Analysis Of Ghost Dances

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Christopher Bruce uses the medium of dance to take the political unrest of South America to a higher level. The idea of Ghost Dances came about as a result of a letter he received from a widow of a famous Chilean folk singer who had been murdered. Bruce was inspired by the political unrest in South America, the events that occurred in Chile during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in 1973 General Pinochet caused tragedy through the torturing and suffering of innocent people to gain power (Ghost-dances.wikispaces.com, 2015). People in the community however, were defiant and remained with dignity until their deaths. This dance can be related to any country or culture experiencing political issues. Christopher once said an important quote about Ghost Dances, which has become one of his most confronting pieces of work “I want people to be moved and feel something for these people. They may or may not be able to do much, but public opinion in the end means something, and …show more content…

The dance takes on a mixed quality of fun and being happy knowing about the constant threat of death. The villagers, no matter how many of their people are getting hurt, murdered or taken away, show pride and dignity and seem to accept the killings as a fact of life. Throughout section 6, the Ghost Dancers can be seen lurking in the background watching over the dead as all of them start to join in with a cumulative canyon. This dance provides a climax to the production as the dead dance with heroic, defiant gestures to symbolize that no matter how many times they are faced with murder they will still hold pride for their culture and themselves. Throughout the piece of Ghost Dances the dead express their culture through the movement of dance, with its simple clear vocabulary but without drawing on or being limited by the traditional dances of specific

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