What is Polycentrism dance?

Polyrhythm is the layering of different rhythms over one another and polycentrism is the idea that movement can initiate from any part of the body. These two qualities play together because different parts of the body dance to different instruments that are playing at different rhythms.

What is African aesthetics in dance?

Africanist aesthetics is a broadly used term representing the synthesis and hybridization of cultures of a wide array of African coastal peoples who were landed together in the Americas during the slave trade between 1500 and 1870.

What is Ephibism in dance?

From these two authors, I have selected six characteristics that specifically relate to my discussion of the Africanist aesthetic in American dance. The first quality is ephebism, or youthfulness. The quality of “coolness” is also very prevalent.

What are the named African aesthetics?

The term African aesthetic refers to the African perception and appreciation of the nature, beauty, and value of artistic expressions or representations of African origin. It is embedded in the plurality of African cultures and embodied in people’s practices within their lived African societal contexts.

Why is oral tradition important in Africa?

Why was the oral tradition important in Africa? So the transmission of knowledge, history and experience in West Africa was mainly through the oral tradition and per- formance rather than on written texts. Oral traditions guide social and human morals, giving people a sense of place and purpose.

What is high-affect juxtaposition?

Third is the principle of high-affect juxtaposition where the contrast of mood, attitude, or movement is heightened beyond what Dixon Gottschild observes as a range of acceptable Europeanist standards and in a way that strategically omits or breaks connections and transitions (94-95).