Black Man's Burden Analysis

It is interesting to think about what makes something comfortable versus uncomfortable. That is a question that I am constantly coming back to as I go through not only in class but also in life as well. The act of “othering” was a concept that was introduced to me last year through Dance & Society. It is so easy for people to put up a glass wall when viewing something or exposing themselves to something that is unfamiliar. I say glass because you can still see it and witness what is going on. However, the glass wall you build distorts what you are seeing and you do not fully see it clearly. I believe that this class will help me shatter the wall I sometimes build and learn to digest information from new angles instead of shutting them off entirely.

I knew it was going to concentrate on dance from the African Diaspora, but other than that I really had no idea what I was stepping into. The reading on the first day, Black Man’s Burden by John Oliver Killens, provided the sense that this was going to be a time for me to immerse myself in the material and contemplate about the stories that are being told through movement. Now, these stories can be told either directly or indirectly. When taking elements and styles of African dance I feel there is always a larger picture behind the movement. Take the movement, we did from the cakewalk. I knew the historical significance of cakewalk and what it represented. Knowing that information, allowed me to portray the movement and make it more authentic. I could not help but think about the African slaves and their story. In the reading, the boy asks his dad about the lion and man fighting, but the man is always triumphant. Then the dad explains, “‘Son, these stories will always end that way until the lion learns how to write’” (xxxiv, Killens), I feel that represents all the stories behind the dance that do not always have the opportunity to be heard. Now, it is our chance to learn about and to understand the movement. It is our chance to bring these hidden stories to life and give them a voice. This can only happen when we accept the movement and chose not to “other”