Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Step Afrika!

Since I am down on campus all day on Tuesdays, I thought I would try and check out some of the performing arts that are being offered on campus from time to time. Tonight there was a performance called Step Afrika!

The group is the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Stepping is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps. This performance that I saw was just incredible. I said over on my Facebook page that the group draws your attention from the moment they step out on stage until the leave wanting you to have them come back out and step for another hour. I was just amazed in how this all looked on stage together. Some of you may say, "why would you want to go to something like that?" My response to you is, "why not?!" I am sure some would be bored...but for those like myself who embrace the art in dancing (probably because I can't dance to save my life) just were in awe.

As a social work student, my professors here at Iona challenge us students to get outside of the box and learn about other cultures. As I watched this performance tonight, I asked myself..."How can this relate to my Social Work learning?" I would respond with that I am learning another culture's type of dance. By learning another culture's dance I can help clients by getting themselves involved with something like stepping to branch out and put negative emotions into something positive. Now I don't know if that would be the correct answer but I personally need to embrace what is different and enjoy it. 

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