Dance because they told us not to
Dancing is your passion. It’s your gift. It’s your calling. Did you know that during the Jim Crow days slave owners made it “law” that slaves should not dance because it was seen as “crossing your feet against the lord?’’ So, because of this “law”, slaves would find ways to keep their feet on the ground to still create movement to serve as their form of dancing. Let’s first talk about how the stereotyping of African people brought to the theatrical stage for personal entertainment came about during this time. White performers painted their faces black and added big white smiles to imitate the image of the “happy slave.” This stereotype was pushed by the image of the “Sambo” slave. Sambo was a character used in the book “Uncle Toms Cabin”. This character was formalized because white owners believed that, because African people were not complaining and they were forced to listen to what their owner said, that they were happy and that they were perfectly fine with the brutal treatment they encountered.
So why do we dance? Dancing is now seen as a release, a way to cope, ways to exercise amongst so many other things. Some of us dance because it’s our way of praising the higher power we believe in. To me it seems as though the things that made us creative and truly happy were the things that were once stripped from us and we now have to find a way to get back to our creativity. Being stripped and told not to do something as beautiful and creative as dancing because it was a sin was just another way of brainwashing and pulling the creativity from our souls. There is a creative piece in everyone and if you lost it because of generational brainwash now’s the time to get it back. Checkout a few areas of dancing that can be good for you spirit, health and soul:
Ballet
Ballet is an artistic dance form performed to music using precise and highly formalized set steps and gestures. Classical ballet, which originated in Renaissance Italy and established its present form during the 19th century, is characterized by light, graceful, fluid movements and the use of pointe shoes (Definitions from Oxford Languages). Michaela Deprince is a globally known Ballerina. In fact, after reading her story I’d like to say her family and her love for Ballet saved her. Deprince is a native of Sierra-Lione. She was born during the country’s civil war that lasted for a decade. Both of her biological parents are deceased. Vitilgo is known as the devil’s course in her home land which resulted in her uncle abandoning her at an orphanage where children laughed and teased her for her beautiful skin condition. It was around that time that she fell in love with Ballet. A magazine, or as I see it, destiny, was blowing in the wind and Michaela fell in love with the cover that held a beautiful Ballerina on it. Shortly after she was adopted by her loving family they discovered her talent for ballet and immediately enrolled her in Ballet school. This is the sort of love we have to push for our children. When there is a creative niche that they have, expand upon it and help highlight that they can break glass ceilings just as the beautiful Michaela Deprince is doing. Michaela is ranked as a Soloist at Dutch National Ballet, and well on her way to become a Principal Dancer.
Hip hop dance
Fun fact: Did you know there are several forms of Hip Hop? B-boying (breakdancing), locking and popping, funk, up rock, liquid dance, boogaloo, reggae, and lyrical; just to name a few. Before we get into Hip Hop there’s tribute to be paid to Mr. Clive Campbell AKA DJ Kool Herc himself. You cannot speak Hip Hop without first recognizing the “Father of Hip Hop”. Dj Kool Herc started spinning records at his sister’s birthday party and eventually started doing so at block parties in the West Bronx or as some may know it, the Birthplace of Hip Hop. This created the art that we now see used on stages, television shows, social media, dance studios and pretty much anywhere in the world. Hip Hop began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It includes many different African moves and moves that mimicked the movement of robots freezing (East-Coast) and mannequins (West coast). In the earlier days Hip Hop was considered a more formal sort of dance. The inspiration of Hip Hop came from African dance moves and catching the rhythm. It wasn’t necessary to have experience or some sort of training at a dance academy. Hip hop was and is a dance that is more for the people. You just do it. The creation of Hip Hop shows how pioneer African’s are as a people. Creating moves that were once performed at block parties as expressions and rhythm and just having a good time, to now seeing moves used across the world in different forms of art and captures, if that isn’t pioneer, I don’t know what is!
Electric Boogie and Cha Cha Slide
If you’ve ever been to an African gathering, then you know what the Electric Boogie and the Cha Cha Slide is. I retract that, if you’ve ever heard music, you know and should know what the Electric Boogie and Cha Cha slide is! The Electric Boogie was originally written by Marcia Griffiths in 1976. In 1982 the remixed version of the song was debuted and by 1990 the song hit No. 51 on Billboards Hot 100 chart, which helped it become the current staple that it is now used at family gatherings such as weddings, graduations, birthday parties. You name the place and I’ll join you in a quick round of Electric Slide any day! The Cha Cha slide is a line dance staple. Created by DJ Casper or Mr. C, The Slide Man, was released in 2000 and spent 5 weeks as number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. And I know why! It’s sure to get anyone up and moving out of their seats. The Cha Cha slide has all the criss crossing, Charlie Brown’ing you can think of, and this is why I love it so much. This song couldn’t dismantle the misconception that the Jim Crow law created regarding the crossing of the feet against the lord, anymore than it needs to. Unity, expression, happiness, these are just a few feelings felt when you hear the lyrics, and when you see the big crowd gather on the dance floor to celebrate whatever monumental moment is happening at that time. I know for certain, the God I serve doesn’t despise any of this.
You see, dancing is used as a means of expression and these are only just a few area of dancing that makes an impact across the globe. There’s no way we should allow our creativity to get away from us. If you have something you are passionate about, do it, because we spent too long being told that we couldn’t or shouldn’t. Dance because they said told us not to. Peace. Love. Blessings.
