West African Dance UR

[saffire78]

good job...but the dancing would have come off a lot better if they danced a bit faster with a bit of jump to it! good job though!

[colorfuldreams]

i'm pretty sure there's an equal mix of color. wwell i don't find it offensive at all that caucasians are also appreciating the africal lifestyle. if we were racist we wouldn't be taking the class. so in fact it's a little more racist to ask why white people take the class. by doing that, you say that we should be excluded. america is a free country. EVERYONE is equal. spread the peace. =]

[cristi1]

this looks so fun!

[jrcbabe9519]

the white lady with a tank and tights on that stays in the front most of the time is really good !

[oluwalogbon58]

at least this teachers knows where west africa is!! most americans think africa is a country ... ???

[Oyotunji]

@oluwalogbon58 I see you Oluwagbon58 are still teaching around Youtube. We often like some of the things you hae to say. Ese gan oduduwa abge wa oo ni le loko le l odi

[chiquimon72]

Fabulous!!!! I Love it so much!!!

[ohnothatbad]

i know that dance!! I've done it several times and performed it!! Yes I am an african dancer!!

[Bmorekareful]

My cousin has been in African dance since the 4th grade and she has performed a lot of these dances. I wish i could post some of the footage we've taken from her performances... This was great tho... :D

[alice3a]

This is awesome. i remember taking a West African dance and we were taught most of these moves, but I was never as good as these dancers here. Awesome. Thanks for uploading.

[exoticmochabeauty]

Quick Question.. if this is an "African Dance" class.. why are all of the black people in the back, and barely in view of the camera...? All I see is pale skin.. what's the deal..?

[pisketty]

definitely a valid question. it wasn't really an intentional thing, we changed around the formations a lot and this is just how it came out for this performance. it's funny you ask that because people always have the opposite comment about this teacher...how she always puts the black kids in front!

[vienneseoyster43]

@exoticmochabeauty its also funny how you assume everyone who is dark is African when Africa is the most diverse continent in the world. Havent you seen North Africans that look Spanish/Italian/Arab/European? it might be coincidence! why are you analyzing things like this? cant you just watch the video for what it is. I can watch this video 1000 times and still not notice that. Youre rude as hell and ignorant

[showerwisdom]

I am out of breathe just watching this. Who can remember all of those moves and jump up and down like that for 10 minutes and 51 seconds. Not I. You would think that this would give me inspiration and motivation to exercise, but it doesn't. It just makes me think of the reason(s) I don't work out (because I don't like to sweat and/or be tired). Maybe I should do some yoga or pilates? Okay, maybe not.

Good job dance crew.

[cherokiimslm]

@showerwisdom you know the funny thing is that working out actually give yu more energy-a lot of ppl just sit around feeling tired for no reason and when they start exercising they realize how much better they feel!

[sporknfoon2]

OMG!

No Wonder This Dance Looks So Familiar.

lol

The Adult Company At My Dance School Did A Dance Sorta Like This!

Well Anyways, Awesome Job. =]

[Sweetbb619]

Whoa you guys must have worked really hard at this! my dance class would have passed out 3 minutes into it lol

[AfriJazz]

L-Jel,

Are you going to Africa this spring?

Your Prof,

K-Mar

[pisketty]

i ended up deciding to save the africa trip for my gap year after graduation. i'll be in tel aviv instead! what's this i hear about you coming back to teach next semester?

[AfriJazz]

I'll be back but you'll be Tel Aviv!! New Orleans has taught me a lot that I will bring back with me. Did you ever post our Soko on youtube?

[SeekandSearch17]

That dude is so tall!

[beeutikween1012]

WoW! this is my school! And those r my friends! who knew?

[babycrystal729]

where did this take place at? i want to take some african dance classes, i wanna register and find out where its located

[pisketty]

i have no idea how to spell them, i was just spelling them phonetically! let me know how they should be spelled and i'd be happy to adjust.

