Urban Bush Women

A while ago I commented on the fact that in the United States there is a greater segregation of discipline in performance art than in other countries. Particularly theatre performance will often be very separated from dance and music. The times when these disciplines are merged will in the United States will only be with musical theatre. For those theatre artists like myself who consider themselves dancers and singers studying “drama” will often feel like we are only using a percentage of our performance ability as opposed to the entire realm of our capability.
What I enjoyed most about the Urban Bush Women documentary was that the drama was in the dance performance. The body was the vessel through which the story was told. As an African American performer the use of movements to accentuate hips, behinds and the fluid spine was a sort of affirmation of the feminine form as an art medium. What I really enjoyed is that the Urban Bush Women appears to be a reaction against the discrimination within the more “European” schools of dance. By this reaction I am referring to the body model that has smaller hips and curves. I also refer to the body posture where one has to keep the spine long and straight as opposed to allowing fluidity with the movement.
As an artists that has a hard time fitting into a specific “type” the Urban Bush Women inspired me to develop art based on my own personal experience and culture.