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Course Description

Summary

For students with some dance background, this version of Sénémali is taught at a more advanced level. This course is an introduction to Sabar (traditional dance, drum, and ceremony) from Sénégal and Gambia and Traditional West African Mandingo dance and music forms. We will build an improvisation practice that explores the dynamics between the musicians and dancers as well as how movement and live music can be experienced as a singular, integrated entity.  We will also examine movement and embodied practices of the African diaspora, connecting dance lineages of the past, present, and future. This will be an integrated studio and sociohistorical academic study in specific African dance techniques.  We will highlight and acknowledge the significance of stepping, stomping, hand coordination, upper body torsion, and hip mobility.