A slide show meant as help tool for beginning dancers learning the dances of the orixás as a type of 'folk dance. While I am sharing it, I would appreciate it if you quote me when using the text; that is all my own original work.
Gestures of Orixás by Anna Beatrice Scott is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.negressdeterminata.com.
2. Inside the choreostory
Each dance is a complete story- choreostory
However, to create the story, there are sets of
gestures, rhythms, songs, shouts
In particular, the gestures alert people to the arrival
of a specific orixá
the gestures are also symbols
3. Symbols in Motion
If each gesture is a symbol, then complete moves
are mythos/recurrent themes or structures
a symbol is also a glyph, type of shorthand image
Like the alphabet, these kinesthetic glyphs can be
accumulated to create larger meaning structures.
I call these glyphs, kinemes.
21. OXUM
THE HAND IS A MIRROR AND A GOURD OF WATER OR WATER ROLLING OVER ROCKS
22. Xangó
He carries two double-
edged axes. Sometimes the
dancer will open the hands,
palms facing inward. Thus
the arms are the handle and
the hands the blade edge.
32. Gestures of Orixá:
identify the energy coming or being used
address group concerns in public performance like
Carnaval
invigorate or analyze spoken discourse
embellish the archival act or just artifacts
provide context for orienting one’s self in the wider
world
33. This has been a brief introduction to these
beautiful and powerful ‘microchoreographies.’
To see some of them in action, look for the Balé
Folclorico da Bahia
To learn how the process that each symbol reveals
can be used choreographically, I highly
recommend studying in Bahia with choreographer/
technician, Rosangela Silvestre. She teaches a
class that we named in a deep conversation one
day, called “Symbols in Motion.”
34. This work is offered by
Anna Beatrice Scott, PhD
for share & share alike
usage (cc). All photos are
by/of the author. Other
images are credited.
FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS: ANNA.SCOTT@UCR.EDU