The performance event I
attended for my ethnographic description was “Contemporary African Dance with
Jamal Jackson” through the Rhythm of Change event here at Brown. The event was held
at the Ashamu dance studio. The audience consisted solely of Shandell and I who
objectively observed from the audience seating area. We faced the performers,
Jamal, and the drummers who were opposite of us. A very diverse group of individuals
characterized the participants/performers. No racial or ethnic group dominated
amongst the performers, mostly females participated but also a handful of males
were present. Most participants were undergraduate students from Brown while some
perhaps were not. Attendance was open to all but it seemed
that a fee was required. While some participants attended with friends, a
substantial number of people arrived individually. Experience level varied from
beginners to more experienced dancers. Jamal, taught and led the performers, and
helped guide the dancers through different movements and certain musical cues.
The music was performed by four male drummers who were either African or of
African-American descent, one of them being Seydou Coulibaly. Two of the drummers
played by striking the drums by hand, one played two adjacent drums with
sticks, and another played one drum with sticks.
Jamal began by
explaining to the performers that he likes to “break from the traditional and
do a more contemporary interpretation of dance.” He began by leading a warm-up
of stretches to shake out and loosen up the muscles. Participants were either
barefoot or wore socks and wore loose and comfortable clothing to allow
movement. The warm-up was accompanied by music played by the drummers, who
performed a steady musical accompaniment to the dance which seemed to be
characterized by polyrhythm and a steady tempo. As the warm-up became more
active, the musical tempo and volume increased. Jamal’s role was central in
introducing new techniques of movement or dance. He started with simpler
movements in the beginning and then moved onto more difficult sequences further
into the event. Each new sequence was characterized by a different musical
accompaniment to match the performance. It accented different sounds and
signaling different cues. Jamal communicated to the dancers which movements to
do, which notes to listen for through verbalizing them, and then he performed
which movements matched what portion of the music. Dancers were broken into
smaller groups when performing as they went down the studio and towards the
drummers. They would first observe and motion along, but after enough time practicing
they could sufficiently integrate it into a sequence of movements that fit
together with the musical cues. These cues helped signaled certain foot or arm
movements. It seemed to be a very integrated experience as the drummers looked
to Jamal to know what rhythm to play, Jamal would convey to the dancers the
movements to fit with the music, and the drummers and dancers would interact so
that certain cues could help assist them through the performance. It was a very
encouraging environment and a lot of effort was required by everyone
participating in the experience.
We were able to speak
with some of the drummers at the end who gave us more details about their role
and the instruments. We were told that the instruments they used were the
djembe and the dun dun of West Africa, more specifically from Mali or Guinea.
The djembe has three sounds that are played, while the dun dun has one sound
which is used to keep a constant beat. Every drummer plays their own
accompaniment and it all comes together as the music that was heard, but at
times the
djembe may improvise to match what the dancers are doing. The djembe follows
what the dancers do, and the dancers follow the dun dun because it helps them
keep their place. Overall it was an enjoyable experience and I would recommend
it to others interested in African music and dance.
