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UAD CLASSES

Up UAD STUDY GUIDE Type of Performances

DANCE and DRUM CLASSES ARE HELD

WHERE:   Unity Community Center
                    1544 Mt. Ephraim Avenue
                    Camden, New Jersey 08104
                    (856) 365-1226 or (856) 365-4817

WHEN:      Every Wednesday

TIME(s):    7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
                    (For ALL, especially beginners and intermediate members)
                    8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Advance members and Rehearsal)

Due to our extensive schedule, Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble's members are on call seven days a week for performances, rehearsals, practice, networking and fellowshiping.

"Serving our Community, U.S.A. and the World"


 

UNIVERSAL AFRICAN DANCE & DRUM ENSEMBLE

COURSE OUTLINE

 The Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble is honored to offer an open class weekly to people of all ages.  It is important for us to bridge the gap of culture from Africa to America. We hope that anyone who attends are class or becomes a member of our ensemble will receive more than the art of dance and drum, but also embrace the beauty of culture and family.  To study or perform African Dance requires discipline and dedication.

The African dance class offers children and adults a forty-five minute combination or full hour of one dance curriculum. In this curriculum we urge all students to attend every class to excel to next level.  We recommend that all students start at the novice level and encompass the style, technique and energy from the class before they are advanced.

Beginner /Novice Class:

This class is a great step into the beauty of African Dance.  The class concentrates on the fundamentals of the style of African Dancing.  In this class the instructors will teach the importance of stretching and warming up, the relationship of dancing and drumming, the importance of the drum break and dance drills.  In our curriculum we stress the importance of the students learning about the origin of different dances and how each region of Africa has different styles of dance.  This class is ideal for anyone with little or no experience.  Students generally start in this class and remain until they are able complete the given curriculum.  It usually takes about 3-6 months of consistent participation before an instructor recommends to the teacher to move to the next level

Intermediate Class:

This class is a little more intense.  The student should be able to execute the beginning classes’ curriculum, identify and demonstrate three or more dances and rhythms, show the ability to work collectively with the novice students and dance alone/solo with drummers to show the importance of dancer and drummer relations.  In this class proper technique, speed, agility and complexity are fundamental to prepare for advancement.

Advanced Class:

This class is very intense, requiring both technical ability and strength. The student is preparing for performance level and should be able to instruct a novice class as well as know the curriculum from novice to intermediate level and creatively solo to curriculum based African Rhythms.  From this class the instructors are more critical on energy level, knowledge of rhythms dances and basic fundamentals of lower level classes.  The students will be expected to creatively choreograph a 5minuite dance presentation.   This class is generally designed for students with many years of training and involved in the total UCC Performing Arts Programs.

 Dress Code:

African dancing is more about spirit than physicality.  We like for all students to show personality in dancing as well as developing your own personal energy.  Dress code is important to obtain the best in your development. Baggy clothes, street clothes, socks, and shoes are not permitted.  Dance shoes are optional please keep in mind the African dance is a natural art of dance so we generally rehearse and perform barefoot, unless special circumstances. 

ALL CLASSES ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE:

Lapa (wraps around waist with two strings to tie together)

Normal size T-shirt (not too big/too small. Comfy enough to observe body placement)

Dance Leotards – any color long or knee length

Dance shoes (optional)

Sports bra (if needed)

Note - On cool days, sweat shirts or long sleeve shirt may be worn in class during warm up only. On hot days we recommend you carry more than one t-shirt.

ALL CLASSES - HAIR MUST BE OFF THE FACE. RECOMMENDED ALL STUDENT WEAR HEAD BAND OR HEAD WRAP.


Dance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music,[1] used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting. Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal communication (see body language) between humans or animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance), motion in inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind), and certain musical forms or genres. In sports, gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are dance disciplines while martial arts kata are often compared to dances.

Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many Asian dances. Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story.

Dancing has evolved many styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip hop culture. African dance is interpretive. Ballet, Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance while Square and the Electric Slide are forms of step dances.

Every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It not only involves flexibility and body movement, but also physics. If the proper physics is not taken into consideration, injuries can and are likely to occur.

Choreography is the art of creating dances. The person who creates (i.e., choreographs) a dance is known as the choreographer.

Ethnochoreology, encompassing the dance-related aspects of anthropology, cultural studies, gender studies, area studies, postcolonial theory, ethnography, etc

African Dance is the original dance (The first dance)

African Dance and Drum are a marriage.
In African Culture, FAMILY is Paramount.
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.  (Marcus Garvey)
"We must display and be the beauty, righteousness and love of our culture." 
(Robert Dickerson)

Many say that Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble has CHARACTER.

What is CHARACTER?

A DISTINCTIVE MARK

The peculiar qualities impressed by nature or habit on a person, which distinguish him from others; hence, a character is not formed when the person has not acquired stable and distinctive qualities.

The pattern of behavior or personality found in an individual or group; moral constitution. Moral strength; self-discipline, fortitude, good reputation.

 

Accompany- to go or be together with: attend 2. To sent (with); add to ; supplement (to accompany words with acts) 3. To play or sing a musical accompaniment for or to

Accompaniment- anything that accompanies something else: thing added, usually for order or symmetry 2. Music a part, usually instrumental, performed together with the main part for richer effect ( the piano accompaniment to a song)

Accompanist- a person who plays or sings an accompaniment:

Attract- (1) to draw to itself or oneself; make approach or adhere (2) to get the admiration, attention, etc. of;

attraction- (1) the act of attracting (2) power of attracting; esp., charm or fascination (3) anything that attract or is meant to attract / movies are sometimes called attractions

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