Percussive Dance as music: The Thrill
I don’t necessarily subscribe to the romanticised idea that dance is inherently human, mostly because not every society that dances calls it dance, but also because the act of dancing/choreographing movements/prancing, etc. is not limited to just humans. However, I do think there is something specifically inherent to traditional dances, particularly traditional dances that are percussive in nature, and their relationship with music. To me, these traditional dances tell stories that aren’t just physical - they also tell stories that are aural the same way music does. In that way, percussive dance strides the lines between the physical and sonic.
For as long as music has been recorded either for commercial or ethnographic purposes, percussive dance has also been recorded. I, for one, would love to see more musical groups incorporating percussive dance in their work so this type of post will be on-going, with each one highlighting a different audio recording that features traditional dance and why it means so much to me.
First up is Nic Gareiss who is someone that continues to serve as an immense inspiration for me both as a dancer and as a musician. This recent project, The Thrill, offers, in my opinion, some of the best recorded examples of percussive dance. My biggest complaint with the recording of dance is that it either doesn’t sound like the person dancing or it sounds too much like a drum. Nic, not only provides gorgeous accompaniment to the tunes played by the amazing Allison De Groot, but he has also mastered the art of capturing the sound of his dancing perfectly. I truly think this is one of the finest examples of audio recording percussive dance. If you haven’t listened to The Thrill yet, please do - you will not regret it. And for anyone who has listened to it, please do so again. You can find it HERE
Happy listening and happy dancing!
- S
