Having been a psychology major in my undergraduate studies, I have often wondered if my interest in the subject was a result of my desire to ultimately, through the study of human psychology, better understand the inner workings of my own mind. Being a Lindyhopper , the same can be said about my chosen topic for this paper on religion and dance. In attempting to establish religious characteristics of African dance and how these elements have contributed to and evolved in the creation of a modern and Americanized form of African dance, the Lindy Hop , I aim to understand why this dance has become my obsession, my joy, my spiritual outlet - my religion. Ultimately, in the following pages, I hope to create an understanding of how religious qualities of dance evolve (mixing of European and African cultures), change (secularization of African dance), and give new meaning (dancing for spirituality).

Religious Characteristics of African Dance

Although the above statement is quite general (almost to the point of being a stereotype of African dance) it does illustrate the fact that African dances have a tendency to share a number of qualities. Before making a comparison between African dance and African-American dance, it is important to firstly establish what these qualities are and what aspects make them religious. Much of what is known about dance in Africa is the result of work done by anthropologists such as Katherine Dunham . In 1935, she traveled throughout the Caribbean studying the dance practices of descendants of African slaves in Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad, and Haiti. Reflecting on her experiences, she found that in these cultures, dance was deeply woven into the fabric of daily life and that she “could not learn the dance without knowing the people (What Do You Dance?).” The same can be said about dancing or analyzing modern African-American dances such as the Lindy Hop without investigating their history and roots in African dance.

The commonalities of African dances can be categorized as such: similarities in rhythm, movement and execution. All these characteristics are linked to two common religious themes – an orientation towards the earth, animals, and daily life and the idea that the goal of sacred dance is to be possessed by the god, allowing it to speak through a combination of chanting, drumming, and dance, essentially, the dancing body operating as a conduit for the divine creator. Many African dances express the motions of life such as animals movements (strutting like a bird) and daily human tasks (planting crops), or “express the power of spirits in whirling and strong forward steps (History of Swing Dancing: African Influences)”. In her article, “Commonalities in African Dance: An Aesthetic Foundation”, Kiriamu Welsh Asante speculates that this is linked to the ‘oral’ tradition of African culture.

These two religious themes can be observed in the types of movement characteristic of African dance. Firstly, African dance takes a holistic approach to the dancing body. All parts of the body participate in the dance, often resulting in an asymmetrical use of the body, and contrasting greatly with European forms of dance that often reply on arm and leg movement solely. The types of movements themselves provide an aesthetic that links directly with earth-oriented beliefs. Typical types of actions include angular bending of arms, legs and torso, shoulder movements, bending at the waist, centrifugal hip movement, scuffing, stamping, hopping, flat-footed gliding, dragging and shuffling of the feet, and a wide, crouching, solid stance. These types of movements provide a low-to-the-ground, earth-oriented approach to dance. Secondly, improvisation is a key element in African dance, allowing for freedom of movement and freedom of expression. This relates to the idea of the human body as a conduit for the creator. By limiting movement, one is limiting the message of the gods and thus in African dance; the dancer is given the freedom to give new interpretation to familiar forms. This is echoed by Welsh Asante in the following passage:

This idea of the dancing body as a spiritual conduit is often augmented by the use of masks or costuming, providing a visual cue to indicate that the dancer is no longer merely human but representing the great spirit. Lastly, orientation towards the earth is expressed through the polyrhythmic tendencies of African music and dance. According to Dixon Gottschild,

This is especially obvious when considering the fact that African music is often percussion dominated, involving not only drums but also using the body as a rhythm instrument through hand-clapping and foot-stomping. This contact between foot and ground or hand on drum, beating out a mesmerizing, pulsating rhythm, once again links back to the earthly orientation of African spirituality.

Journey Over the Ocean: Early African-American Dance.

As stated clearly by dance historian, Katrina Hazzard-Donald, in the PBS documentary, Free To Dance, “without the African contribution, we would probably not have American dance as we know it (‘What Do You Dance?’).” Having established the commonalities of African dance, it is now imperative to establish the history of early African dance in America and its development and evolution over time.

African dance in North America began through slavery and differed somewhat from its Caribbean counterpart due to two factors: the Protestant Church, which considered African style dancing immoral, and the restricted use of the primary African instrument, the drum, by slave-owners. As a result, “virtuosity of footwork, with heel beats and toe beats, became a simulacrum of the drum (Winter 250).” However, despite such limitations, slaves were sometimes allowed dancing on certain days, such as the Saturday night dances held to celebrate the end of the workweek, or at certain times of the year, such as Christmas.

