The Ostrich Dance

The Ostrich Dance is another one of Asadata Dafora’s amazing dance pieces. This is the second of his two signature pieces. Both are unbelievable and it a shame that they were danced before film was invented, because we cannot see the dance when they were originally performed. Theses dances were however duplicated by many talented dancers.

The Ostrich Dance was a solo dance. It fused modern dance with African movements. It truly was one of a kind. Asadata wanted the dancer to transform into the “majestic bird.” (James Carles)

The dancer performing the Ostrich Dance uses undulating movements. They make their upper body seem big like the body of an ostrich by spreading their arms out and above their head as depicted below. The dance involves many small isolations but connects them smoothly and modernly. The head does some of these isolations to further depict a bird-like image.

The dance incorporates ephebism. It is highly energetic, which is important for animal dances in general. This and other animal dances of the time used ephebism to show how wild and free these animals being portrayed are. There are get down moments, and a  primal feeling of being more connected to the earth. All of this is tied in with modern dance to make a masterpiece.

 (Adam Snow)

Since film was not part of everyday life when the Ostrich Dance was choreographed we can not see Dafora dance it. However there is a link to Chalres Moore dancing it and it is truly spectacular. (Click Here)