2.9 EJI Project :Arts:
The Equal Justice initiative claims that the causation of mass incarceration rates of blacks in America is due to a social progression starting in the times of slavery and continuing through Reconstruction, Jim Crowe Laws, all the way to the present day. To express this they employ many methods of conveying facts in writing, but more than that they also convey the feeling and temperament of the times through art, E.g. monuments, memorials, and museums. If I were asked to prepare a piece of art to accomplish this same mission I would use the modern dance style and the ideologies of its creators.
I would choose modern over other styles because it has social foundation in black communities that Africana and Hip-Hop do but also the storytelling nature of Ballet. And why not just choose ballet? Because "modern dance deals with immediate and contemporary concerns in contrast to the formal, classical, and often narrative aspects of ballet."(Britannica) However modern is not without story as it was created by African Americans who were not allowed to take class or perform with major companies such as ABT, and when they were able to perform in all black ballet companies they found many obstacles in funding and touring. One such person, Katherine Dunham, after being asked to leave the company due to being kicked out of the hotel the company was staying in during their tour of the southern states, left America to study in the Caribbean where she incorporated the local African style into her ballet training to create her own modern style. Others such as Lester Horton, Martha Graham, José Limón, and Merce Cunningham all created their own styles in similar manners, modern became more solidified as an art representative of the black community of the world.
While modern is deeply rooted in black and African American cultures, it is not exclusive, and as such my dance would include people of all races. Ailey himself "protested quotas and discrimination of any kind"(Black Past) telling the New York Times, '"I am trying to show the world we are all human beings...".'(Black Past) Some might argue that the point of the EJI is racism in America and therefore especially when depicting the times of slavery should be just blacks and whites, however the point is rather, that on both sides of the equation are people and while in the past they were wrong moving forward all people should act, and be treated like people.
The music would be in multiple movements to represent both the time period and struggle along the journey to where we are today. To start in the time of slavery with slow gospel representing the slaves and their hopeless task of living day to day, and lively European music representing the music of the "high class" slave owners. The next big jump being Jazz music during the civil rights era representing the boom in black music simultaneously with the new rights and freedoms African Americans had just won. Ending the piece would be a more lively reprise of the earlier gospel music but with a more uplifting tone to represent how much better times have become but that there is still distance left to cover.
Finally the choreography would rely heavily on motifs of negative space, distance, and power through placement on the stage and levels of height. Negative space would be used to show a lack of laws, sympathy, and specifically in the final movement awareness of the current situation. Distance referring to the space between people and their focal points would be used to initially depict segregation but in latter movements representing the more concrete idea of difference in life experience. The motif of position or power would be used most noticeably in the final formation of each movement. For example the Slavery movement would end with the "Slave Owners" higher or farther forward on the stage while the "slaves" would be on the ground or not on stage at all.
By the final movement the final formation would have the power balanced between all dancers on stage showing that the end goal of the EJI is equal power to all people.
Citations:
I would choose modern over other styles because it has social foundation in black communities that Africana and Hip-Hop do but also the storytelling nature of Ballet. And why not just choose ballet? Because "modern dance deals with immediate and contemporary concerns in contrast to the formal, classical, and often narrative aspects of ballet."(Britannica) However modern is not without story as it was created by African Americans who were not allowed to take class or perform with major companies such as ABT, and when they were able to perform in all black ballet companies they found many obstacles in funding and touring. One such person, Katherine Dunham, after being asked to leave the company due to being kicked out of the hotel the company was staying in during their tour of the southern states, left America to study in the Caribbean where she incorporated the local African style into her ballet training to create her own modern style. Others such as Lester Horton, Martha Graham, José Limón, and Merce Cunningham all created their own styles in similar manners, modern became more solidified as an art representative of the black community of the world.
While modern is deeply rooted in black and African American cultures, it is not exclusive, and as such my dance would include people of all races. Ailey himself "protested quotas and discrimination of any kind"(Black Past) telling the New York Times, '"I am trying to show the world we are all human beings...".'(Black Past) Some might argue that the point of the EJI is racism in America and therefore especially when depicting the times of slavery should be just blacks and whites, however the point is rather, that on both sides of the equation are people and while in the past they were wrong moving forward all people should act, and be treated like people.
The music would be in multiple movements to represent both the time period and struggle along the journey to where we are today. To start in the time of slavery with slow gospel representing the slaves and their hopeless task of living day to day, and lively European music representing the music of the "high class" slave owners. The next big jump being Jazz music during the civil rights era representing the boom in black music simultaneously with the new rights and freedoms African Americans had just won. Ending the piece would be a more lively reprise of the earlier gospel music but with a more uplifting tone to represent how much better times have become but that there is still distance left to cover.
Finally the choreography would rely heavily on motifs of negative space, distance, and power through placement on the stage and levels of height. Negative space would be used to show a lack of laws, sympathy, and specifically in the final movement awareness of the current situation. Distance referring to the space between people and their focal points would be used to initially depict segregation but in latter movements representing the more concrete idea of difference in life experience. The motif of position or power would be used most noticeably in the final formation of each movement. For example the Slavery movement would end with the "Slave Owners" higher or farther forward on the stage while the "slaves" would be on the ground or not on stage at all.
By the final movement the final formation would have the power balanced between all dancers on stage showing that the end goal of the EJI is equal power to all people.
Citations:
Kristen Wilson (former Phillidanco! dancer)
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