Freedom in the African Diaspora | Roots

“Freedom in the African Diaspora” is a set embodying the five principles of the Africanist aesthetic. The principles are embracing conflict, poly-centrism/poly-rhythm, high affect juxtaposition, ephebism, and aesthetic of the cool. Overall, the Africanist aesthetic can be summarized as embracing opposition and contrasts, which can involve a lot of irony, double entendre, and subtext. The first piece embodies the aesthetic of the cool, where difficult movement inspired by Ghanaian and South African dances is carried out with effortlessness and composure. The second piece incorporates a juxtaposition of moods/attitudes and again the aesthetic of the cool, using a call and response pattern to carry this out. The third piece represents ephebism, being energetic and dynamic with influences from styles based in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and more. The final song Shosholoza means “go forward,” and it is a Soweto freedom song from the Apartheid era. This set expresses the freedom of the Africanist aesthetic and its divergence from what is considered “acceptable” in European aesthetics and recharacterizes African styles, which are often considered historically “primitive” as beautiful, elegant, and technical.

Choreographers: Angelo Guo, Leah Esemuede, Jasmine Daniel, Staci Grimes, Rahel Petros

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