Tourist Productions 2007

I have been intrigued by the use of movement forms as a medium of cultural experience for others. For my project I have decided to examine the phenomenon of presenting secularized forms of traditional dance – in this case Haitian Voudou dance – to US audiences. I will be doing so through my own participation in classes, rehearsals and performing in a Haitian cultural event in April, and discussions with my Haitian teachers and fellow dancers.

These movement forms are rooted in tradition and they are linked with the histories and daily lives of particular groups of people, each drum rhythm coordinating to particular movements and religious moments or spirits, however, this re-presentation process involves a complicated network of diaspora communities of different cultures – dynamically effected by the shifting forces of transnationalism, economics, and individual artistic motivations. The process of presenting traditional forms in contemporary contexts seem to serve both of MacCarrell’s “essential functions” of cultural productions – by “sanctifying an original” and “establish[ing] a new direction” in such a way that teachers simultaneously revere these dances as ancestral and modern.

I will be framing my study through the modes of creation (how much of the movement is claimed to be traditionally passed down and how much is artistic flavor?), connection (what histories are being shared, and what does it mean to participants to be involved with these cultural memories?), and dissemination (what are the methods and messages of presentation?). For example, it is stated on my teacher’s website, “Peniel's dream is to learn and master as many traditional dances, of Haiti and Africa as time allows and to become the ambassador of Haitian culture in order to represent Haitian culture worldwide.” (http://www.tamboula.com/director.html) This notion of being a cultural ambassador provides an interesting perspective when considering the role of tourism in these interactions.

What is fascinating about the teaching and dancing of these dances is the community that is formed through them. In looking at this community though the framing offered by tourism is applicable because participants are contributing – whether consciously or not – in a refashioning and [re]presentation of particular African-rooted cultural practices. They engage, but superficially, in order to fulfill some aspect of their own modern self. Communities all over the world are centered around African diaspora dance, and although they have regional character, I can travel to any one of them, take a class, and feel somewhat ‘at home’. What sense of nation and belonging is at play here? How is this connected to tourism off the beaten track?