The Dance of Death In A Post Slavery Society

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.”- Martha Graham

The institution of slavery in the Caribbean is largely and singlehandedly responsible for shaping post slavery societies throughout this Hemisphere. The remnants of slavery and the slave experiences are still with us many years after slavery was abolished in 1838. One such example of this is seen through the creative arts, namely dance. According to the article “The Social World of the Slaves” published in Encyclopedia.Com, "although house servants lived under the constant supervision of their masters, field hands on large plantations and the slaves on smaller farms did have some time on Sundays and late at night to themselves. They then could gather in the slave quarters, the center of their social life, and share stories, dance, play music, sing, and perform “shouts,” descendants of African tradition in which dancers formed a circle and chanted." It is widely accepted that Afro Caribbean people for the most part have had, and continue to have a great appreciation for the art form specifically dance. Whether it’s within a church setting with the congregants getting into spirit or in the secular space where the performers try to show off on each other by out-performing their competitors Jamaicans love to dance. The word competitor was specifically chosen since it can be argued that dancing has become a competition. We have long passed the days when dancing was merely for fun and relaxation and a way of interacting with each other. Dancing has evolved to somewhat of a war, the dancers are warrior-like and take no hostages; performing under a no retreat, no surrender ethos as spectators look on, with their Smart phones close by as they record and photograph the combatants. It’s always interesting to see the youngest among us trying to dance even before they can talk or even walk properly. It therefore comes as no surprise that many contemporary dance styles have been created by Jamaicans especially in the dancehall space. The newly created dance forms rely heavily on the experiences of slavery as well as on the influence of the European culture.

The Language of Dance

This mixture of both African and European cultures in the blending of the dance form is perhaps a testament of the resilience of our forefathers who survived the horrors of slavery. The evolution of dance over the years has taken us from dancing with both male and female partners in close embrace to a modern version whereby the dancer is more of an acrobat than anything else. Dancing over the years has certainly change; whether this change is for the better that answer is personal and only you can truly and honestly respond to that. A few years ago a popular song, “The Dutty Whine”, ‘was running’ the dancehall, di dutty whine my girl dutty whine, di dutty whine my girl dutty whine , bend yuh back and lift yuh head up, tun side way, lift yuh head up, bend yuh face and twist it up and turn two side like yuh fed up. The song was accompanied by a dance move in which the performer rotates her head numerous times while gyrating to the heavily sexualized lyrics of the song. Sadly, during the height of its popularity at least one dancer died while performing the dance to Dutty Whine.  Like most dance styles the female form is always on display to the delight of the spectators. The hips of the female and buttocks (bumpa) are pivotal in the execution of these new dance forms. In some dances scantily clad females thrust their buttocks into the crotch of males while gyrating uncontrollably to the delight of the crowd, as is normally done during carnival. Undoubtedly, there are some female performers who have pushed the boundaries a bit further by dancing on their head tops; this is rather dangerous but some are motivated by the fear factor. The dance space is a free for all, all that you can do arena where sexuality, social class and gender intersects. There are no rules, no referees; it’s a come as you are philosophy. While these dance stunts are by no means gender neutral, the stigma and prejudice in most societies against male dancers prevent many men from participating in this expression of self and movement; this is especially the situation in Jamaica which displays a base of hyper-masculinity and homophobia. As a result women continue to be dominant in this space and are the main performers in these head top and acrobatic feats. Many of these female dancers have crossed over to become stunt dancers, unfortunately things can go horribly wrong which was the situation in the death of Bumpa who died last week. In a video which was widely circulated on Social Media, Bumpa was seen balancing on her head top. Meanwhile another dancer, identified by her street alias Momo, is seen adjusting Bumpa's legs as they get ready to execute a stunt. This dance move would require her partner Momo to jump through Bumpa's opened legs, landing on the opposite side of her starting point. Sadly, the events took a tragic turn and instead of landing on the other side, Momo landed on Bumpa. It is clear that these dance stunts require the performers to be in tip top physical shape in order to execute these moves. This dance of death took the life of a young woman who did not have to die. The time has come for the dance community to tone down these dangerous dance moves and return to a time in which dancing was just a social bonding done in the spirit of fun in which everyone danced instead of standing and cheering on the side. Maybe the younger and inexperienced stunt dancers need to be mentored before embarking on what can be a life or death experience. Perhaps the death of Bumpa will serve as a teaching moment for upcoming stunt dancers, street dancers and acrobatic dancers to examine themselves regarding safety issues when performing these daring, unconventional and dangerous dance moves.  It is not for us to judge. Dance has a language of its own and only those who hear the music truly appreciate the rhythm. The language of dance is rich and has the ability to break down all social barriers and unite a people. In the words of Alvin Ailey, dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.

waykam@yahoo.com

@WayneCamo

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