HOW TRADITIONAL IS AFRICAN DANCE TODAY: AFRICAN DANCE AND ITS ESSENCE

Thesis Abstract

Dance has always been an indispensable element of life in African society, binding together communities and helping individuals to understand their roles in relation to the community. In spiritual rituals, dance helps people to understand and remember their role in relation to the divine. Dance in social ceremonies and rites of passage have helped keep community life vibrant, contributing to a sense of security, safety and continuity. As the shape of communities has changed with the passage of time, with alterations in the political climate, and with the application of economic factors, some specifics in the role of dance have also adapted and changed, but today African dance still remains an important supporting element in the spiritual, emotional and social well-being of African society. In contemporary African society, dance has gone beyond expression of beliefs or promotion of culture.