Stories of West African and House Dance Pedagogies: 4E Cognition Meet Rhythmic Virtuosity

Summary

Rhythmic virtuosity—moving with percussive attack—is a hallmark of Black/African dance. Musicality reveals a dynamic system of intersubjective communal creativity: drumming provides percussive sensory information that guides a dancer's somatic and choreographic choices. Cognitive scientists study the intersubjectivity of learning. This article examines how thinking, creativity, and artistry are enacted in two ethnographic vignettes of African diaspora dance—Guinea and House dance—showing that they are intersubjective processes. The focus is on how rhythmic virtuosity is taught and achieved, and what insights emerge about how a dancer's thinking is situated, extended, and energized by music.

Study at a glance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rhythmic virtuosity or moving with “percussive attack” is an ultimate performance quality for Black/African dance. The practice of musicality is a window into a dynamic system of intersubjective communal creativity. Drumming, for example, provides percussive sensorial information that directs a dancer’s somatic and choreographic response. Cognitive scientists are interested in the intersubjectivity of learning. To add to this conversation, I want to describe how thinking, creativity, and artistry are actuated within two ethnographic vignettes of African diaspora dance that exemplify how thinking, creativity, and artistry are an intersubjective process. Hence, the focus of this article is to examine and reflect upon how rhythmic virtuosity is taught and achieved in Guinea and House dance, and what revelations are gained about how a dancer’s thinking is situated, extended, and galvanized by music.