*nods* I am glad to see more African-influenced dances on the show, but arrrrrrrgh the commentary drives me crazy! Ditto with the commentary on a lot of the hip-hop pieces ("it's not aggressive like so much hip hop! It's actually sweet!" @@).
I ... am still struggling with how to differentiate between comments about animal-style dances, because the little I do know about African-based dance brought over to the US is that there were a lot of "animal" dances (turkey dance, off the top of my head) and that one of the characteristics of African influence in dances like Lindy is an angled body (as opposed to upright, like ballroom) and bent knees. Still, I don't think that means people can say the dances and/or dancers are "animalistic" or "savage" or "primitive," as that's a very different connotation!
Sigh. I really wish that they would bring in someone who specializes in African dance, as that would make me feel a bit better...
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Sat, Jul. 26th, 2008 09:51 am (UTC)I ... am still struggling with how to differentiate between comments about animal-style dances, because the little I do know about African-based dance brought over to the US is that there were a lot of "animal" dances (turkey dance, off the top of my head) and that one of the characteristics of African influence in dances like Lindy is an angled body (as opposed to upright, like ballroom) and bent knees. Still, I don't think that means people can say the dances and/or dancers are "animalistic" or "savage" or "primitive," as that's a very different connotation!
Sigh. I really wish that they would bring in someone who specializes in African dance, as that would make me feel a bit better...