Product Description
Few will dispute the profound influence that African American music and movement has had in American and world culture. Dancing Many Drums explores that influence through a groundbreaking collection of essays on African American dance history, theory, and practice. In so doing, it reevaluates "black" and "African American " as both racial and dance categories. Abundantly illustrated, the volume includes images of a wide variety of dance forms and performers, from ring shouts, vaudeville, and social dances to professional dance companies and Hollywood movie dancing.

Bringing together issues of race, gender, politics, history, and dance, Dancing Many Drums ranges widely, including discussions of dance instruction songs, the blues aesthetic, and Katherine Dunham's controversial ballet about lynching, Southland. In addition, there are two photo essays: the first on African dance in New York by noted dance photographer Mansa Mussa, and another on the 1934 "African opera," Kykunkor, or the Witch Woman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great resource for African-American Dance and Culture
This is not only a great read but an excellent resource.The text is a great addiition for dance history and African-American studies.

Dancing Many Drums
This is the most helpful book that I have found on African American Dance. From Hill's essay on Katherine Dunham's Southland to Green's work on Pearl Primus, this is an excellent resource on dance culture, especially as a form of resistance. DeFrantz also provides a useful and well-written overview in his introduction that contextualizes many of the essays. This book is very accessible and extremely valuable.

Dancing Many Drums
This is the most helpful book that I have found on African American Dance. From Hill's essay on Katherine Dunham's Southland to Green's work on Pearl Primus, this is an excellent resource on dance culture, especially as a form of resistance. DeFrantz also provides a useful and well-written overview in his introduction that contextualizes many of the essays. This book is very accessible and extremely valuable.

A seminal study of African-American music and dance
Expertly written by dancer and choreographer Thomas F. DeFrantz (who is also an Associate Professor of Music and Theater Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) , Dancing Many Drums: Excavations In African American Dance is a ground breaking and seminal study of African-American music and dance, ranging from ring shouts and vaudeville to Hollywood movie dancing. A scholarly, well-researched, fascinating analysis that studies the very heart of the dance, Dancing Many Drums is a very highly recommended contribution to Music History Studies; African/American Studies; and Cultural History Studies supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections. ... Read more

Product Description
Starting with the premise that literature and the arts are cultural productions, Tanure Ojaide finds using Western literary theory to judge African literary works, whether oral or written, not only missing the major aims of such creative works but also failing to understand their aesthetic impact. Using udje dance songs of Nigeria s Urhobo people as an example of an African oral poetic performance, he theorizes that provoking laughter and intellectual delight are foremost in the minds of the poets/composers of the songs, the performers, and the audience. Ojaide goes further to relate African oral poetic performance to the African Diaspora where African-American battle rap, Caribbean Calypso, music and rhetoric, among other artistic productions, exhibit the same performance features and aesthetic impact. "Tanure Ojaide writes about the oral poetic traditions of his Urhobo people with the zeal and commitment of a native son. His views are commendable for the contribution they make to our study of the subject."--Isidore OkpehwoState University Distinguished Professor of the Humanities,Binghamton University of SUNY ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A must-read for all hoofers!
This book is essential in every tap dancer's personallibrary.A must read for allhoofers! ... Read more

Product Description
"African-American Concert Dance" significantly advances the study of pioneering black dancers by providing valuable biographical and historical information on a group of artists who worked during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s to legitimize dance of the African diaspora as a serious art form. John O. Perpener sets these seminal artists and their innovations in the contexts of African-American culture and American modern dance and explores their creative synthesis of material from European-American, African-American, Caribbean, and African sources. John O. Perpener III is an associate professor in the department of dance at Florida State University, Tallahassee. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fast and Easy
I bought this book for school and it came to me quickly. It was in great condition, i had no problems! ... Read more

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This unique study focuses on the social, racial, and artistic climate for African American performers working during the swing era-roughly the late 1920s through the 1940s. The career of Norton and Margot, a ballroom dance team whose work was thwarted by the racial tenets of the era, serves as a tour guide and barometer of the times on this excursion through the worlds of African American vaudeville, separate black and white Americas, the European touring circuit, and pre-Civil Rights era racial etiquette. ... Read more