Many early dances reflected the African use of imitation in dance by mimicking animals (Pigeon Wing, Buzzard Lop, Snake Hips) or human activity (Cakewalk ), much like their African precedents. However, though based on African tradition, the influence of European culture cannot be overlooked. ‘Plantation dances’ such as the Cakewalk and is descendants, the Charleston and Black Bottom , integrated African style movement and rhythm with jigs, cotillions, and quadrilles. By the early twentieth century, there appeared to be three realms where African style dance existed: competition (Cakewalk), ballroom (Charleston), and stage (Black Bottom). On stage, most professional dancers were white, such as Thomas Rice , who would blacken their faces while performing African inspired dances. However, there was one African man by the name of William Henry Lane, or Master Juba as he was more commonly referred to, who did a great deal to help popularize African-American dance. What is interesting to note however, that despite the fact that by this time African dance was primarily for entertainment rather than worship, Winter makes the following observation about Lane’s nickname:

In the ballroom, music started to change. Migrating from dance halls in New Orleans, jazz music spread to the rest of the United States. Characterized by syncopation, polyrhythm and improvisation, it evolved directly from African influence. African influenced music was now part of entertainment and recreation and as the music evolved so did the corresponding dance. As jazz musicians experimented, as did the dancers and it is from this experimentation that Lindy Hop emerges.

The Lindy Hop: Secularization of Dance

Fusing together elements of the Cakewalk, Charleston, and Black Bottom of the early twentieth century, Lindy Hop grew in response to jazz music. Combining characteristics of European partner dances such as the Waltz with African movement, styling, and syncopation, the Lindy was a uniquely American dance. By the mid-1930s, the Lindy was the rage and everyone (black and white) flocked to Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom to participate in the craze. Characterized by the ‘swing out’, the Lindy Hop incorporated freedom of movement, allowance for personal expression and improvisation, syncopated steps and rhythms, and acrobatics through ‘air steps’. However, many amongst the modern dance community found the hunched over positions and acrobatics vulgar, including Ruth St. Denis, the matriarch of modern dance in America. John Martin, a dance critic for the New York Times wrote in 1929,

Others found the pelvic gyrations and frantic movements immoral and sinful. By the late 1930s and 40s, as Lindy Hop became popular amongst white middleclass youth, the establishment decided to revamp the dance and a more erect, proper, and conservative style (now referred to as Hollywood style) emerged. In essence, the characteristics of Savoy style Lindy Hop that reflected the earth oriented African culture were repressed and replaced by a more upright ‘European’ posture and more conservative movement.

Conclusion

There is one general consensus amongst all the sources I have encountered through my research and that is the fact that African dance has greatly influenced dance in North America. However, there is reason to argue that despite survival of African forms of movement such as full body expression, improvisation, and polyrhythm, African dance has been secularized. The Lindy Hop is an example of this. Yet, all religious intention has not been lost. As Katherine Dunham writes,

For many like myself, dance is an outlet for personal expression. It can be argued that the freedom and diversity of movement allowed in African inspired dances such as Lindy Hop allows for personal expression and through that, spirituality. After a great dance, the elation felt could easily be interpreted as resulting from some greater force beyond oneself. On the surface, it seems that the original intentions and beliefs behind African dance has been lost upon its arrival in North America. On a social scale, this is most definitely true, however, on a personal level, African inspired dance has never stopped being a spiritual experience.
It’s about letting your soul be free, leaving the world behind .

Works Cited:

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Dixon Gottschild, Brenda. “The Africanist Presence in American Concert Dance.” Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. 332-341.

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Lichtmann, Kurt. Lindy Hop: aka Jitterbug Origins. Online. <http://people.cornell.edu/pages/kpl5/Jbug_origins.html>

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“Steps Of The Gods.” Free To Dance. Prod. Anthony Chapman, Anu Krishnan, and Mendy Johnson. PBS.

Tucker, A. N. “206. Some Aspects of Primitive Dancing from the Southern Sudan.” Man. 33 (1933): 197-198. NETDOC, JSTOR. Online. <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0025-1496%28193312%291%3A33%3C197%3a2SAOPD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-B>

Welsh Asante, Kariamu. “Commonalities in African Dance: An Aesthetic Foundation.” Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. 144-151.

“What Do You Dance?” Free To Dance. Prod. Anthony Chapman, Anu Krishnan, and Mendy Johnson. PBS.

Winter, Marian Hannah. “Juba and American Minstrelsy.” Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. 250-255.

Secondary Sources:

Jackson, Travis A. “Jazz Performance as Ritual: The Blues Aesthetic and the African Diaspora.” The African Diaspora. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 2000.

Pener, Degen. The Swing Book. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1999.

Perron, Wendy. “One Woman Revolution.” Dance Magazine. August (2000): 42-45, 74.

Scott, Derek B. “8: The Impact of African-American Music Making on the European Classical Tradition in the 1920s.” From the Erotic to the Demonic on Critical Musicology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 179-201.

Style Guide:

Slade, Carole. “Chapter 8: Modern Language Association Style.” Form & Style. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. 216-243.