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Move to the rhythm of African drums with Live percussionists.

Characteristics of African Dance

African Dance or Afro refers mainly to sub-saharan dances which are tightly connected to African Drum Music. The African drums are said to be strong enough to touch the soul and evoke community emotions. Afro Dance is characterized by being more of a community dance rather than an individual or couple dance.

African dance utilizes the concepts of polyrhythm and total body articulation. Shoulders, chest, pelvis, arms, legs etc., may move with different rhythms in the music. They may also add rhythmic components independent of those in the music. In general men use large body movements, including jumping and leaping. Women dance smaller movements with much use of "shuffle steps", the body in a bent position with "crooked knees". The circle dance predominated everywhere, sometimes solo dancers or musicians in the middle, sometimes couples.

African dances are largely participatory, with spectators being part of the performance. With the exceptions of spiritual, religious, or initiation dances, there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers. Even ritual dances often have a time when spectators participate.
Many dances are performed by only males or females, indicating strong beliefs about what being male or female means.

Rather than emphasizing individual talent, Afro dancers and drummers express communal desires, values, and collective creativity. The drumming represents an underlying linguistic text that guides the dancing performance. However, the majority of meaning comes from the nonverbal cues and metalanguage of the performers. The spontaneity of these performances creates the impression of an extemporaneous speech. This characteristic should not, however, be confused with improvisation, which emphasizes the individual and bolsters her or his ego. The drummer's primary duty is to preserve the community. He or she mediates the audience and the performer interaction.

Benefits

Tonificación Muscular (Muscular Tone Up)
Cardio (Fat Burn)
Coordinación (Coordination)
Elasticidad (Elasticity)
Resistencia (Endurance)
Rehabilitación (Rehabilitation)
Instructores (Instructors)	Lilly Alcantara

Text: Israel Andalón

Bibliography:
Le Moal, Philippe, “Danse Du Afrique”, Dictionnaire de la Danse; Larousse; France 2001.
Welsh, Kariamu, African Dance; Chelsea House Publishers; 2004.
"African Dance", Wikipedia; consulted on October 12, 2011 on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_dance
Gates, Henry Louis; Appiah, Anthony; "Africana", The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience; Basic Civics Books; 1999.

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