Africann Dance Frame by Frame

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African Dance Frame by Frame: Revelation of Sex Roles Through Distinctive Feature Analysisand Comments on Field Research, Film, and NotationAuthor(s): Judith Lynne HannaReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Jun., 1989), pp. 422-441Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2784394 .

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AFRICAN DANCEFRAME BY FRAME

Revelation fSexRolesThroughDistinctive eatureAnalysis ndComments nFieldResearch,

Film, ndNotation

JUDITHLYNNEHANNAUniversityfMaryland

Inspired y mymentorMargaret ead's useofvisualrecordsnanthropologicalesearch,WilliamJohn anna and during ieldresearchhot16mmmotion ictureilm, 4 frames ersecond,about ,500feet fdance nNigeria, ganda,ndKenyaincludingEthiopia's ance ompany erformanceocelebrate enya's nde-pendence).We used hand-heldellandHowell70DR.Uneditedfootage fsixdance-playsfNigeria's bakala gboprovidedhefocus f nethnographictudyfmeaningnmovement.ccordingtoNigerian eports,hefilmed ances restillbeingperformed

where firstawthem. tHowardUniversitywaseyewitnessothe amewomen's ndwarriors'erformancestthe 986 naugu-ralmeeting f theNwannedinambassociation or tudentsndnonstudentsnAmerica.Anthropologistsommonlyrobe heiroriginal ieldwork ornew nsightsn ight fvarious heoreticalconcerns hat ome to theforefrontf scholarly nquiry. ust

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This rticle s a revisionfa paperpresentedt the conference"ResearchingDance ThroughFilm and Video, sponsoredby the CongressonResearch in Dance and the Human Studies FilmArchives,Smithsonian nstitu-tion,April10-12,1986. I appreciate he ommentsfThomasJohnstonnan earlierdraft.

JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 19No.4,June 989422-441? 1989SagePublications,nc.

422



Hanna/AFRICAN DANCE FRAME BY FRAME 423

becausedatawere ollected ome imego doesnot nvalidatetorthe ollectionmethod.

Filmwas selected or he tudy vernotationnthe ield ronlynativedescriptionnd interpretationorthe following easons.Accuratend peedy otationf dancen ts ield ontexts nearlyimpossible, ecause some dances maybe performednlyonceduring research eriod,mprovisation ay occur, nd somedancersmay e unable runwillingoreplicateperformance.hecontemporaryotationystems,eveloped or he urpose fcon-structinghe horeographer'sntentionor he ance, ssume ancephraseswillbe repeated or transcriber.

While t s importantoelicit henative ancers' iewsabouttheir ances,reliance ponverbal xegesis lone mayprecludeunderstandingome people's dances Hanna, 1989a). The lan-guageofdance s nonverbal ndnot lwayseasilytranslatable.Indeed,people express hemselves onverballynpartbecausewords re ess adequate or omecommunication.sychologistsGardner1983) andGazzaniga 1985) demonstratehat hererealternative ays of knowing s well as differentypes f intel-lectual ompetencies.

Notall people have a reflectiveerbaldiscourse bouttheirdance.Many eaturesf dancegenerallyiebeyondhe onsciousawarenessfdancers ndviewers.nAmericanulture, ost ocialdancers onotknow henames f pecifictepsnsuchdances sthewaltz, ock ndroll, rdisco.Just s allpeoplehavebodies nduse them,most eoplehave imitednderstandingbout he odyandhow tworks.As it s thephysiologists,inesiologists,nato-mists,ndmedical xperts ho reknowledgeablebout he ody,and t s the rammariannd inguist ho reknowledgeableboutvocabularyndsyntax,t sthemovementnalyst ho sfamiliarwith hecomparable lementsn dance.Of course, ome danceculturesfor xample, lassicalWesternallet nd lassical ndiandance)havecodifiedystems ithnames nd meaningsfstepsandgroups fmovements.

Anthropologistsreconcerned ith thnocentrismndnot m-posing Westerniewpointpon notherulture's ance.Yet ven



424 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES /JUNE1989

when n nformantells he esearcherbout he ance, t sneces-

sary oknowwhats actually eing aid.Things aken or rantedmaynotbe articulated;ies,rationalizations,okes, ndmetaphorsarepossibilities. hen group oes nothave tsownviews boutitsdance culture,heresearcher'snterventionn tryingoelicitverbalizationatherhan o ee,film,nd nalyze he ctionmaynfact e imperialisticndtriggeromethingew.

