The Winds of Change
Choreographed by Allison Mann
Allison Mann (she/her) is a teacher and practitioner of Yoga and Afro-based Dance, and she served as the director of CD&FS for 13 years.
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER:
In 1988, at the age of thirty, I entered the North Montpelier dance Hall on a Thursday morning and began my study of Afro-Haitian and Afro-Cuban dance. The complex rhythms of the live drumming captured me, and the movement vocabulary was accessible and enjoyable for my untrained body. To this day I attend a Thursday morning class (now monthly and now at the Grange), with many of the same dancers and drummers. Over the years I have enjoyed learning from many guest teachers from Cuba and Haiti, and I had the pleasure of learning dances from Ghana with my students at Goddard College.
The origins of these dances (and the particular drum rhythms and songs that are part and parcel of each one) are the Santeria and Vodun spiritual traditions. Enslaved Africans from many different places, forced together by their captors, fused their various traditions into community practices that evolved over time to become unique to each locale. African dance is the bedrock of all uniquely American dance (likewise for music). It delights me each time I experience or witness a jazz, tap or hip hop move and can see the direct line back to its African origins. Sometimes there are direct quotes. I love the grounded-ness of this dance form, the rhythmic playfulness, the lack of rigidity, and the embodiment of characters that brings out the many different aspects of being human.
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER:
In 1988, at the age of thirty, I entered the North Montpelier dance Hall on a Thursday morning and began my study of Afro-Haitian and Afro-Cuban dance. The complex rhythms of the live drumming captured me, and the movement vocabulary was accessible and enjoyable for my untrained body. To this day I attend a Thursday morning class (now monthly and now at the Grange), with many of the same dancers and drummers. Over the years I have enjoyed learning from many guest teachers from Cuba and Haiti, and I had the pleasure of learning dances from Ghana with my students at Goddard College.
The origins of these dances (and the particular drum rhythms and songs that are part and parcel of each one) are the Santeria and Vodun spiritual traditions. Enslaved Africans from many different places, forced together by their captors, fused their various traditions into community practices that evolved over time to become unique to each locale. African dance is the bedrock of all uniquely American dance (likewise for music). It delights me each time I experience or witness a jazz, tap or hip hop move and can see the direct line back to its African origins. Sometimes there are direct quotes. I love the grounded-ness of this dance form, the rhythmic playfulness, the lack of rigidity, and the embodiment of characters that brings out the many different aspects of being human.
FROM THE SOLOIST:
Eli was thrilled when he was offered the opportunity to dance a solo in Allison's Afro fusion piece! The solo is comprised of structured improvisational movement meant to portray the wind. Eli spent his summer touring with a dance theater group in which he got to perform this same style of movement. Getting to continue his journey in improvisation at CD&FS means so much to him. He's having fun exploring the role of the wind and is excited for the performances to come!
Eli was thrilled when he was offered the opportunity to dance a solo in Allison's Afro fusion piece! The solo is comprised of structured improvisational movement meant to portray the wind. Eli spent his summer touring with a dance theater group in which he got to perform this same style of movement. Getting to continue his journey in improvisation at CD&FS means so much to him. He's having fun exploring the role of the wind and is excited for the performances to come!