African Dancers Interview

For instance, the Harlem shake was a popular dance move in 2013 that had celebrity participants from media houses, sports teams and even the corporate world (Soha & McDowell, 2016). The contemporary American culture considers dancing as a form of entertainment and recently, dancing has become an occupation where people can earn sustainable living from it. However, in the African culture dancing is more than a form of entertainment or an income generating activity. I had an opportunity to experience dancing in the West African subculture of the greater African continent. I interviewed Valerie Harris, a twenty-two year old African American woman of Nigerian descent who doubles up as a dance instructor at the Equilibrium Dance Academy and Ghana Boy, a professional dancer who has appeared in several music videos and collaborated with big artistes such as Janet Jackson.

She taught the class some moves, which at this point I had joined. After she was done, it was time to introduce her guest, Ghana Boy. Ghana Boy has had a glittering career not only in Africa but also in the United States of America (USA). He has rubbed shoulders with the who’s who of the music industry. Together with Valerie, he initiated another dance lesson that was even more intense session than the one Valerie had led earlier. She enjoys when people like me look up to her for inspiration due to her dancing. She intends to use dancing to bring diversity to the world. Valerie was also quick to mention that, “dancing in certain ways mean certain things in my culture. There are dances that show happiness, some show sorrow, some show losses or gains and some are for ceremonial purposes.

” On the other hand, Ghana Boy said that dancing brings joy to his life. It is not easy for a pregnant woman to move around, let alone dance. The vigor that Valerie showed while dancing and the happiness she had while giving answers to the interview questions only went to show how much dancing meant to her. She told me that some of the members of her family, who are in Nigeria, are even more passionate about dancing than her. Valerie also mentioned that, “the African music places more emphasis on the beat of the music rather than the rhythm, as is the case in American music. This African beat influences dance. ” However, she mentioned that the mature dancers get a raw experience of the African dance culture because they are part of the academy.

However, despite all the glamour and happiness that comes with dancing, there are some challenges that Valerie and Ghana Boy both mentioned. One, despite the cultural richness of African music, especially Nigerian music and dance, breaking into the American music market has proven quite a hefty challenge. Most of the artistes back in Africa are disunited and this hinders the collective marketing of African music. Without a common goal, popularizing the dances in the world has proven hectic. The world is growing rapidly and I am afraid that failure to preserve some cultures would lead to the complete loss of such knowledge. References Soha, M. McDowell, Z. J. Monetizing a Meme: Youtube, Content ID, and the Harlem Shake.