience myself, to fully interpret and understand the meaning of the dance. As opposed to many on stage productions (whether that be a play, opera, show, concert, etc) that incorporate verbal communication to help the audience grasp the meaning of the performance, dance does not have that element. This fact allows for a more leeway and range in the audience’s own subjective understanding of the dance, which I think can make the experience a very personalized one!
I’ve never been to a professional dance performance or event (other than my younger sister’s dance recitals years ago), so I’m curious to see what it’s like to interpret the meaning of show purely through the analyzation of body movements!
I find it very fitting that Encyclopedia Britannica refers to dance as nonverbal language. When I was watching the short clip of the dance I took away exactly that, the performers were telling a story. Abraham may have believed that clearly conveying a message through dance was tough, but he certainly succeeded.
I was kind of shocked that the curriculum assigned at my high school left out dance when talking about Black culture because I was unaware of Black Dance as well; we focused only on music and literature. It was nice to expand my horizons a bit and learn about all of these influential people like Pearl Primus. Additionally I felt that Abraham executed his vision quite nicely the stage. I found the three minute clip to be quite intense and it definitely had my full attention. I’m excited to see more of this “nonverbal language” tomorrow night!
I really like how you explained what Britannica meant when they said dance is a “nonverbal language.” You explained that, “regardless of dance category, each dance must, without words, communicate a story, an emotion, or and idea.” Your post really clarified how difficult it is for an audience to grasp the message behind something that is not verbally stated. It makes you appreciate even more the techniques Abraham employees to get his ideas across.