በኣሜሪካን ኣልቪን ኣልለይ የዳንስ ትያቴር ተወዳጅነትን እያገኘ ያለው Awassa Astrige/Ostrich ጀማሪ ማነው?
በALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ ተወዳጅነትን እየተጎናጸፈ ያለው ኣዋሳ ኦስትሪች የኣዋሳ ሰጎን የዳንስ ትያቲር ማነው? ጥቂት ሰለ ትያቲሩ ባለቤት ከታች ያንቡ፦
Awassa Astrige/Ostrich (1932)
(Company Premiere – 2014)
Choreography by Asadata Dafora
Recreated by Charles Moore
Restaged by Ella Thompson-Moore
Music by Carl Riley
Costumes by Catti
Lighting Design by Craig Miller
Sierra Leone-born choreographer Asadata Dafora blended his vision of a traditional African dance with Western staging in Awassa Astrige/Ostrich. This groundbreaking 1932 solo, set to Carl Riley’s score of African drumming and flute, was one of the first modern dance compositions to fuse African movements with Western staging. With arms flapping like wings, torso rippling and head held high, a warrior is transformed into the proud, powerful ostrich — the king of birds.
“After the audience buzz died down and the lights dimmed, you heard the slow beat of an African drum for Asadata Dafora’s Awassa Astrige/Ostrich (1932)—and you’re transported half way round the world…with his undulating arms, thrusting chest, and proud head, took us to an African grassland. Totally satisfying.”
Dance Magazine
“But Carl Riley’s music — rhythmic African drumming and slow flute melody — adds its own coolly double-layered atmosphere; and the choreography makes the ostrich inward and complex…”
The New York Times
“With each step, his supple spine curved forward by a foot, mimicking a bird’s serpentine neck. When he squatted down in a deep, second-position plie, going up on his toes and holding the pose for 10 thigh-burning seconds, the crowd went crazy.”
The Washington Post
Asadata Dafora
40 years old when he came to New York in 1929. Earlier, he had been in Europe
teaching African dance while studying music, and for a time, sang at La Scala.
However his true interest was always the rich heritage of African art and culture. Not
only did he study the folklore of his own country, but he traveled extensively
throughout Africa seeking additional knowledge. His unique talents burst upon the
New York entertainment scene with a short run of the Opera Kykunkor, subtitled the
Witch Women. Kykunkor not only shattered many myths concerning the potential of
Black ethnic materials as themes for concert dance, but proved that black dancers
could be successful on the American concert stage. He later worked with Orson
Welles and John Houseman on a celebrated Federal Theater production of Macbeth
set in Haiti. His company Shologa Oloba, was made up of 25 Africans and African
Americans whose dancing was acclaimed by critics and audiences. Dafora is
recognized as the first to present African dance on the concert stage, influencing many
future artists like Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham.
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