Is Modern Dance Chocking African Culture?

The number of Africans learning the art of modern dance is nothing short of impressive. People from all walks of life are learning or have learnt to venture into modern dance other than the ones they were taught at home by their grandparents. This is not to say that traditional dance isn’t cool. It just gets boring being accustomed to one particular kind of dance. What is cool is being able to dance to anything wherever you are whether it’s a Kinyarwanda dance, the cha cha, the fox trot, hip-hop or ballet. Wouldn’t it just be so awkward if you went to a Mexican club and guys are doing the mambo, samba and salsa and there you are pulling traditional strokes from your village? That would be a perfect if you were in your village. Culture has evolved over the years from hair and clothes to music and dance. This is something that people are going to have to learn to accept. Why they haven’t already contemporary dance is beyond me. Traditionalists are always going to blame the West for ‘negatively’ influencing their culture. But then, when schools are being built and opened by these negative influencers, they are the first ones to take their kids there. They live in houses that are designed just like the ones abroad and not huts. The women do not hot comb their hair anymore rather they use chemicals to soften it. And their husbands won’t say a word. They drive cars, listen to Celine Dion, eat hamburgers and generally do everything that I can guarantee was introduced by the western world. Pretty ironic if you ask me. What I don’t understand is if they can do all that, what’s the harm in learning how to dance differently? They want to drink expensive whiskeys like Red Label or Jack Daniel’s instead of sticking to their crude kanyanga. The only ones who drink those cheap spirits are the ones who can’t afford a decent drink. Yet when it comes to things that the youth love to indulge in all of a sudden the world is not a good place. We can’t always stick to our culture and I can assure you that the only that can be possible is if we go back to being cave men. Modern dance is taking over tradition al ones because not so many places are traditional. People go out and want to dance to their favorite singers songs not to drums. The drums can be brought in at a traditional function. Now that makes sense. Even on weddings, people are hiring modern dancers because they’re very entertaining. Watching dance shows like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ opens up people’s minds and leaves them wondering on what an exquisite and intriguing art that is. It’s no wonder that more and more people are into this kind of dance. There has never been a show on traditional dance and whereas that is sad, it cements my argument. People should stop assuming that everything that comes from the west is bad or wrong or of negative influence. Let us embrace and incorporate modernity to our dance without completely forgetting our own. cjanzi83@yahoo.co.uk