Traditional Dance In Africa

Introduction:

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined through many different aspects such as: religion, cuisine, socials habits, music and last but not least through dance. The word “culture” derives from a Latin word which means to tend to the earth and grow. Many countries are largely populated by immigrants, and the culture is influenced by the many groups of people that now make up the country. This is also a part of growth. As the country grows, so does its cultural diversity. No matter what culture a person is part of, one thing is for certain, its culture will change. Culture appears to have become key in our interconnected world, which is made up of so many ethically diverse societies,

Early commentators consistently commented on the absence of close couple dancing: such dancing was though immoral in many traditional African societies. In all sub Saharan African dance there seems to be no evidence for sustained, one-to-one male-female partnering anywhere before the late colonial era when it was apparently considered in distinctly poor taste. African dances teach social patterns and values and help people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community while celebrating festivals and funerals, competing, reciting history, proverbs and poetry; and to encounter Gods. African dances are largely participatory, with spectators being part of the performance. With the exception of some spiritual, religious and initiation dances, there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers. Even ritual dances often have a time when spectators participate. There are no singular definitions of African dance: Africa, a continent three times the size of the United State, is ethnically and culturally the most diverse on the planet. Though similar themes may be found throughout dances across the many countries and landscapes, each has its own history, language, song, background and purpose and cannot be translated to another dance of the same culture much less another dance from somewhere else on the

The change is happening at a very fast rate and it is very hard for people to keep up with it and even harder to not forgetting the dances that were used in the past. The change in dances is also caused because of the rapid change and music and as they are closely linked together and dependent on each other they will keep changing at the same rate. Dances and industry have become a very wealthy industry, therefore the real purpose of them has been forgotten by most of the people and unfortunately in the next years they will become just a trend, not an important part of our