Wade in the Water blog

While watching the clip of the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe I could see many forms of black dance according to Thompson and Malone. I thought the dance began as though the performers were moving through the forest, maybe escaping slavery, just like the song talks about, and I could see the "aesthetic of cool," in the movements. As the dance and song went on you could see their energy and movement become faster and you can relate the movements to the words. They were so smooth they told the story in a way that you did not need the words, to understand. I think they had a really unique and beautiful performance that made the song come to life with the costume colors, and props, to give a vivid picture. The dancers flowed together and worked together in many ways to help contribute to the overall aesthetic of the performance. As we talked about yesterday in class, this was a more harmonic soft performance, not as percussive as others we have seen.

The song Wade in the Water, has such a deep meaning and this performance helps give a picture of the emotion and meaning behind the words.