[Psychostepper]

Wow, cool. Love those 'turns' the guy in the blue pants does at 8:15, 16 &17... what are those called? Great job all, thanks so much for posting this clip!

[KweenEminent]

those are called barrel turns

[blipp86]

that's my girlfriend dancing with him!

[watsup018]

cool, this reminds me back when i was in ghana...seeing people do traditional dances...awesome video..

[pisketty]

i'm so glad you enjoyed it! i'm planning on going to ghana for a while after i graduate college.

[watsup018]

you'll have a great time though!! trust me [=

[Snowpum18]

i like this one

i remember taking classes very relaxing and fun

thank you for putting this up here

[pisketty]

you're very welcome! i'm glad you liked it!

[krosebud14]

Think the students did a great job. Its easy to sit back an criticize but that fact that African dance in general is gaining recognition at the collegiate level is enough for me. I being half togolese and half ghanian know that the only dance form listed below that is not done in guinea is Gota. the other three are defenitly guinean dances. As far as the performance looking like "coming to america" you'd have to speak the choreographer about that:-)

[ladysoul1]

Great job guys bt this is not west african dancing it is mre south african (coming to america )kinda dance.

[pisketty]

false. kuku, yankadi, makru, and gota are all west african dances from ghana and guinea.

[ladysoul1]

lol i am half ghanaian and i have neva heard of does dances being ghanaian i knw the nmes of the dances and i ave nt heard or seen that one bwoi.i tink i ave heard of makru doe bt i dunno as a ghanaian dance bt well u do wt u tink u doin still luks gud.

bless

[bruin03]

They probably are based on authentic West African dance but they add their own style to them. For starters, movement in traditonal West Africans dances are in line with the beat of the drum. Not everyone can do that so I think they focus on the stylistic elements here and add a little ballet. it's still pretty cool nonetheless . :)

[Asant30]

I've never seen any of those dances in Ghana before and I'm fully Ghanaian born and raised and have learnt many of the Ghanaian dances, I'm not saying that those dances don't look good, I'm just tired of people mixing and matching different African dances, making up stuff and adding their own flavours and marketing it off as though if you're from Africa you will undoubtedly dance like that. It's still a well choreographed dance though.

[pisketty]

is it possible that the dances you don't recognize are from guinea?

[reggaeyogagirl]

hmmmm... South African??? I really do not see anything South African about these steps.

were you talking about a specific step or rhythm? This definitely had a West African vibe about it.

[pisketty]

good eye! yeah the class was called "west african dance" and the teacher focused on dances she learned during her time living in ghana.

[lisamd2007]

Great Job guys. We might be moving to Rochester so I am very very glad to see this because I really want my daughter to be involved in African dance and I was afraid of Rochester for a while there after I was told over and over how 'conservative and 'traditional' it is by our tour guide!

[mondegreen]

This is beautiful and very inspiring!

[pisketty]

i'm so glad you like it!!

[AnimaAnil]

This was so beautiful! I've always wanted to learn African dances. I should ask my parents, that way I could learn more about my culture. So much energy! 10:50?! That's practically 11:00! They have excellent endurance.

[pisketty]

thank you! let me tell you, it certainly was not easy! good luck in learning african dance!

[zulugirl]

well, seeing as though this is my alma mater... nice to see that it's becoming more diverse in their dance offerings.....

[spyguy456]

very nice!

[sxybabie]

dis is wo cool african dance mannnnnnnnnnnnnn

[prawalhaina]

it was good it helped me to perform the african dance in my school concert ...

[pisketty]

wow, that's great! are you going to post your performance?

[kinoni86]

I loved really loved it. very nice moves, yeii!

[asam044sm]

i love my heritage (samoan) but man watching this makes me wish i was from west africa, i love the moves the beat everything, gosh its no wonder why your people are so fit.

[pisketty]

wow, what sweet feedback! thanks!

[Nefitara]

Wow! Nice job :)

[stamsire]

I wonder how some ppl think. Anyone who's familiar with West African culture, would probably realise that this represents typical w/ African Dance, especially the the rythem of the drum herein. It's wonderful. You just cant satisfy all the people all the time, some are very much negative and racist. Keep it up.