While agree hatndigenousiews reessentialodiscover,f

a peopledoes not nalyze ancebutperformt, researcher ustthen elyuponthedisciplinaryeritagen a scholarlyield.Thecategoriessedfor nalysis, owever,hould ot e viewed sfixedentities,ut rather s open-ended nd alterablen light fnewtheoreticalormulationsndempiricalesearch.

As a consequence ftheproblemswithnotationn thefieldsettingndreliancenly n native iews, ilm otentiallyakesfourfoldontribution:

(1) Film rovidesn nvaluableecord,datumfbehavior.(2) Film reservesmages f electedndnonselectedonrecurring

behavior. hen he amera icksup informationot ctivelysoughty researcher,ilmmay enerateata.

(3) Film ermitsnalysisndreanalysisyprimarynd econdaryinvestigations.

(4) Film ermitsnits fbehaviorot isible t normalpeed obeseennd xaminedhroughrbitrarilylowingr toppingotion.

Although ilm s a comparativelybjectivemedium ndal-lows checking n analysis based on it, drawing onclusionsbeyondwhat ppears n thefilm equiresmuch dditional atafrom hefield. upplementarybservationsndnotationsn the

filmed nd nonfilmed epresentativenessf the filmed ance,criteriaor electinghedancesfilmed,hedancecatalyst, ro-duction rocess, erformance,nd mpact fthedance andthedancefilmingrenecessary.

Filmobjectivity,f course, s illusoryFeld, 1976).A filmsa statementbout filmmaker.No ethnographicilm an avoidgrapplingwiththe notionof an invisible, mnipotent irec-



Hanna/AFRICANDANCE FRAMEBY FRAME 425

tor... ; thechimera fa neutral,alue-free ecordingystem;

the rbitraryspectsf representation;r the nherentmperial-

ismofthemage"Hoberman,986: 58). Adance sexperiencedand observed,whereas hefilm mageis a symbolic vent,structuredelection or hepurposes f communicatingome-thing fthatxperience.f anentire erformances tobefilmed,details are sacrificed. ocusingon an isolatedbit of dancingmeansthe oss of thelargerview of thechoreography.heeliminationf such techniquess cuts,fades,dissolves, uper-impositions,lowmotion,rchangesnfocus n an efforto befaithfulothe ettingmay reate two-dimensionalffect. ilmis only econdarilyseful or ontextualurposes,incefilmsselective.

The dealfilmingituationould e tohave t east wo amerarecords: ne, wide-angleninterruptedequence hat rovidesnoverall atterning,ndtheother,pecific lose-ups hat ocus nmovementetail,ven houghndividuals'erformancesay ary.

It is not lwayspossible ofilm ance.Among heTemiar fMalaysia, o photographyay e taken uringranceecause helightmightwakenn entrancedancerwhileheor she swithouta head oul Jennings,985). Among he onghay,he ilmmakershooting possesseddancer s comparableo a sorcererwhocaptures person'smageor double.Andsomepeople believefilmingobe an nvasionf ritual rivacy.

Havingnotedomeofthe dvantagesnd imitationsf film,will now discusshowtheUbakalafilm ame tobemadeduringethnographicesearchndhow carried uta distinctiveeatureanalysis f dancethat emonstratedender atternsnUbakalasociety.

Inthe ourse f a 1963 studyftheNigerian muahia-Ibeku,urban-centeredommunity,e told ocal leaders nd ustabouteveryonelse wemet four nterestnAfrican ance nddesire osee local performances.e explainedhat wanted o learn hedances n order o teach hem oAmericans,hat eople n theUnited tates erformolk/ethnic/social/ritualancesfrommanypartsf heworld,ut irtuallyone rom frica.We lsoexplainedthatwewanted o film hedances nd record he ccompanying




musicnorder o nalyzemovements,reserve record or oster-ity, nd make educational ilms n dance thatwould be madeavailable o Eastern igeria elevision ndother tations.