Product Description
In this comprehensive history and survey, Edward Thorpe traces the evolution of black dance from its origins in Africa to its far-reaching influence on ballet and modern dance. Splendidly illustrated, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the evolution of dance. 75 photos. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Brilliant
This book shares remarkable insights on the choreographic works of Zora Neale Hurston. In her writing, Kraut skillfully recovers the invisibilized history and influences of Zora Neale Hurston's theatrical productions on the American dance scene in the 1930's. Kraut examines the manner in which Hurston utilized the rhetoric of authenticity to promote her stage renderings, distinguish her work from racist images of blackness, critique the commercial market, and negotiate issues of authorship. She also discusses the way in which Hurston navigated power struggles that surrounded her production of The Great Day and provides an in-depth analysis of the concert itself. In so doing, Kraut explores Hurstons' vision of black folk culture, the reception her work, and the racialized dynamics of the 1930's which served to obscure the influence of her work. Wonderful book for all!
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Product Description
Tracing the African American dance from the Diaspora to the dance floor, this book covers a social history germane not only to the African American experience, but also to the global experience of laborers who learn lessons from hip hop dance. Examining hip hop dance as text, as commentary, and as a function of identity construction within the confines of consumerism, the book draws on popular cultural images from films, commercials, and dance studios. A bibliography, discography, and filmography are included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Thought Provoking
A thought provoking book that gives the reader insight into African American culture and views. The book is far broader than it's title might imply and is not for the casual reader. ... Read more

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A biography of the black dancer and choreographer noted for her dances drawn from African and Caribbean sources. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A Girl Comes Out During Wartime
Coming of Age During Wartime


Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

Nina Newington's fictional autobiography looks into the inner being of her British diplomatic family during the Nigerian civil war. We meet Anna, also known as Jake as she tries to find way through the maze of family, culture, place and gender. She reaches no conclusions--the world remains a mystery, which seems dominated by betrayals and losses.
We meet Africa though childish eyes, beautifully written prose, and carefully drawn characters. Written in short and scattered
chapters which tell of the rapidly blossoming of youth, we get an insider's look at Nigeria before the election and war. It was during those same years that Anna felt the pangs of adolescence. She lives in a world that is predominately dark and to while away her leisure time, she teams up with Dave, the daughter of a C.I.A agent. They became "blood brother and work out together, watch porn movies and plan freedom for their future. Meanwhile the country that they live is disintegrating. The country, Nigeria, herself becomes ultimately a symbol of love, suffering and endurance.
Stories give rise to other stories. Anna's grandmother tells of how she was the only white woman on the Gold Coast. Anna's aunt was clairvoyant and a closeted lesbian. It is Aunt Elsie that gives her the hope to hang on. Anna's mother was socially above the rest but was not a good parent. Her father was abusive and not around when Anna needed him. Neither parent really provided upbringing for the child. She had been a sheltered child and she and Dave try to make sense of the world from which they have been sheltered.
This is a beautifully written novel. The prose is magnetic and electric. It is not an easy trick pulling someone into the consciousness of a character but Newington manages to do that, The book is fresh but replete with the wounds of war. Seeing history through the eyes of a child is always a treat--it is a double treat when it is well written.
There is such depth to this book that it is hard to be objective about it. It is a tender study of coming of age during wartime and if for no other reason this book is worth a read.
_________________
Amos Lassen
what's new? ... Read more

Album Description
Music is life on the sun-baked streets of Africa, blasting out of every bus, kiosk and market stall. Crank up the volume, add a band and you have an instant street party, with a swelling crowd laughing, and dancing. The Rough Guide To African Street Party captures this exuberant spontaneous spirit from the legendary Amadou & Mariam to the groundbreaking Vieux Farka Toure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very fun cd
I am definitely a novice to African music. I chose this CD because of the upbeat celebratory music. I found this to be a fun sampling of upbeat music.Great to play in the background at parties, or listen to in the morning on the way to work to get some energy! ... Read more

Product Description
A history of African-American dance in the United States discusses such celebrated artists as Bill ""Bojangles"" Robinson, Katherine Dunham, Arthur Mitchell, and others who were influential in the dance world. By the author of Black Theater in America. Reprint. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, published by American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) on May 1, 1994. The length of the article is 2666 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: A model for teaching creative dance from an Afrocentric perspective has been developed using aesthetic principles of African dance, which children can use as a basis for making creative dance decisions. Classroom application of the model involves three areas, namely, rhythms and movement, discovery of movement and learning through oral traditions. Introduction of these concepts, which include multiple meters, polrhythms, polycentrism, repitition and design of movement phrases, can be best achieved through large group activity and small group task analysis.

Citation Details
Title: Teaching creative dance: an afrocentric perspective. (Dance Dynamics - African Dance) (Cover Story)
Author: Connie Vandarakis-Fenning
Publication: JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 1994
Publisher: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD)
Volume: v65Issue: n5Page: p44(4)

Article Type: Cover Story

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more