2006 Dance Newsletter - Slippery Rock University

They speak
through my dance,
they dance
through my voice
Submitted by Ursula Payne
Moving beyond or transcending the
trauma of slavery is a journey that requires
patience, perseverance and faith. The effects
of forced cultural displacement are a reality
of people of African descent living in today’s
world. African-American artists continue to
deal with the legacy of institutional racism,
historical distortions and the negative
stereotypes embedded in American history
within their creative work. Not knowing
one’s ancestral roots was troubling to my
spirit and a mystery worth examining.
As a result of my ongoing research
of African dance forms within the
Diaspora and past associations with
choreographers of African descent
such as Dr. Pearl Primus, Ronald
K. Brown, Donald McKayle, Eva
Gholson and Dianne McIntyre, I
began to question the presence and the
function of the African aesthetic in my
work as a choreographer and performer.
After reflecting back on my past solos
and group works, I confirmed that my
choreographic and performative practices
were deeply rooted in the Africanaesthetic.
It was challenging though,
to decipher what specific aspects of
my dance were a reflection of my
ethnic and cultural heritage. I
was able to identify certain
properties of physicality,
dynamic phrasing
and rhythm
inherent
in the
Brazilian
Samba,
Capoeira
and Orisha dances
in my movements and in my choreography,
but it was still unsettling to ignore my exact
genealogical lineage.
I used DNA testing to determine my
ancestral lineage through the African
Ancestry non-profit organization located
in Washington, D.C. Their Matriclan TM
service analyzed the genetic sequence of
my mitochondrial DNA. The PatriClan
TM service analyzed the nine markers of
the Y-Chromosome, which determined my
paternal connection to African Ancestors.
The scientists compared both of
my genetic sequences against a
database of African
DNA sequences. They were
able to determine the
present-day African
population with which
I shared maternal
and paternal ancestry.
Interestingly 30%
of African-American
paternal lineages match
a European database and
not an African database. I
discovered
that I
was connected to the Akan
people which account for 44% of the
population of Ghana, and to the Mbundo
people of Angola dispelling the belief that I
am a minority.
Through the research I developed during
my sabbatical leave, I came to learn about
my own African heritage with as much
certainty as scientific technology could
guarantee. I traveled to Brazil, Egypt and
Ethiopia where I was able to take risks and
explore original ways of conceptualizing the
construction of solo choreography through
ancestral, historical
and movement research. As a
mid-career artist, it was necessary for me to
dissolve insecurities inherited from slavery
and European colonization, that considered
all things African to be inferior. In spite
overcoming artistic insecurities due to
past racial injustices, it is still a struggle
for independent African-American artists
to voice their own unique and complex
aesthetics when confronted with the
dominating Europeanist aesthetic deeply
molded into American art
forms.
As I continue to dance and
my body continues to evolve and reveal
the shape of my Ghanaian, Angolan, and
Cherokee Indian feminine ancestors, the
external pressure placed upon me to adhere
to an Europeanist aesthetic intensifies. The
sabbatical period enabled me to reinforce
and deepen my own artistic vision towards
the development of artistic choreography
which focuses on projecting representations
of black womanhood that seek to reveal the
depth of their humanity and examine the
shifting roles women of African descent
have assumed throughout history into
contemporary society.
10 DEPARTMENT OF Dance