Dances of the Diaspora
One of the most gratifying aspects of folk dance–whether African, Eastern European, or Taiwanese–is the ability to unite people. It’s a subtle force, yet “Dances of the Diaspora,” Muntu Dance Theatre’s Spring Festival of Dance offering, shows that it works in deep, powerful ways. You could say that traditional African rhythms were the glue that kept Africans together in a society that tried to divide and break them. Slave owners understood the power of rhythm: they threatened to cut off the hands of anyone caught playing African drums. Slaves understood it as well: they held onto their rhythms, dancing clandestinely until they were free to dance as they pleased.
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“Dances of the Diaspora”–a tightly woven tapestry of traditional African and African-American dances–celebrates the power of rhythm. Muntu’s warm, vibrant spirit is contagious in the opening number, Djon Dong Wolosodong, a traditional dance from Mali, West Africa, that pays homage to the ancestors while celebrating the life of a newborn. It begins softly, as one woman gently swings her hips back and bends toward the ground in a sign of reverence. Her hands sway openly before her as she sings a song of praise and thanksgiving. Slowly her happy song grows more lively. Men enter, then more women, and suddenly the stage is vibrating with movement and color. The group forms a circle, and each individual is allowed to dance solo in the middle–a custom as old as dance itself and as universal as the belly button.
Muntu’s more traditional dances charm through the sheer power of movement and rhythm. The Amathini/Can Dance is a sensual, lively rite of passage, with a dance by older women that instructs young girls in their roles and responsibilities, followed by an amazing dance in which the girls (from Muntu’s dance workshop) clang tin cans together over their heads and under their knees, moving so quickly the cans are almost invisible.