Thanks o thepeople f theUmuahia rea,we saw a great ealofdancing. nfortunately,twas impossibleofilm ndtapemostofthedancesperformedntheir aturalettings.acking ightingequipment, e couldfilm nlywhennaturalonditionsermitted.Inadditiono imited unds or awfilm tock, nadequatetoragefacilities,nd theabsenceof readily ccessible upplyhouses,shipmentsrombroadwere ftenateormisplaced. or xample,filmwas inadvertentlyeld na hotwarehouse or hreeweeksbecausenotificationf ts rrivalnNigeriawassent oa nonexis-tent Mr.Jelsom-Jelsom."hus filmingeverything"norder oaim for heprofessionalto10 ratio fgoodto badfootagewasprecluded; e hadto elect arefullyotry oachieve 1to2 ratioofreasonableootage.

A second roblemoncernedhempactfthe ecordingquip-mentnthe ancers. hey ftenmistookhemotionictureamerafor still amera ndwouldposeratherhan ontinue o dance.Other ifficultiesncluded heeagerness fbystandersoshakehands sometimes ith hosepersons olding quipment),ore-ceive a "dash" a token aymentuch as money, igarettes,rsnuff),r to get intothe actby posing n front f thecamera.YoungstersnNigerialsomugnfrontfthe amera sthey ointheUnited tates Hanna,1986a). t was notuncommonorndi-viduals owalk nfront f thecamera nadvertentlyr push hecameramanuringn excited esponse o a performance.re-quently, oung hildrenuriouslyouched hewhiteman'sskin,oftennterferingith ecordingctivities. e also had to be pre-pared odeal with noccasional oaming oator a drunk, ostile,ormentallyeranged erson'sntrusionpon heproceedings.

Indirect esponseo our amentsbout hese nterferences,helateChiefJ.0. Ebere ftheUbakalaClanmade rrangementsorus to becomeacquaintedwith ome of hispeople'sdances fordocumentarynd nalyticalurposes. isefforts ere n behalffourfriendshiphehadsuggestedhat become ne ofhiswives),butmost fall,thedesire eheldforhisclan "togetup,"thats,



Hanna AFRICAN DANCE FRAME BY FRAME 427

receiverecognition:very ocial and political roupingn theUmuahiarea scompetitiveithveryther. husUbakala ancesbecame he rimaryubject fmy ase study.

The Ubakalaperformedhosedances hat rojected heir es-thetic: otions f appropriatenessnd competency,hat hedem-ocraticallyhoseneadershiponsideredobe the roupsfdancersfollowinghe steemedules.We filmedn dealmodel epresent-ing alued erformanceriteriand sociopoliticalroductresult-ingfrom process fcompetitiveegotiationndconsensus). heUbakalaelders nd other eadersdeterminedheprocedureorselectinghe erformingroups. irst,nUbakalaClandance-playcompetition,owhichwe werenvited,as held tthe utdoorlayareaof theNigeriaDelta Diocese Centralchooladjacent otheUbakala CentralMarket. hirteenroups romwithin heclan"tried ut"before judging ommitteeomposed fclan elderschosen ythe hief.We werenot ermittedofilm his audition,"butwere nvited o film heperformancesfthe hosen roups ttheCentralMarketowned ointly yallUbakalavillages).

Fortunately,he eadershad nformeds about hefirst ance-play electionseforeheperformanceate.The nitial electionswerebased on a misunderstanding.ather hanrepresentingvariety f dance-play enres, heir hoices had been based onrecognizedocial achievement,hich ends o be associatedwithage.Whenwe asked fthey houghthat heir elections asedonperformancexcellence eflectedhedifferentinds fUbakaladance-plays,heudgesquicklymodifiedheirelections.

