Bryttni Pugh

Huskey

DANC 2216-002

1 March 2017

Simb: Power, Strength, Force

Simb: Power, Strength, Force is a West African dance and drum experience presented by

SHAE Movement African Arts and choreographed by Nich Faulkner and LeShea Stukes. Live,

traditional African drumming accompanied the two-act dance experience, and recorded mixes of

afro-pop music by DJ Kato accompanied the transitions between the four pieces within the first

act and the three pieces within the second act. Additionally, there were two emcees, Quentin Talley

and Boris Rogers, who further guided the transitions by delivering speeches filled with humor and

with brief historical information about the meaning of each piece. Forty-one dancers, primarily

female, and six drummers performed; the number of dancers for each piece changed from a group

as small as five to a group as large as twenty. The performers also ranged in age from children to

adolescents to adults.

The West African dance work has two acts. The first act includes four pieces: Balanta,

Soli, Indique, and Bao. Balanta, according to the emcees, means those who resist. The Balanta

people, comprising the largest ethnic group in Guinea, are warriors and fierce defendants. Soli, as

performed by five children, is a Guinean initiation and fighting ceremony in which the performers

wrestle. Indique, as performed by ten adolescents, focused on recorded afro-beat compositions and

included an individualized hip-hop style. Bao is an initiation ceremony for young females; the

dance is from the Toma ethnic group and is located in the forests of Macenta, a town in

southeastern Guinea. The second act includes three pieces: Drum Suite, Sofa, and Dundunba. The
concept of Drum Suite was to ensure that the audience pay close attention to the traditional West

African rhythms, particularly those from Guinean culture. One can listen to the fast-paced,

energetic rhythms as well as see the great amount of force within the hands of the drummers. Sofa

means warrior and is the oldest Malinke rhythm used for horseback warriors. The rhythm is

typically played using a string instrument called a Bolon, and the horses perform the corresponding

stepping dance alongside the performers. The dance is performed before battle, displaying bravery,

courage, and endurance. Dundunba is a dance for strong men and for warriors who have power,

strength, and force. The dance is performed in the villages of Guinea and can include martial arts,

wrestling, and acrobatics.

Although some of the rhythms had slower tempos than others, the tempo for each piece

was generally fast. All the Guinean rhythms were repetitive but so complex that they were

unpredictable; they were especially unpredictable to those who lack literacy in African drumming.

The recorded afro-pop mixes also had an element of unpredictability because DJ Kato aligns the

tempo of both familiar and unfamiliar musical compositions and uses a scratching technique at

irregular intervals. Parallel to the fast tempo was the consistently strong, active, and percussive

energy. Movements that elicited percussive energy include the pulsating rib cage, stomps with

flexed feet, and quick walks with the knees bent and the torso inclined forward. Strength and active

energy are displayed within the grounded movement, treads, constant shuffling of the flat feet, and

within the resistance that was created when the tight fists and bent elbows in front of the chest

repeatedly pulled away. The type of energy used throughout the entire work was powerful, as the

dancers were warriors. Brief periods of sustained movement were present, such as the swaying of

the arms in opposite directions and the extended arm in front that slowly lowered to the dancers
sides; however, the sways and slow lowering of the arms were bound as the movements were taut

and the dancers were restricted to their own kinospheres.

The drummers were upstage, stretching from stage right to stage left, throughout each

piece, excluding Drum Suite where they were downstage. The dancers were in repetitive

formations, such as the diagonal line from upstage right to downstage left or from upstage left to

downstage right, straight lines that stretched from upstage to downstage or from stage right to stage

left, a circular formation around a down pool special at centre stage, and evenly spaced out across

the stages entirety. The group formations were always symmetrical, the focus was directly at the

audience, and the West African movement remained at a middle level, moving in a forward

direction.

The lighting was similar within each piece and seldomly changed. The gels were red and

orange, emphasizing the tension and idea of fighting; and, a down pool special was only used with

circular formations. On the contrary, the costumes varied for each piece and often changed. For

six out of the seven pieces, the dancers wore different, traditional West African fabrics with

geometric patterns. Balanta is the only dance that incorporated tops and skirts made from grass.

The traditional costumes complement the cultural context, allowing the experience to be authentic.

The Drum Suite is the climax in Simb: Power, Strength, Force because the energy

heightened, there was audience participation, and there was a focus on connecting the various West

African rhythms. The drummers had increased the tempo, and one drummer at a time would step

forward and layer on a fast and complex rhythm. One of the drummers gave the three sections of

the audience varying rhythms to clap as he performed. Another drummer stepped away from his

drum to dance in front of the others. His movement excessive stomps and scooping of the arms

consisted of the same percussive and strong energy as the other dancers; however, his movement
was faster and unexpected whereas the time, space, and energy executed by the dancers

movements remained constant.

Simb: Power, Strength, Force is a dance and drum experience that furthered my

knowledge about West African culture, particularly the culture of Guinea, and exposed me to both

familiar and unfamiliar traditional African movement. Specific movement will not be as

memorable as the energy and provided historical context. Usually repetition, the primary

choreographic device used within both acts, allows me to remember a certain shape or execution

of a movement, but I could only fully remember a couple of shapes or executions. This device

could have been used more throughout the work instead of primarily at the beginning and end of

a piece. The high energy that generated from both the dancers and drummers will be remembered

because of its strength and ability to be continuous. The historical context of each piece will be

remembered because the vocabulary was new; and, the meaning behind each was interesting to

note in relation to the culture of Guinea, a country in the West African region that I have not yet

studied.