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Dancing ambiguities in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Braun, Lesley Nicole. (2019) Dancing ambiguities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Critical African Studies, 11 (1). pp. 103-120.

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Official URL: https://edoc.unibas.ch/73428/

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Abstract

Dance in Kinshasa, DRC has historically been a moral terrain on which different actors - from missionaries to postcolonial political leaders - have sought to control and showcase dancers. Women's dancing in particular has become regarded as morally ambiguous, especially when women perform on a public stage. While dance is an integral part of femininity, it is nonetheless a fraught avenue of creative expression, largely due to the implications of its associated visibility. This paper addresses particular occasions in which dancing women invite criticism, which I argue is linked to the ways in which a woman's social position is negotiated through her public performances. In attempts to understand some of the multivalent anxieties expressed over the morality of dance performance, this paper considers several historical layers that have shaped contemporary attitudes towards dance. It considers how new dance forms emerged in the historical context of colonial Léopoldville, the social position of postcolonial Zairian women who danced for the nation, as well as contemporary professional women dancers (danseuses) who perform with popular concert bands.
Faculties and Departments:04 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
UniBasel Contributors:Braun, Lesley Nicole
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:2168-1392
e-ISSN:2040-7211
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Identification Number:
Last Modified:04 Feb 2020 08:30
Deposited On:04 Feb 2020 08:30

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