"Wade in the Water" Blog

The Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe's version on "Water In The Water" demonstrates various examples of black dance within it. Most glaringly, we can see the "aesthetic of cool" represented through the slow and "water-like" movements of the dancers. They also use blue fabric to represent the water. The dancers are also displaying emotion that is not always in sync with the others around them, expressing freedom and their own interpretation of the song. The dancers also convey a lot of energy through their movements that seems to be enjoyable. Despite the fact that the lyrics represent the struggle that blacks went through during slavery, the dancers take that and create all of these dramatic and expressive poses within their dance and make it visually appealing. They take this song, which can be seen as a reminder of the hurt that blacks felt and make it beautiful and pleasing to watch; however still telling a story through their strong movements.