It is noteworthyhat ome titled ociety lifetimessociationbasedonspecific equirements)ndwardance-playshatre partofUbakalaheritage erenotpart f thecompetition.ince thespecial performanceas not scheduled o take place duringholiday eason, omekeydance-playarticipantsere wayfromhomewhere heyworked. ome of thedance-playsemain ecretor re nly erformedtdesignatedimes.War ances, orxample,areconsiderednappropriateyat east minorityithin henewsystemf awandorder. owever, e didsee a modified ersionof he endeDivision whichncludes heUbakalaClan)wardance




(hats ubstituteor hewarriors' ooty f decapitated eadsfor-merlyarriednthe erformer'seadduringhe ance). hedance,performedn specialoccasions uch s a hero'svictoriouseturnfrom attle, elebrated n Igbo who returnedrom he UnitedKingdom ith law degree. nd hough e saw UbakalaOkonkoSocietymemberserformingttheUbakalaCentralMarket,hissociety ance-play as notperformedt the SpecialFestival."

From 0a.m.to3:45 p.m. n thedesignated arket ayofJuly3, 1963,we filmed, ape-recorded,nd collected urthernforma-tion n the hosen ancegroups. ll ofthe ance-playsook laceon the CentralMarket's mooth, ard-packedarth erformingarea.

Themarketetting asappropriateecause,n dditionobeinga center or radingctivity,t is a keysocial center hat ringstogetherwidenetworkfpeople see Green, 964: 29, 37,andUchendu, 965: 27-38,on the mportancef themarket). he

integratingoleof themarketies n tsregulation.n thepast, hemarket as oneof twoareas overwhich hegovernmentf thevillagegroups, r clan, had authority;heother reaconcernedritualmatters elated o theearth oddess. n recentyearstheauthorityfthe lanhas ncreased. he marketrovides pportu-nities orwomenwho eave their atal illages tmarriageovisitfamily embers ho ome oexchange oods nd ocialize. nthe

market'spen-airtheater-in-the-round,"herescommonlyanc-ingformerriment,ourtship,nd tatus isplay.

Forthemost art,he pecially erformedance-playsloselyapproximatedheir atural ounterparts.hestaging astypical,crowds athered,ndpalmwinefloweddrinkingalmwine ndpouringibations o thespirits nd ancestors o invoketheirblessings recustomaryn importantestive ccasions). Since

it stheduty fthe wners fa market oensure hat heweatheris clement,when rain howernterruptedheperformance,rainmakerdibia miri)was presento"drive" herainfromhemarketplace.fcourse, he ain topped, e crawled rom nderthe ablewherewe were helteringudiovisual quipment,ndtheproceedingsesumed.



Hanna AFRICAN DANCE FRAMEBY FRAME 429

One differenceetweenhespecialperformancesnd dance-plays erformedndermore aturalircumstancesas the uration

ofthe erformances;hese erformancesere typicallyhort, odance-playastingonger han n hour.At times, owever, ance-plays ancontinueor everal ours reven everal ays.Anotherdifference as in the behavior f the audience.Normally,heonlookersirsttand y somewhat assively,iewinghedancersand musiciansintheround." hen,when hedance-playsfullyunder ay, he pectatorsespond ith he ery ibers ftheirwn

musculaturendvirtually erge ithhe erformersntheirnthu-siasm, mpathy,nd encouragement.he audience ends oclosethe ircle, hrinkinghedancingstage" ntil "sergeanttarms"threatensobeatthe rowd ackwith palmfronda symbol fpeaceorurgency). embers f he udiencewill ometimesoinadancegroup r dancebeside group,makingheoccasion spe-ciallyfestive. dults ften articipatenyoung eople'sdances

"justfor un,"nd younghildrenften ryo mitateheir lders.Theperformersreheartenedndurgedn by ooks ndnods romspectatorsrby uchurgingss "Mybrother, y ister,ry ard!"As furthernspiration,spectator aywipe performer'sacewitha handkerchiefrplacea coinor noteon thehead of a favoritedancer. owever, uringhe pecialperformancef dance-plays,thedancing reawasroped ff tourrequest nd he udiencewas

urged okeep tself hysicallypart rom hedancerso thatwemightavemaximumilming,ape-recording,ndwritingacility.

How was thisfilmused?Anymethodn serious cholarlyresearchs related otheoryndthe xplorationf tspropositions.Elsewhere Hanna, 1976, 1979a, 1979b, 1979c/1987, 979d,1983a,1983b, 986a,1986b, 988a,1988b, 988c,1989a,1989b,inpress) presentn approach owardhe nthropology/semiot-

ics/ethnologyfdance.Forpurposes ere,twill ufficeonote primarynterestnthe

relationshipetweenhe extormovement)nd he ontextorthesociety,ulture,istory,nd cology fthe ancers nd udience).Afterll,dances nywhere-Ubakala illages rNew YorkCitytheatertages-do not omeoutof thinir.




