Dance workshops bring in ‘master artists’

Vickie Casanova drove from Chicago, as she does almost every year, to dance with her former professor and learn from prolific African diaspora dance masters.

“Here in Bloomington there is such a rich experience provided through the academia,”
Casanova, an IU alumna, said. “... It’s a pleasure to be at my alma mater.”

Casanova was one of about 70 people who attended IU’s African American Dance Company’s 16th Annual Dance Workshop Friday and Saturday.

The annual workshop takes place in the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center and consists of 12 dance workshops taught by master artists. A dance showcase caps the event.

Casanova said she believes actually doing the traditional dances and learning from artists in the field is much more beneficial than just studying the history of the art form.

“My personal experience is that when you’re studying anything to learn about it that’s one thing, but its another thing to do it,” Casanova said.

Iris Rosa, IU professor of African American and African Diaspora studies, created the workshops 16 years ago and still directs the events today.

“I wanted to expose the students in the dance company at IU and surrounding communities to dance from the African diaspora,” Rosa said. “I wanted to expose them to a broader range of dance traditions and to know there are other black artists who can teach dance traditions.”

The importance of preservation arose as a theme from this weekend’s dance workshops and panel discussion, Rosa and Casanova both said.

Rosa said she remembers a student asking the panelists if it’s the dancers’ responsibility to preserve the traditions of African diaspora dance forms, and how to do so.

“I think it’s important to keep exposing students to this type of tradition, because preservation is very important,” Rosa said. “And how do you preserve a tradition if you don’t know the tradition, even from your own heritage?”

This year, the workshop brought in master artists from Virginia, Jamaica and Cuba to teach dance traditions such as Gaga, the Cuban Rumba and West Indian, as well as other forms.

The master artists have worked in professional dance for several years, and all have had director positions within their chosen styles. Most have also performed and taught internationally and earned doctoral in their fields, according to the African American
Arts Institute’s website.

“It’s important for students to see somebody like themselves teach and talk their language, and white students need to see someone not like themselves to get a broader type of experience,” Rosa said.

In upcoming years, Rosa said she plans to make the workshops into more of a conference event.

She said she would like to bring in more artists and to get more participation to improve exposure of African American and African diaspora dance.

“People think there’s no technique in learning African diaspora dance forms, but there is technique in all of it, and it has meaning,” Rosa said. “It’s more than just movement. It’s very important to validate these African diasporic forms just like we validate Euro-centric dance forms.”

A fourth-year graduate student in sociology, Shandu Foster started dancing with the company last spring.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn from the artists,” Foster said. “It’s very encouraging, and the artists are very up front about what they do and why they do it.”

Foster said he appreciated the openness of the artists and the chance to talk with them in a casual setting, not just as instructor to student.

“For just as much moving as we do, there were equal parts talking and learning,” Foster said.

Foster said he appreciated talking about how the movements they learned had social and political meaning in the society from which they came.

“For young people who just like to dance, thinking about preserving tradition forces us to keep in our minds that dancing is more than just movement,” Foster said.
The weekend concluded with a showcase of the dances participants learned in the workshops.

Foster said he felt exhilarated and surprised because the house was completely full.
Rosa also said the event was a highlight of the workshop, because she loves seeing students engage in a dance form they’ve never experienced.

“It’s my responsibility to expose students and the larger community to dance so the differences can be appreciated, recognized and validated,” Rosa said. “It makes for a better, well-rounded dancer, but it also makes for a better, well-rounded citizen.”

The African American Dance Company’s 40th Spring Concert Celebration will be held at 8 p.m., April 12, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Tickets will be $20 for adults and
$10 for students and children.

Follow reporter Suzanne Grossman on Twitter @suzannepaige6.