A New Dance

Aug 7

Today we began to learn a new performance piece, starting with the dance in the morning.  The Atsiagbekor commemorates the story of a village that prepared for, and then successfully defended themselves against attack from a well-known warrior tribe. Each part of the highly stylized dance represents an event in the story.

The Atsiagbekor dance style strongly contrasts with the Gahu, which we learned all last week. Gahu, which translates to "money drum," originated in Nigeria, and is, for lack of a better descriptive, party music. We were constantly reminded to smile while we danced it.  Of course, the Atsiagbekor has a much more serious theme, and the dancers must express its sentiment in all parts of their body. -- We even get to use props in this dance, and my favorite is the sword!

Laura here. In afternoon, we continued our studies of Atsiagbekor in drum class. I find the experience of learning new drum parts fascinating. All of our teachers verbalize the patterns "pah-ti, pah-pah, pah-ti, pah-ti, pah-ti, pah-pah." Later that day I was spending time with a few of the village children and I showed them a video from dance class this morning. They were singing along with the drum parts... it was very melodic (and cute.) 

Singing the parts in my head (inner hearing), is critical to my success in the ensemble. In any Ewe piece there many rhythms happening simultaneously.  When I first started learning, the wash of contrasting rhythms overwhelmed me. I frequently crossed the parts in my head and struggled to hold onto my assigned rhythm.  Now, after a week of immersion in the music, I am able to pick up my part more easily. I'm also becoming more adept at opening my ears and hearing a part in the context of the other rhythms... this phenomenon is a remarkable experience that is difficult to put into words. Even more amazing... I find myself now able to "sing" more than one contrasting rhythm in my head while playing another.  This is something I've been doing with harmony for years.  I'm experiencing rhythm like I never have before... Mark and I often share discoveries like these as we explore this multi-faceted and extraordinarily rich medium of expression.  We are already excited about seeing these realizations bear fruit in our classrooms.

Thanks for reading,

-Mark and Laura