In the nalysis fthe ilmed ext ndpreparationf movementtranscript,used thepart f Laban's theory ased on "objective"

movementbservationnddistinctive,niversalnitsf he umanbody rchitecturendfunctionhat ormshe asisofLabanotationandeffort-shapenalysis.' examined hysical ancebehavior.oidentifyancemovementtyle2nd structureor hepurposes fdiscursive escriptionndconsequent istinctiveeaturenalysis,meaningful otor nits reessentiallyaban'sprocessualmove-ment oncepts Dell, 1970; Hutchinson,970) consistingf six

dimensionsnd their aluesofspace amplitude,irection,ocus,level, hape flow, roup), our f dynamicsforce, pace, effortflow, ime), our f rhythmaccent, uration, eter,empo), ndthree f characteristicodyusage posture,ocomotion,esture).

Becausemore eople nthe ields fdance, he ocial sciences,humanities,ndthe rts refluent ith erbal hanwith otationalgraphic ymbols, prepared verbal ranscriptromhe ilm.

TheUbakaladance transcriptserefirstested n a group fMichigan tateUniversityollege tudentsn a classonAfricandance some tudentsadnever anced efore,therswere uiteexperienced)nd aterwith ther roups fstudentsnd teachersas revisions eremade, lways eferringack othe ilm. tudentsreconstructedheUbakaladance-playmovementsrom hetran-scripts.Obviously,hose ndividualswithtrainingn Nigerian

danceperformedoreike heUbakala han idother tudents.Furtherommentntheuse ofverbal atherhan raphic ym-

bolsfor hemovementranscriptscalledfor. hedanceworld asobservedhe tilityfmusic otation.lthoughhererenow hreerelatively ell-tested otationalanguages see Kleinman, 975,for comparativeiscussion),nd each of thems used withinsegments f the danceworld, here s no "universal" ystem.

Notationaldeographs,epresentationsngraphic ymbols, re ashorthandor ata, s isacademicargon-meaningfulndrapidlyusedby small oterie f experts." owever,he otationystemsdo not pecifyhemeaningfultructuralnits or nalysis eyondthecorpus f what s notated orreconstructionf a dance, hepurpose orwhich he ystems eredeveloped.Neitherraphicsnorcorrespondingerbal nstructionsan readily e transcribed





a ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I,

Photograph 1: Ubakala Men, byWilliamJohn Hanna



Hanna AFRICAN DANCE FRAMEBY FRAME 433

formance odel s alsoa statementfcompetenceknowledge fdance).

Analysis asedon a film ecord ermitsheckingor eliabilityand validity.ndeed,my doctoral efense,t MargaretMead'srequest,ncluded filmcreeningothermembersncluded lex-anderAlland, delaidaReyes-Schramm,ndJoseph iggins).

In the nalysis fdance nd ociety,examinedmovementraitsas featuresnthemselvess well as phrasesneach dance-play.phrasewas consideredobe a group frelatedmovementshat as

itsown climax. t ismarked y momentsna movementatternwhere here re alternationsf activitypeaking) nd quiescence(pose, rest, nergy iminution).t is distinguishedy rhythmicpatternnd visualconfigurationsf locomotionnd/or esture.looked tcontrastsfdistinctiveeaturesmong hedancegroupsand examined he ocial characteristicsf thedancers asedonethnographicesearch. thnographynvolves researcherngag-

ing nparticipantbservationliving mong group, sking ues-tions, nd lookingnmuchthe same way as a child earns tsculture).

There xist limitedumberfprincipleshat eem ogenerateUbakaladance-playsorwarrior en,married omen,ndyouth.For xample,sillustratednFigure , Warriors'Deepnd urfaceStructures,"ension,apid empo,nd inear nd angular patial

patternsre haracteristic.hesedeep tructuresanbe realized ybourree,unge, ndslashmovements.igure , "Mothers' eepand SurfaceStructures,"llustrateshatnontense ffort,lowtempo,ndcurvilinearpace generatehewave walk,contract-release, ndhip hiftmovements.

