Of Ecology, Technology and the ‘Dancartistic’ gap between the West and the South.

It is not only oceans that separate the South (Africa) from the West (Europe and North America). Ecology and technology define the disproportions in dance practice between the West  and the South. The disparities in the way dance is appreciated, packaged, created, documented, shared, preserved, and disseminated in the West and South are obvious. The thesis of my previous article titled “Atlantic divide: Comparison between Dance Practices in the Winter Temperate and African Tropics” was engraved in the premise that the differences in dance practices between the West and South are consequences of the social and economic development gap between these two societies. The socialistic tendencies in the South translate into the participatory nature of dance practices while the presentational nature of dance practices in the Northern hemisphere is intimately linked to the capitalistic taste in this society.

In his book titled ‘The Africans: A Triple Heritage’, Ali A. Mazrui correlates speedy development of capitalism in the West and its slow development in the South to ecological disparities between the South and the West. He notes that the ecological fluctuations in the West accelerated the development and eventual spread of capitalism as a system of world order. The seasons encouraged efficiency and urgency in production and consumption of goods and services. A close look at the discrepancies in dance artistry between the South and the West reveals that both ecology and technology are responsible for this gap. It is to this role of ecology and technology in defining this ‘dancartistic’ gap that I devote the proceeding text of this article.

The more information technology advancement simplifies life the more it divorces wo/man from his/her intimate relationship with nature. In the West, dance production, preservation, dissemination and consumption has been ‘itunized’, ‘iphonized’, ‘ipodized’, ‘ihomized’, and ‘ipadized’. The ipads, computers, iphones and television screens feed the eyes with images, while the headsets serve the ears with accompanying sound. The over ‘technologization’ of ‘dancartistry’ has reduced a reasonable number of people in the West to just mere consumers of dance as opposed to producers. Technology can advance production but it can also facilitate utter consumption. Natural creativity and artistic confidence is lost in technological tastes and innovations. People have embraced technological abundance at the expense of human artistic creativity.

The Western society is witnessing very rapid metamorphosis in the way people interact with dance, thanks to technology. The medium of interacting with and accessing dance is rapidly evolving from open physical contact and access in theatres and other spaces to access through digitalized electronic media. Many people ‘attend’ youtube performances by just a simple click than those that can be found in theatres. Presentational performance of dance has moved to high fidelity and nature has been negated from this ‘dancartistic’ experience and creative processes.

In the South, nature still determines how, when, where, and why man creates art. ‘Dancartistry’ is deeply anchored in wo/man’s interaction with nature. Technology has not permeated this society to dislocate this artistic framework. To a typical African, close interaction with nature is paramount, as nearness to nature is considered dear. Children will listen to birds and create music out of these sounds, members of the tribe will preserve some tree species to make music instruments, brave men will counter lions and other wild animals and birds, learn their movement behaviours and create dances out of these encounters, children will collect materials from the surrounding environs to create art. As my neighbour’s child in New York City listens to music on an ipod as they go to the store for shopping, my cousin who resides deep in Mbuukiro, Uganda will branch off to the bush, pick a stalk of paw paw (papaya) leaf, make a kazoo, and play it to create music to spice up his/her journey to the market. As a Wall Street executive listens to ‘ipodized’ and ‘headsetized’ music, a farmer in Yei, South Sudan will compose songs and movements to accompany his/her harvesting activities.  Every ecological experience in life is capable of midwifing artistic wonders. As Charles Onyango-Obbo righty posited:

"I spent two days in the countryside in eastern Uganda shortly after the fall of Goma. I woke up about 4am on the first morning there. There were many cocks crowing loudly and insistently, and cows mooing in the village. All sorts of birds were singing, but there was harmony in the cacophony. These are some of the sources of African rhythm, the sounds from which the African slaves who were taken to North America created jazz music. If you take Africans, especially peasants, away from these sounds and surroundings, several things happen. They can become disoriented, fall apart, and despair"

Nature is the womb that constantly gives birth to ‘dancartistry’. Dance is the mediator that reconciles wo/man and nature. Nature invites Africans to be simultaneous producers and consumers of their own art. It tickles and irrigates creativity. Humanity is promoted through dance, artistry resides in every wo/man, nature is preserved through dance, and dance is stored in nature. Orientation towards the earth that is common in performance of dances from cultures in Africa is meant to underscore this intimate relationship between wo/man and nature. In the absence of advanced technology in the African artistic experience, nature fills the void.

Performance of dances from cultures in Africa takes place in open spaces to bring wo/man closer to   wo/man and nature.

Perhaps, the area where ecological differences have pronounced themselves is the spaces where dance performances are held. Kariamu Welsh (2004) has noted: "The perception of one's environment and its relationship with nature is an important part of an aesthetic" (p. 20). The invention of indoor theatres in the West can be linked to ecological imbalances. Seasonal changes dictated that during winter performances could not be staged outdoor. Again, we see ecology determining when, where and how wo/man interacts with dance. In the South where ecological imbalances are not extreme, dance performances happen in open spaces, and at any time. This practice is meant to facilitate accessibility and participation by members of the community, build a sense of community and togetherness, publicize community based performances, and bring performers close to nature. The all-year-round convenient weather allows for this dance performance practice to flourish and survive. The more the African people are near to nature the less they need technology for dance creativity.

In the west, technology is clear, near and dear. In the South, nature is clear, near and dear. The aesthetic and artistic dance composition in these two societies is deeply rooted in how technology and ecology is interfacing with wo/man to determine the creative experience.