A Nation Creates and Develops Identity through Its Stories and Arts - Essay Example

A NATION CREATES AND DEVELOPS IDENTITY THROUGH ITS STORIES AND ART. The American Musical has long been involved in creating, developing, or to some extent exploiting a variety of American mythologies. However, this development was largely evident as the USA became an increasingly major player in the global field during the WWII and its aftermath. it is of great importance to note that during this period several significant musicals provided reassuring accounts of who the Americans are, and how Americans have emerged as a secure nation and a model for how a better world might function. The key themes of the musical concepts were the ways that many in the USA, in developing a conception of America as a nation, departed substantially from European concepts of nationhood and nationalism which had been developed with a lot of vigor across the 19th C and into the 20th C. Aesthetic representation had from the beginning played a significant role in the defining and successful nationalism, because it was through music that existing mythologies could be reconstituted and brought into the present in a provocative and relevant way, and new ideas enhanced as possible and as needed. This paper tries to understand how a nation creates and develops identity through its stories and art. In so doing, the paper will analyze several cultural works to help discuss the relationship of dance to representing cultural identities. Dance historians have recorded several instances of the influences that artists of different generations can have on those follow them. In some instances, these dynamics take place when younger artists have their first glimpse of a great performer and are influenced to dedicate their lives to a particular art form. One of the artists that have great artistic development was Zollar. After receiving her Master of Fine Arts degree, Zollar moved to New York City to develop her career in the field of Art. Within the lively cultural scene of the time, Zollar developed to an artist who would become a major influence in artistic development. With Zollar formed a company that would later became a tool for telling the stories of women of African descent-their struggle, their dreams and ultimate victory. Drawing from history, literature and folklore, she created dances that cover several aspects of women’s lives, including reflections on traumatic events such as incest, rape and abortion. Even Zollar borrows majorly from earlier modern dancers of the 1930s and 1940s, whose works were accredited by the fact that they help fought social and political oppression. For quite some time, this sociopolitical edge in Zollar’s work has manifested itself in several ways notably; Urban Bush Women who are characterized by community engagement projects where Zollar and the company live and work in local communities for several weeks, leading workshops in dance, poetry reading, improvisation and several other activities that empower and help build self-esteem to the participants. The work of Zollar is a true demonstration of how dance can be used for national cohesion and building. Even though her approach was not all that inclusive-because she focused on women and American-African women to be specific-she fully demonstrates strong belief in the use of art for social change. Since the mid-50s, artists’ actions had taken place sporadically in cultural centers around the world. However, the contemporary world has seen evolvement in the artistic world to the extent that they form part of reality shows. One of the shows that helps explain this concept is Dancing with the Stars. Even before Dancing with the star premiered in 2005, reality television and ballroom dancing shared a powerful narrative that significantly defined the concept of personal transformation. The basic theme of Dancing with the star is that everyone is good on his/her own way, which is why the contestants are carefully balanced to represent a wide range of race, ages, body types and black grounds. According to McMains, television producers always prefer a competition whereby couples dance in succession rather than simultaneously. Without the ability to follow a single couple through an entire routine, television faces challenges building audience investment in the success or failure of any one couple and thus failed to establish DanceSport fan base. However, Dancing with the star overcome this barrier, presenting each couple dancing solo on their live broadcast and generating heated debate the following day by loyal fans. Dancing with the star offers anyone the satisfaction of personal growth through overcoming adversity. It is not easy to dance because it involves physical and emotional attributes therefore those who persevere through the pain are rewarded with newfound confidence and strength that will outlast the glitter ball trophy presented as first prize. Through Dancing with the star and the American Dream, McMains demonstrate fully the aspect of tolerance and appreciation. McMains demonstrates that music has evolved in such a way that people do appreciate other people’s cultures. This is demonstrated when he stated that: “All Latin dances and the musical genres from which they take their names were born through a blending of elements from European, African and indigenous culture. Thus, to object to further hybridization of Latin dance in Western ballrooms through incorporation of elements from Western dance would be to ignore the tradition of transculturation out of which Latin dance emerged. ” In a nutshell, McMains tries to explain the concept of national unity by demonstrating that; national unity involves disregarding some personal or cultural prejudice and appreciating and tolerating other cultures. Most importantly, McMains is clearly shows that dance is a very powerful tool in realization of national unity. Work cited Kate Matingly Moran, “Dancing the Voice of the People,” Dance Magazine, Oct. 2001. Lowery Stokes Sims, “Heat and Other Climatic Manifestations: Urban Bush Women, Though Music and Craig Harris and the Dirty tones Band,” High Perfomance (Spring 1989), p.27. Margaret Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern dance (Princeton, New Jersey: Princton Book Company, reprinted 1987), P.272. Pearl Primus, “My Statement,” (reprinted in Caribe 7, nos. 1&2). Sid Smith, “Pearl Glows with Energizing, Vivid Movement.” Sid Smith, “Pearl Glows with Energizing, Vivid Movement.” Chicago Tribune, April 30, 2004. Veta Goler, “Dancing Hersel: Choreography, Autobiography, and the Expression of the Black Woman Self in the Work of Dianne McIntyre, Blondell Cummings, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (Ph.D.dissertation Emory University, 1994) p.141. Read More