TheUbakaladancemovementatternstudiedhow relation-shipto the social organization,pecificallyge and sex-role

differentiationatterns. hese seem homologousnd conserva-tive. n Figure3, "Dance Style and Structuren RelationtoAge-SexRole Differentiation,"heaxes for ge (vertical) ndfor he reatestex-role ifferentiationhorizontal)redrawn oillustratehedistributionffeaturesndpatterns.oungpeopleof both exeshave relativelyimilar ancemovementsntermsof their se oftime, pace,energy,nd bodyparts.At theother



_! s s | I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..

Photograph 2: Ubakala Women,byWtIliamJohn Hanna



Hanna/AFRICANDANCE FRAME BY FRAME 435

dS-deep structure sS-surfacetructureE-effortT-times-space

dS

E-tension, -rapid, -linear

I IsS: bourree lunge slash

Figure 1: Warriors'Deep and Surface Structures

dS

E-nontense, T-slow, s-curvilinear

I IsS: wave walk contract-release hipshift

Figure 2: Mothers'Deep and Surface Structures

end of the ge continuum,lderlymen ndwomenhavesimilardancepatterns.igure , "Tension istributionnUbakalaDance-Plays," resentsnother ayofviewinghe ifferences.

When he wo exesarerelativelyimilarnage but ery iffer-ent n biological nd social role,thedance movementatternsdivergemostmarkedly. here s a strong ontrast etween hewomen s life-creatingndnurturingnd themen s life-takingwarriors,ctually r ymbolically,nthe omains fmovementndsocial tructure.here redistinctules or ifferentialehaviorswell as actualbehavioral ifferences.3ocial differentiationt theemotional nd ideological oles is symbolically anifestn themovementsfeachdance-playenre,s wellas in tsparticipationcriteria,he ubstantiveeaningfthemovement,nd ong.




Old

Wamors Mothers

\oed Youth/

Young

Age = vertical xisGreatest ex RoleDifferentiationhornzontalxis

Figure 3: Dance Style and Structure nRelation to Age-Sex RoleDifferentiation

NOTE Age = vertical xis; greatest ex-roledifferentiationhorizontal xis

The exroles, lthoughistinct,reneverthelessnterdependent.

Men receive heir irth, urturance,ndindirectlyheir ightopartakenpoliticalnd ritual ehavior romwomen.Women,nturn,eceive heirirthndpoliticallyndrituallyrderednviron-ment rommen.

Contrastiveovementccursmost otably hen oth exes rephysicallyapableof distinctehavior,hewomen s life-givers,themen s life-takers.ife nddeathsthe ltimateinarytructure

forhumans. hese dance movementtructuresrepresentednFigure , "Age-SexContrastiveatternsnUbakalaDance-Plays."Furthermore,en's directionalhanges re moreangular, ithmarkeduccessionnd egments;ody hapes remore ariedndcomplex.Whereasmendance na circle xtrusively,teppingnandout, eaping panddown, ndmovingntheballof thefoot,thewomen sethe irclentrusively,eepingmore omogeneous




MEN

Warriors Youth Titled ElderlynGeneral

Tension 4

+_WOMEN

Youth Child bearing,Old

Tensiono

+ Relatively reater- Relatively less

Figure 4: Tension Distribution nUbakala Dance-PlaysNOTE + = relatively reater. - = relativelyesser

spatial evel, ndmoving redominantlyn thewholefoot.Rapid

speed ndvaried patial se suggest estructionust s slow pecdand imitedpatial sesuggest onstruction.hewarrior's illingthrusts swift; e venturesbroad.The woman'sgestationndsucking eriod f abouttwo and three-quarterears omewhatrestrictsobility.4

It seems reasonable o conclude hatUbakala dance-playsntermsf textualomponents,nd who does whatwith hem,rc

about ocial relationships ade visiblethroughongruencesfdance nd society. he data,presentedo Alan Lomaxduring isChoreometricstudy hat eneralizesbout ulturereas on thebasisof rbitrarilyelected ilmamples ackingmportantupple-mentary aterial,ertainlyisprove isassertionhat ll Africandance is "wildly nergetic, ip-swinging"ance,with speed"flowinghroughllAfricanmovementLomax,1968:234). There



