2006 Dance Newsletter - Slippery Rock University

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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
Mission accomplished at ACDFA In March of 2006 sixteen students attended ACDFA at Ohio State University and did a wonderful job representing the SRU’s Department of Dance. The adjudicators praised the dancers for performing as an ensemble, being well-rehearsed and dancing as one during the unison sections. The dancers performed Mission choreographed by guest artist Princess Mhoon Cooper formerly a dancer for the Ronald K. Brown Evidence Dance company and the Chuck Davis’s African-American Dance Ensemble; Anonymous, a solo choreographed by senior student Dawn Bohn; and Instinct, a group piece choreographed by senior student Jenna Polak. Mission by Princess M’Hoon Cooper. Dance@SRU.EDU 11
Page 1 and 2: SRU DANCE NEWS VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 Sl
Page 3 and 4: The Limón project Submitted by Nor
Page 5 and 6: The Lucy Isacco Sack Academic Year
Page 7 and 8: Tara Madsen (2004) is a second year
Page 9: The aromas of chai and Indian spice

2006 Dance Newsletter - Slippery Rock University

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