Blog #7

In this weeks lecture and readings we focused on the art of dancing. Dance tells a story through the movements of ones body. The music, costumes, and moves all work together to share the stories of the Urban Bush Women. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar started the Urban Bush Women in 1984 with the sole purpose of sharing the stories and the history of disenfranchised people to light. The stories being told come from a woman’s perspective and aim to validate themselves as women, find social change, and build trust through dance.

            The first two videos I watched of the UBW were “Walking with Peal-African Diaries” and “Walking with Pearl-Southern Diaries.” Each of the videos had a different meaning. The women in the African diaries were all wearing colors and what seemed to me to be tribal costumes. There also seemed to be more talking in the background than loud music. Through the dance moves of the women you can see the emotions and the stories they are trying to get across. The women in the Southern diaries were all wearing dark brown costumes and dances more in unison. They also made louder noises with their movements using stomps and claps. The music was loud and the dance was at a much faster pace. Both of these videos expressed their own stories confronting stereotypes and prejudice through movement. One can see the pain and anger the women feel in both of the dances.

            Another video we focused on in the guided activity was “Batty Moves.” This video stuck out to me because the costumes seemed to be much different than the ones in the other videos. The women were dressed in tight black shorts, black tank tops, and a sweatshirt around their waist. The meaning behind this dance was explained in the article “Memory Walking with Urban Bush Women’s Batty Moves” The costumes they wore intended they were going to “kick butts!” One thing I found very interesting was that how each dancer elaborated on the basic deign of the song by interesting their own lyrics until the next one joined in. This allowed them to share their African heritage and also make their own identities clear.

            A second article we read this week was “Sexual Politics” This article focuses on how women are the main figures involved in dance and how many view it to be weird for a male to be a dancer. The article discusses how dance is a female rather than masculine pursuit. One quote that stuck out to me was one said by Isadora Ducan stating her art was “symbolic of the freedom of women and her emancipation from the hidebound conventions that arc the warp and wood of New England Puritanism.” Dance was a way for women to have something of their own. Dance was a way for them to express themselves and speak what they were thinking without having to use any words. Dance showed that women were free. Instead of women now being the underdogs, women were known for dancing.