LOOKING AT KATHERINE DUNHAM

Following this module's suggested tasks I'm going to reflect and comment on a dance piece created by Katherine Dunham (1909 - 2006) - dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist.

Although Dunham was mentioned during my dance college years in London, I was more aware of her work through dance experience. I never had an opportunity to study her gift to dance or be involved in any project dedicated to her so I thought I'll address that and make my tiny but heartfelt contribution to one of the greatest names in dance history.  

Katherine Dunham had one of the most successful careers as a dancer. She created and toured her company and in 1935 she was the recipient of an anthropology travel fellowship from Julius Rosenwald and the Guggenheim, which allowed her to travel to the Caribbean to study dance. Watching the PBS dance documentary online about African American dance made me look at her work again with new eyes. I'm quite certain that Katherine Dunham's approach to dance as well as her own notions of knowledge in why black people dance the way they do were transformed after her one year immersion study in the Caribbean. 
She then proceeded to transmit these new epistemology to her own company as well as negotiating her place with film directors and such. 

Reading about it It sounds like her approach to dance changed perspective to something more holistic and formative including introducing her company to the spiritual aspect of the dances by telling them to "learn the steps of the Gods". This was so far fetched from what dancers were allowed to define dance at the time that some company members didn't think that what she was showing them was dance anymore!
The concept behind "spirit" in dance, varies widely but it's generally considered to mean something beyond the anatomical expression of the body. Avoiding religious beliefs, let's just say It's somehow a way to define the unique way the body experiences itself in the world.
Spirituality in dance isn't usually discussed or considered although it's been a constant factor in so - called "primitive" peoples dance forms ( Highwater, 1985) I believe through her study and life work Dunham helped alter these viewpoints.

Her immersion into Caribbean culture and the use of film and photos was also crucial in developing new ways and using artefacts for making meaning of her observations. It was in fact quite unique that upon her finishing her studies in the Caribbean her presentation included so many photos and film, instead of formal written reports. As a researcher she seemed present and involved and she made meaning of what she observed by analysing the movement she saw which led her to create her own dance movement technique based on body isolations. Her approach was ethnographic using a narrative enquiry , I belief, while exploring case studies particularly related to Haiti movement.

It seems that to Katherine Dunham the notion of movement was something malleable, evolving, that was also dependant on smell, touch, contact with the floor, the elements, music and song. To me, that Dunham had a very organic experience with a non-positivist approach to dance contrary perhaps to the "fixed" methodologies she had previously learned as a dancer prior to her trip. Worth noting that her previous knowledge also integrated the limitations of what black dancers of her time could aspire to do on stage. Her unlimited curiosity for learning however led her to push the limits of previous knowledge in dance, which was considered certain and absolute, specifically ,but not exclusively, to the dances of the African diaspora.

Watching her piece "The Barrelhouse blues"brought me early memories to the late 70's in Angola and early 80's in Portugal.
In Dunham's piece the movement appears quite simple, sassy and fun but there's a hidden complicity that I'm able to recognise, similar to the dances I used to watch with my elders. There was a song at the time that used to "close" the party. It was a very long, slower song called "Ti Bom" by a congolese singer called Coupe Cloue, which was very popular on the radio waves of Angolan homes.
Watching the older folks dance it, I saw the sensuality but also the sadness, the weight of their shoulders, the tiredness and the joy, all expressing themselves simultaneously through rhythmical contractions and changes of weight. It's an image that stayed with me. 
Barrelhouse blues reminded me of that complexity of expression and feeling, so, it was interesting for me to read that the dance critic of the time - John Martin - criticised her piece simply as "hot, sexy, passionate" but ultimately vulgar. 
Was it because said critic couldn't relate to the "lived experience"of the blues in the body of the two black dancers?...
This aspect resonates greatly in my practice of Afro Latin dance forms as these dance styles are still depicted with the same superficial appreciation, while at the same time these styles are used, promoted and transformed with those new values, by dominant cultures.

These ideas also make me think of the concepts of Phenomenology - the study of lived experience  as opposed to the world as a reality separated from the person ( Laverty, 2003).
This methodology is highly opposed to what I read on cartesian dualism. Phenomenology attempts to create meanings from everyday existence and uncover new/forgotten meanings. 
It's worth mentioning also that Dunham experienced new dance knowledge by being part of a community of people. This rhizomatic model of learning is not driven by predefined inputs from experts but in this model, community IS the knowledge in itself, spontaneously shaping and constructing movement nuances ( Cormier, 2020) and serving as an epistemological alternative to western rationale.