00 SPACE DYNAM

Direction Amplitude Level Grouping SpatialFlow Loco

WO WM N counter- small middle unison minimum w(mothers, clock0 indulg.life-creating) face ine low painng s

ofdirec.ing.se

face leader free lowcenter in 0

+ + + + +M E N verticaline small high unison maximum w(warriors, horizontal large middle soloist indulg. slife-taking)

line moves curveslow apart h

diagonal from roup lines lu

forward/ freend bobackward boundflow

+ Relatively reater ariability.- Relativelyesser variability.

Figure 5: Age-Sex Contrastive Patterns inUbakala Dance-PlaysNOTE + = relatively greater variability - = Relatively lesser variability




are problems eneralizingbout n Africanontinent ith bout1,000 anguage roups ndabout hatmany ancepatternonstel-

lations. eoples re as diverse s the griculturalgbo of Nigeria,pastoral asaiofKenya, ndhunter/gathererushmenfNamibia.Moreover, ithin group, s among heUbakalaand peoples nother ulturereas, heres a varietyfdances pecific odifferenttimes, laces, people, and situations.WhileLomax's effort oidentifyulturereapatternsuickly sing fewmovementaram-eters n analyzing ther esearchers' ilm s admirable,n situ

ethnographersave judged Choreometricindingsnvalid seeHanna, 986b, or furtherritique).

In order o draw conclusions eyondwhatappearson film,supplementarybservationsnd notationsn the ivedance-aswellas an ethnographyhat ncompasseshe epresentativenessfthe ilmed ance nd he riteriaor electingances hat refilmed,thedancecatalyst, roduction,rocess, erformance,nd mpact

ofthe dance, and the filmingf the dance on thedancer ndaudience-are necessary. here s another roblemhat houldbe considered: hedancerecordingsfone peoplebeingusedbyanother nd considered y theformerobe pilferingtsposses-sions, or general exploitation see Kealiinohomoku, 981;Honko,1984).

NOTES

1. Laban's theory f the relationshipetween motionalxpression nd movement,challenged yrecenttudiesn ross-culturalommunicationHanna, 983b), snot art fthis tudy.

2. Style ncludes heparticularnd constant eaturesr recurrentotifsnique o atradition.t s theway n which ll the ontributinglementsre selected,

rganized,nd

manipulated,nd by which ne may establish rigin, lace, and time. tructures theappearancef the nterdependentlements fdance. tyle nd tructurere often eferredtoas form,he how."

3. AccordingoKeil 1979: 201-202), or he ivofNigeria,ircles re forces f ocietyandculture,emininity,elodic tability. . andcontinuity. . and renormallyood. Incontrast,nglesrepresentorces f individuality, asculinity,elodic hange . . anddiscontinuity.. and repotentiallyvil.... It s the rictionetween ircles nd ngles hatgeneratesnergy,ynamism,ife."




4. In addition o the orrelationf specificmovementatternsith ocialroles, t isnoteworthyhat rom harlesAdams's nalysis f thedance-play usical ccompaniment,there ppear to be musical distinctionss well. Whereas he mothers ave an open,relaxed tonal rangeof thirteenemitones, ross-rhythm eters f 3 against4, anddescendingmelodic ontours nd sporadic olyphony,hewarriorsave a wider angeof intervals two octaves), 2 against 3 cross-rhythm,nd no clearlydiscerniblemelody.

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gists,ndwhite nights." . f theAssn. f Graduate ance Ethnologists: 10-23.KEIL, C. (1979)TivSong.Chicago:Univ. fChicagoPress.KLEINMAN, S. (1975) "Movement otationystems:n introduction."uest:The Lan-

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Winston.

Judith ynneHanna (Ph.D., Columbia), a University fMaryland Senior ResearchScholar, s author fTo Dance Is Human;The Performer-Audienceonnection;Dance, Sex, andGender;Dance and Stress;DisruptivechoolBehavior,UrbanDynamics in Black Africa withW J.Hanna), and numerous rticles.

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Africann Dance Frame by Frame