Dance And Gertude: The Meaning Of Dance

Upon selecting a winter class, I was quite hesitant because of the amount of work that will be expected to be completed in just a few weeks. However, I learned a lot about the different artist and how they use hip hop, poetry, dance art to express their feelings in their work. I also learned the meaning of dance, according to Camille Brown dance is a language. While dancing, it becomes a way of communicating through movement without words. I also learned about two important African American women, Gertude and Bessie Smith and their impact on music. Gertude is one of the pioneers of blues music and Bessie Smith followed along the same path and together they created smoothing music to the ears. Gertude also influenced Alice Walker, who is the
Just to mention a few, writing the poem helped me to reflect on my past experiences and reminded me of my struggles and my accomplishments. It is important to reflect on the past because it can help remind you of what you want to accomplish and to not repeat the same mistakes over and over. I also enjoyed watching a few videos such as the movie “Slam” and the dance videos. The movie reminded me that as an African American I can choose to be a part of the black statistic or I can help make a change. I also learned that slavery is not only physical but also mental. This was depicted through Lauren and how she viewed her life as a slave, in her mind she was also a slave to drugs, sex and money. In the class reading, Maulana Karenga was an important person in helping understand the African/black diaspora. He was the most important person I learned about throughout the
The first three pictures tell a story by simply looking at the image. The black man in the first image looks tired, in his eyes there is a story that can be told. He sits alone as if he is uncomfortable but willing to give whatever little he can to help. The second image a woman is looking in the mirror asking “Who is the finest of them all?” Although, she is an attractive young black lady, inside she wants to be white because that is what society view as beautiful. The white lady in the mirror is old and not as nearly as attractive as the black lady yet, the black woman admires her because of the color of her skin. In the third image, a young boy when asked what does he want to be when he grows up? He responded by saying he wants to be a white man when he grows up because his mother says a “nigger ain’t shyt”. At a young age the little boy is exposed to racism and wants to be someone who he is not because it is what society accepts. The color black was considered an ugly color. The mother speaking down to him only makes it harder for the little boy to be comfortable in his own skin. Overall, these three images are the most compelling because you can look at the faces of each person and you see their hurt and struggle. These images teach us that there is innocence in each character but corruption and unhappiness in their faces. Through these pictures, we