3855 Chapter 7 Response

Chapter 7 details the concept of incorporating dance (or motion in general)

with music. The case studies explored are the capoeira martial arts, the Bhangra
dance style, and the Tango. I especially enjoyed the sound clips in this chapter, they
all had a great groove. The author begins the chapter with a preface on Hearing
and Feeling the Dance, in which she describes the importance of pulse in dance.
She writes that, most dances are performed to music with a strong pulse the
underlying beat structures of most dances remains constant and is easily sensed by
the body. The adaptation of our body movement to this pulse results in dance and
keeping a steady rhythm is intrinsic to most people.
Capoeira is a centuries-old Afro-Brazillian performance style that combines
martial arts with dance and music. The history of capoeira is fragmented and
unclear; some histories emphasize its African roots while others focus on its
emergence within the colonial slave culture by the eighteenth century among
African slaves earlier transported to Brazil. Some have suggested that capoeira
derives from an Angolan combat game called ngolo The three main periods of
capoeira are: the slavery period, the underground period, and the academy period.
The underground period spans from 1892 to the 1920, during which time the
Brazillian government prohibited capoeira gangs. Later in the 1920s and 30s,
capoeira academies were established by the living masters. Capoeira is still hugely
popular today with many living masters.
Bhangra is a dance tradition associated with South Asian diaspora
communities in Great Britain and North America. Right away when I saw the title of
this case study I thought of a documentary I had watched years ago about this very
tradition. I cant remember what it was called, but it was a fantastic mini-series. I
learned that the drum instrument (dhol) can only be made from mango wood for the
timbre it produces. I dont think I could tell the difference, but it must be similar to
the difference in tone from guitar woods, which I am much more familiar with. The
article details the emergence of the bhangra beat in the 1970s which influenced
other genres such as reggae and rap (and is still used today by creative producers!)
Bhangra made its way into the mainstream since the 1980s and still continues to
influence global music.
The last case study is on the tango. Interestingly, the last two concerts I went
to had audience members dancing the tango (Jorge Miguel Flamenco ensemble and
Jane Bunnett and the Maqueque). This hugely popular dance emerged in Argentina
in 1870 and travelled to Europe shortly after. Its popularity exploded in the 1920s
until the 1940s, which is considered the Golden Age of tango. I notice that this
period aligns perfectly with the golden age of American jazz. No coincidence, Im
sure. Despite its peak popularity at this time, it still remains one of the most
recognizable dances today. It has evolved from a low-class dance through years of
gentrification to enter the ballroom culture in the second half of the 20 th century.
The author describes a tango lifestyle and the tango world, a culture so large that
its been branded a lifestyle rather than just a dance or an interest.