[pisketty]

that's very sweet and thoughtful of you. thank you!

[bruin03]

Nice dancing. I think calling it "West African Dance" is a misnomer. It's more like African-inspired European ballet.

West Africans move to the beat of the drum. And African drums alone doesn't make it African dance. It's not about of race. I've seen white people do authentic African-dance...but that shouldn't take away from you guys though. This was a beautiful expression of art nontheless.

[lisamd2007]

I'm sorry but I really don't understand this comment. Most of my West African friends dance in some way like this. Of course since Europeans are part of this dance they will bring their own movement based on their experiences but the last time I checked the steps were what I thought West African dance to be. I've never seen any one criticize an African dance and call it European because the white dancers didn't quite look like they lived in Ghana all their lives. I wouldn't expect them to.

[pisketty]

thanks for your support, lisa!

[LHoney547]

I agree with you Lisa. I think they did a great job.

[Africabeyondafrica]

Congratulations Karen. Your perserverance and dedication is paying off. Keep up the good work.

International Centre for African Culture & Arts, Ghana/USA.

[AnnisaAyana]

Where is this class located?

I want to register for it.

[pisketty]

it's actually a class for credit at university of rochester!

[AnnisaAyana]

thanks

[AnnisaAyana]

I love this video, it makes me feel so happy.

[kehlenn]

This is cool and looks like a lot of fun!

[soulwedgie]

looks like a good class.

[damicok1]

this is not a true representation of WEST AFRICAN dancers. If u were to go back to the village you will see that Africans DO NOT dance in this manner. In my opinion and from personal experience, this is the American ideal of African Dancing. The dance looks nice but its far from the truth.

[pisketty]

we're not claiming to be villagers! this is the more ballet-icized version of the dances. We learned all about how in the villages people rarely dance in unison all together like this, but do more solo improv stuff. Please do not leave aggressive feedback like this--we're just showcasing what we learned during the semester.

[langit]

i don't get the last comment. "those white girls can move." if someone were to post a comment on a video of black people at a library saying "those black people can read!" - that'd be considered racist. by the way, i'm black. i see both sides of the spectrum.

[pisketty]

i know what you mean. i've seen some black girls do west african dance and suck at it, so it totally is a generalization that just because someone is black they can automatically dance better.

[reggaeyogagirl]

love your comment, so true!

[gungfumovies]

Those White girls can move!!! Impressive

[birminghamjan3]

This was a really cute dance i really enjoyed watching it.

[pisketty]

thanks so much! that's very sweet.

[vacity]

who's the composer of the music?

[pisketty]

the rhythms are traditional west african rhythms, and then any deviations from the basic rhythms are improvised by the drummers.

[pisketty]

makru is my favorite.

[caitlinhancock]

Beautiful Yankadi! One of my favorite dances.

[Misana]

i wish the video wasn't so fuzzy though

[pisketty]

i lowered the resolution when it was taped so i could get the whole thing.

[Misana]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ok cool

[sassyredbonegal]

This was beautiful and you can tell that all of you worked on this very hard... good for you... Any ideas as to the name of the dance?

[pisketty]

there were several. the first was yankadi, and then the fast one right after was makru. the one where we were just going in a circle was gota, and then the last one was kuku. the solo circle was kind of a conglomeration but was supposed to be primarily kuku.

[MizzLIBERIAN]

oookkk this is some thing

[brettmann]

white chicks in the african dance?

[pisketty]

we love all people, all colors, baby!

[wlx]

hey, i'm chinese and i dance african too, what's race got to do with anything?

[Blackrainbow2]

Wonderful, lot of energy and atttude. I dance afr Haitian .

[pisketty]

oh, that's great, do you have vids up with you guys dancing?

[jembeman]

Great energy, enthusiasm and choreography!! One helluva dance class-- congrats U of R!!!