Does The Caribbean Body Daaance Or Daunce? An exploration of Modern Contemporary Dance from a Caribbean Perspective.

The paper studies the differences between Caribbean and European dance forms, by posing the question 'What is the difference between Daaance and Daunce?' The difference is grounded in the inherited historical consciousness and is demonstrated on the body. Spirit Daaance is the natural movement that represents precise identity for people of different cultures and is found specific to each nation. Spirit Daaances are the daaances of purpose that communicate the spirit of a people. 'Daunce' on the other hand refers to the movement structures dominated by the vocabulary of European Classical Ballet. This hegemonic training procedure provided the genesis of and the training methods of Modern Contemporary Dance. 'Daunce' reflects the culture of Europe from which it originated. The training procedure for one to execute Daunce includes training the body to be able to execute geometric deplication. So it became necessary to develop a basic and deliberate requirement of attaining a 180 degree turn-out from the hip and of the feet. Focus is placed on the centre and restrained flexibility of the spinal column of the dancer. That foundation is not earth bound but elevated skywards. Caribbean Dance begins from a spiritual space, the ancestral groundation of the blood sweat and tears of the millions of Africans deposited on the shores with a dash of China, India, and Europe. This is Caribbean Daaance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]