Page Eight

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Tuesday, December 11, 1973

Page Eight THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, December 1, 1 973

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By STEPHANIE LEHRER
Despite today's burgeoning
electronic media, dance re-
mains one of the most important
outlets for human expression.
Recognizing this, the Univer-
sity under its Physical Educa-
tion Dept. offers an exciting va-
riety -of co-ed dance courses. In-
ternational Folk Dancing and
Afro-American Dancing are just
two.
In the International Folk Danc-
ing class, dances from Turkey,
Russia, Germany, Japan, Israel,
and the British Isles are the
vogue.
Many of the dances performed
in this class are very basic so
the beginning student has little
reason to feel self-conscious. The
only pre-requisites you need are
a fairly co-ordinated body and
an uninhibited personality.
Both of these "heavy" require-
ments are fulfilled by the stu-
dents participating in the Folk
Dancing class. With feet bared
and hands clasped, the students
eagerly approach each new
dance presented to them.
One of the most unusual and
entertaining dances performed
is a Turkish circle dance called
Kendime. Instead of clasping

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hands the dancers interlock pin-
kies. While feet side-step on the
ground the pinkies move in oval
circles in the air. At a certain
point in the music the dancer
stops rotating her pinkies and
begins to wiggle her shoulders
back and behind. The students
enjoyed this dance so much that
when it was over the clapping of
hands completely filled the room.
Spirited behavior also pervades
the Afro-American Dance class.
Of course, if you were lucky
enough to have the Ann Arbor
Afro - American Drum Troupe
playing for your class like these
students had, you'd manage to
break into a smile every so of-
ten, too.
The dances in this class are all
Americanized African tribal
dances. The rhythms of the mu-
sic are unmistakable. The +ince
steps are open, free and ex-
tremely loose. According to Vera
Embree, the course instructor,
this type of dancing requires
strength, an awareness of rhy-
thms and an ability to use these
different rhythms in conjunction
with different parts of the body.
One of the dances that de-
mands such talents is the wel-

coming dance of Nigeria, the
Funga. Performing in line for-
mation, the dancers all wear
gailly - colored costumes. Ev-
erything is festive, for the dance
communicates a joy and love for
the land of Nigeria.
If these two classes don't whet
your appetite, take a look into
the other dance classes such as:
m o d e r n dance, jazz, ballet,
square and social dance and (for
you quiet and gentle souls) ball-
room dancing.
Dance at the University is a
form of movement that is fun,
good exercise and a means for
emotioal release. It's also a
great way to meet and be with
other people. But much more im-
portant is the fact that dance is
a, actvAity which reveals our
kinshin with each other as hu-
man beings.
Embree speaks about this when
she says, "The time is now for
people of any race to start think-
ing in terms of being citizens of
the world. Dance is one of the
ways that we can get to know
about each other and each
other's environment, background
and mores. It's a step toward
that final goal of becoming a
citizen of the world."

t

Vera E ;nbree

I


AFRICAN
DANCE
PHOTOS
by
KAREN

4

KASMAUSKI