You can dance, if you want to!
It's no secret that I love to travel and different cultures continue to fascinate me. I have been to Jamaica several times and I have yet to be able to imitate the sensuous movements of their uniquely distinctive dance. There is no single "traditional dance of Jamaica" that was born and cultivated on the island. Instead, Jamaican dance is a large fusion of cultural dances brought from all over the world. Since colonial times, dance has played a large role in Jamaica. Some of the earliest influences derive from Christian religious celebrations brought over by the colonial settlers, while others are combined with Jamaica's unique musical style. Many Jamaican dances are known as dance hall styles of dance and are the most prominent moves found on the island today.
Dance historians divide traditional Jamaican dance into three distinct genres: African, European, and Creole. These three genres are then broken down further into more specific categories. African dance of Jamaica, for example, can fall into religious or social categories. Like most early forms of dancing, the traditional dances of this island are rooted in celebratory moments and life-related rituals, regardless of the cultural group that contributed to them.
The fact that women and men alike dance their way through town, their hips swinging, their bodies carrying a meaning, to the dance that is telling a story. I love the sense of total absorption in the dance. The Jamaicans have always loved to express themselves through their music and while they are at it, celebrate with dance. How can you not love these people?
And just like that, this post is over. Come back tomorrow and we'll do it again. As always, there must be a flower to color my world. Always. #alwaysaflower
Thank you for visiting my post 💖 Don't ever forget what a wonderful world we live in, people. For me, I try to do my part. Kindness counts. Wherever you go, whatever you do.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shakespeare
#TeamUSA is a growing community of quality-content people from the United States or those living here. Check us out on Discord!
I think you can find a form of dance in just about anyone you observe. I just made the comment to my husband tonight that if I ever caught sight of myself while I play the keyboard and singing, I might not ever do it again. lol! I dance; I know I do, but because I can't see it, I am free. I just get into my music the same way you describe the Jamaican people and dance. And why not......it's so freeing to be absorbed into something that speaks without words!
Thanks for sharing, @dswigle! Have a wonderful weekend!💜
It is freeing!! But, now I really want to see it! :))
Hi, @elizebethbit!!! Thank you for being so kind and stopping in. xoxo
Lol! Maybe someday.......you just never know! Take care!
African folk dance for just about anything. And you cannot beat (ha!) African rhythm. I just love it. And dancing.
!tip
Posted using Dapplr
Please use https://peakd.com to send tips - because of HF24 tipU can not reliably send tips :(
And did you notice that it is a mix of African Folk Dance?
Hi, Fiona! Why doesn't my tipu work???
I did. It seems @tipu and HF24 are not compatible... :(
Hi Denise! Now I have that song in my head!! Great to "see you" again!
Hahaha! Me too!!! Hi, Chelsea! What have YOU been up to?
Short and sweet! Beautiful post.
Yes, Jamaicans love to dance for all situations - good and bad.
New dance moves are constantly emerging.
I miss my home sweet home, Jamaica
Oh, baby!!! I just know you got the rhythm!! Jamaica is so different in the last ten years than it used to be. Perhaps all the building up of it?
😊
I bet. This is the longest I've ever been away from Jamaica - almost 7 years. It's unbelievable how quickly time flies.
You are right about all the changes. The last time I visited, I could barely find my way around Montego Bay because everything was so different and more developed.
Hopefully next year I'll be able to go back home. I miss my family, the food, the people and the music the most!
The Rasta man make some music, the Rasta dance, no?
It truly is cultural, and I think to really be proficient you have to have grown up with the rhythm and movement. A friend's wife is from Trinidad that has another 'local flavor' of the same genre (s).
And the flower today is truly lovely! Thank you.
Oh, yeah. It is that Caribbean vibe... also, heavily mixed with African Folk Dance, all of it. It is an envious trait being able to move that body to the rhythm, you know?
Le sigh....
One of those genes I sadly lack. Hi, Tom!!!
Thank you for the repost @pixresteemer! Much appreciated!
Rhythmic dancing... that is what is about!
I don't know how I missed this... but better late than never, hehehe.
How are you, @dswigle?