I loved delving into Katherine Dunham's work and trying to imagine how she created meaning out of her experience while researching in the Caribbean. It was inspirational and made me look at my future enquire proposal and with more ideas in mind. 


REFERENCES


PBS Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcN0G7xItwo [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].

Highwater, J. (1985). Dance (series). New York: Alfred van der Mark Editions.

dave, V. (2020). Rhizomatic Education : Community as Curriculum – Dave’s Educational Blog. [online] Davecormier.com.

Laverty, S. (2003). Hermeneutic Phenomenology and Phenomenology: A Comparison of Historical and Methodological Considerations. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2(3), pp.21-35.

READING AND MAKING MEANING OF CONCEPTS

So, while trying to make meaning of what meaning making is I'm already making meaning of things...got it?...I've been reading and trying to understand the concepts this new module of study requires.

While I'm excited at the prospect of conducting field work, I understand how important it is to acknowledge how this work will be conducted and how this may or may not influence my own findings and conclusions. Looking at my practice, I need to identify what particular area in my field of practice I don't know much about > would be interested in finding out further > believe would add value to my current practice and interest.
Once identified, I would also need to identify the research model that best applies to my research proposal so, more reading.
Some of the research models are very similar and have only some variants between them and discovering so much discourse on the philosophy of best practices and viewpoints can only mean one thing: more reading. Currently reading on Phenomenology and Hermeutic Phenomenology as well as Naturalistic enquiry.
On top of these considerations ethics plays a very important role in ensuring safe practice for research subjects, researcher and may influence the content of research itself, so...yes you guessed it: more reading!!

Also having great pleasure in exploring the body of work of artists that have inspired me such as Alvin Ailey, Bill T. Jones and Katharine Dunham, amongst others which I'll make theme for my next blog.

Whilst I take time daily to read on related bibliography and themes I'm finding the complexity of the various learning philosophies often define as abstract concepts difficult to relate to my daily practice. My expectation was to learn about learning methodologies that relate direvtly to dance and although learning applies to any subject I find reading about this interwoven complexity of learning philosophies of acquiring knowledge something that rarely applies in field practice. So, I guess I need....more reading.

...WHAT DOES MEAN MAKING IN ACTION MEAN?

So, I downloaded Module 2 handbook and started reading it. And here I go, "boom!" "kapaw!" "puff!" feeling like I went back to point zero, trying to decipher what it is I need to focus on. So, I booked my Skype presto.

Sometimes academic writing just leaves me puzzled and ready to pull my hair!...When you think you start to understand things...
Earlier in September last year I attended a talk at Southbank with Akala - Author/Activist/Musician and his guest panel. It was a great talk. One of the things that I retained was something Prof. David Killingray, one of the distinguished panel members, said. He mentioned that academia ought to change its language in order to be more accessible to people. Buddhism did it. Buddhist texts were initially held by monks and were quite complex to study. It took another monk in the 13th century - Nichiren - that decided to simplify it in order that all people could practice it.
...I guess I'm just not used to not understanding what I read straight away. Is this meaning making in action? When you connect the dots while in action? No idea.

I was excited however to read about the classic philosophers. I did my A level in Philosophy and never thought I would utilise this knowledge for anything much aside from a basic understanding on how these philosophers influenced thought through time. I've often used Socrates saying " All I know is that I know nothing.." many times in my life as a reminder of my own continuous professional development and I translated Descartes " I think therefore I am" into a modern version of "what I think, manifests physically". So, reading Adesola's PHD extract was quite satisfying whereby it was a warm reminder of philosophical debates at school that only me ( the nerdy girl) and a couple of other students would participate in a half asleep class.
As I was reading it I also realised that I was, of course, interpreting it through a fresh lens due to my own acquired life experience, 20 years later! Was that meaning making in action? No idea.

Hopefully some of my questions will be answered and next blog will be more constructive. At the moment I'm looking through a binoculars lens and seeing an arid space filled with words and definitions that jumble together in a bowl of potential.