Dance and National Identity - Essay Example

Dance and National Identity In the of history many works of art have emerged to define the identity of a nation. Dance is one of the powerful tools that is used to communicate about the people of a particular nation. In the old days, these dances would represent the tribes and small groups of people. Currently, choreographies have been formulated to bring together the different cultures that make up nation. For example, the Westside Story (1957), Goldberg performances and the musical Hair (1960s). This choreography were able to define the American nation at different times of history. Thus, through these choreographies one is able to realise what values and people make up a particular nation. Dance is a strong tools that has been used to communicate the values and practices of a particular people. Dance has been used to fuel national unity and promote the American Dream. For example, the program ‘Dancing with the Stars’ has been instrumental in proving that every American can live the American Dream (Kolb, 67). The show was started with the view of showing the power of ballroom dancing. The show soon became a darling to many American hearts who would tune in everyday to see dreams come true. ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is a good example where dance has been used to bring a nation together. In this program even the less fortunate one have the chance to excel based on their talent and will power. The power of dance as a work art in transforming nation has been evidenced by the success of this show. The power of dance can be seen in the lives of many young people who have grown out of strong artistic influences. For example, Jawole Zollar was able to put up with strong racial difficulties to achieve her dream of become a ballet dancer (Chatterjea, 12). Zollar began creating dances at a young age and soon gained the passion to pursue arts. She has now grown to a successful woman who uses art for social change. Zollar has been involved in many activities meant empower women and young people using art. The power of art can be seen in many aspects of life. Zollar is an example of how dance can transform the life of a young girl born in Kansas City. First, I would start by analysing the Goldberg performance of the early 70s was a strong took that displayed the American identity (Goldberg, 56). The show was organised by ordinary women from America who out to communicate to the public. At this time, Europe did not have many defined feminist shows like the one that was happening in America. Europe had been divided by numerous civil wars that broke out in many countries. On the contrary, the American women were able to use their crisis like the Civil Rights Movements to model their identity. These women borrowed from the methods used by blacks to demonstrate against slavery, in a bid to stamp their identity as women in America. Many performance artists choose issues of ethnic discrimination to display in their performances. For example, the likes of Coco Fusco and Jimmy Durham produced work that targeted the ethnic issues within their midst. Coco Fusco focused on issues that related to the ethnographic in the society. He used performance to show the make-up of the American population and how ethnic identity was a strong issue that could not be ignored. This work was able to show the true identity of America, which was struggling with ethnicity and racism for a long time. It is good example that shows how the choreography of Fusco’s performance portrayed the national identity of the American nation. The play by Fusco called “Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit...” was based on how Americans would exhibit Africans, Asians and Latinos in zoos. It was play that was communicating what had happened many years. Most of the reflection was left to the audience to meditate the implications and meaning. The other piece of art that has been instrumental in defining a national identity is a musical called the West Side Story (1957). The musical was based on a book that was written by Arthur Laurents. The Broadway Musical has contributed so much in the work of arts and culture in the American society. The Broadway Musical identifies with the American society. The West Side Story was a musical that focused on the increasing gang fights in New York. The gang fights, which were commonly known as “Juvenile Delinquency” was mainly between white and Puerto Rican gangs. The issue of racism was a growing problem in the United States in the 1950s. The Musical was able to show the identity of the nation that was struggling with racial differences within its populace. The immigrants said “I want to live in American” and blamed the American whites. The play depicts a nation that is struggling with the tragedy that has been ongoing. The level of hatred between the two racial identities is so great that even the love of Tony and Maria cannot survive. The West Side Story Musical includes dances its choreography. The use of language was censored because the gangs at that time were more armed and dangerous. It is really unfortunate that even Broadway and Hollywood were not able to rise above racism to star Maria, a Latin actress. The West Side Story (1957) shows the American image and a tragedy that is still ongoing in the United States of America (Garebian, 45). The play was intended to portray the relationship between Jews and Americans. However, a change was made to Puerto Ricans because it would make the play to stand for ethnical hatred. The use of Puerto Ricans made the story more applicable to communicate to the audience. Hair – The American Tribal Love – Rock Musical (1967-68) was a play that was formed to depict the hippie lifestyle that has started to grow in America. The musical used popular music from the 1960s and was very different from the previous musical that had been shown in Broadway. The play completely erased the division that existed between the audience and the actors. This play showed the transition of America from the traditional sense of narration to something new. The musical depicted the need for progressiveness that was characterised by many young people at that time. The careless attitude that was depicted in Hair served to promote the growth of a casual attitude towards drugs and sexuality. The effects of the musical spread quickly to the state of New York. The musical is among the first pioneers of what is termed as ‘rock culture’, which is a very important part of the American culture today. Therefore, the musical was instrumental in defining part of what makes the American nation today. In conclusion, dance as work of art is instrumental in the development of a nation. Pieces of art like musical can be used to influence a whole population. The power of art is evidenced by the level of influence that shows like ‘Dancing with the Stars’, have had on the American population. Some of powerful pieces of art like the West Side Story were used to communicate the negative effects of racism in a nation. Dance is, indeed, instrumental in creating and communicating national identity. Works Cited Allatson, Paul. Latino Dreams: Transcultural Traffic and the U.s. National Imaginary. Amsterdam [u.a.: Rodopi, 2002. Print. Arrizón, Alicia. Queering Mestizaje: Transculturation and Performance. Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan Press, 2006. Print. Celli, Carlo. National Identity in Global Cinema: How Movies Explain the World. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Internet resource. Chatterjea, Ananya. Butting Out: Reading Resistive Choreographies Through Works by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Chandralekha. Middletown, Conn: Wesleyan University Press, 2004. Print. Garebian, Keith. The Making of West Side Story. Oakville, ON: Mosaic Press, 1998. Print. Goldberg, RoseLee. Performance: Live Art, 1909 to the Present. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1979. Print. Goldberg, RoseLee, RoseLee Goldberg, and RoseLee Goldberg. Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present. London: Thames & Hudson, 2011. Print. Kolb, Alexandra. Dance and Politics. Oxford: P. Lang, 2011. Print. Neveu, Kringelbach H, and Jonathan Skinner. Dancing Cultures: Globalization, Tourism and Identity in the Anthropology of Dance. New York: Berghahn Books, 2012. Print. Shaw, Lisa, and Stephanie Dennison. Pop Culture Latin America!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print. Wells, Elizabeth A. West Side Story: Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2011. Print. Read More