HOW TRADITIONAL IS AFRICAN DANCE TODAY: AFRICAN DANCE AND ITS ESSENCE

ABSTRACT

Commercialization of dance has become an integral part of the evolving creative industry in Africa. Commodification of African traditional dance as a “product” significantly needs to be branded and packaged in a manner that makes it a commercially viable venture. Framed within attractive quality and sociological aesthetic theories, this study seeks find out why African Dance industry has been unattractive and to explore how African traditional dances are branded and packaged by both professional and amateur dance companies and to highlight the commercial value of the Arts specifically dance. It mostly adopts a qualitative mode of investigation within a multidisciplinary framework that sees dance as both a cultural form and a stage art. The thesis recommends a frame work of the Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action model as a tool for commercialization and the adoption of vertical organizational structure alongside with some marketing activities that could enhance traditional dance brands to be more commercially viable.

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

According Kariamu Welsh 2009, Dance is one of the world’s oldest art forms. It is a mercurial art form: It exists in the moment, and, while a dance can be performed repeatedly, each performance is distinct and unique. Because of its ephemeral nature in that it exists only in the moment–dance is cherished as it is performed. Dance is a robust art that transfers energy and engages space in a way that encompasses the imagination of the audience. Dance is exhilarating, it is somatic, and it is often complimentary with music (Imjai, Keeratiburana & Koseyayotin, 2014).

Dance is an effective means of communication throughout the world, and in Africa, it is not an exception. An individual being able to express him or herself without verbal language is cherished in most African traditional societies. Cogitation can be communicated in such a way that, the whole community can understand and appreciate dance as a tool which can maintain the community’s culture and history. Through dance, a group can regulate or monitor the social behaviour of individuals by expressing approval or disapproval. Dance is part of the cultural expression (Romain, 2002). Performance usually includes some type of dramatic presentation, music, costume, song, and mask.

The movement is central to the activity, but it is by no means the sum total of the event.

Dance can also be referred to as traditional a communal and social activity. Customary and ceremonial rites are usually concentrated on the dance, making dance more than merely entertainment and forms an integral part of a society’s worldview. A worldview is the way in which a person or group makes sense of its relationship with nature, God, or a supreme being. Dance is expressed using movements, accompanied by rhythm and the aesthetic values of a society. Aesthetic values are the facets of society that is considered to be beautiful within that society. The perception of one’s environs and relationship with nature is important considering beauty and attractiveness. Dance is also influenced by geographic location, religion, and gender as diverse cultures highlights specific parts of their bodies based on their belief systems, environment, and physical structures (Welsh, 2010).

Dancing developed as an essential and functional part of life in Africa. Events such as birth, death, harvest, and marriage are monumentalized by dance. Dancing is a major part of festivals to thank the deities for a bountiful harvest. Other African dances celebrate the passage from childhood to adulthood. These dances are mostly gender specific, with boys dancing with boys as well as the girls. There are, of course, social dances such as Kpatsa in which courtship, flirtation, and socializing are encouraged and enjoyed. Many dances e.g. Kpalogo that were originally performed for harvest or fertility have now turned to social dances as the society changes and the functions of those dances are no longer relevant to the people. The dance, however, survives and takes on new meaning.  Africa is a composite unit of many different cultures. Almost every ethnic group in Africa has their own culture which includes; language, dance, music, fashion and food among many others. Dance as a cultural element is inevitable when it comes to festivals, durbars, welcoming and gathering of high profile personalities or important guests where we display our rich culture.

Traditional dance is a rich part of local culture that reveals a lot about everyday life in the African society or cultural heritage (Dance Africa, 2014; Romain 2002).  The significance of traditional dance is expressed when there are events such as festivals, graduation ceremonies, naming ceremonies, conferences, enstoolment of chiefs, among others. In lieu of this a variety of dance companies and/or groups abound in Africa namely the National Dance Company, Agoro Dance Company (Romain, 2002) including Abibigromma Theatre Company (School of Performing Arts, 2014), and many more.  Dance has been used and continues to be used for most activities associated with life-cycle events (Nicholls, 1996). Within the social context, its ability to function as a communicative tool through the appropriate use of gestures and other codes is invaluable (Nketia, 1974). Dance and other artistic expression forms are normally regarded as important elements of the events of life in many African communities. These communities tend to share and cherish some basic cultural and aesthetic values.

Further, dance has the control to chain people together into one unified force. Romain argues that dance tells its story in a continuum of movements. The dance process entails the following:

The emotions of the dancer and the story being told by the dancer are captured in the dancer’s motions. The emotion is conveyed through the use of posture, facial expressions, direction of movements, physical interactions with the audience and the mimicking of daily activities. Art is no longer purely auditory or visual but physical (Romain, 2002, p. 10).

The movements, gestures, costumes and accessories etc. for Adowa dance has also been same over the years. Culture is said to be dynamic by some scholars but the question is, how often do we see this dynamism? Same images and dances are being seen over and over again which makes them appear or look humdrum. Moreover, there are many more beautiful dances from the other ethnic groups which are less exploited often given less attention during some state and important functions.  Branding and Packing can be useful tools that can help promote and market these dances.

Competition in this age market or business is inflexible and as a consequence, organizations are anxiously trying to find innovative ways to get customers purchase their products and/or demand for their services. It is for this reason that phenomena such as branding, packaging and a host of others are engaged to facilitate the intense commercialization of dance. Business dictionary defines band as a unique design, sign, symbol, words or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Business organizations can maximize or leverage profitability by utilizing excellent branding and packaging. Outstanding packaging tends to attract the attention of a consumer about the same or modified products. It is important for organizations to really get to know their target markets well, so they can be sure of having an optimistic level of permeation. If packaging does not contribute much when it comes to drawing attention, it is more likely that nobody would patronize it. Whether brand packaging is planned for business to business or business to customer, packaging is everything when it comes to truly reflecting the brand. Having a good packaging will last for the company or organization countless years to come, and also allow building a massive extent of customer loyalty along the way.  It is key for this reason that, organizations make it a point to know their customers well, and choose the packaging options consequently.

For the purpose of attention, purchase, consumption or use that might satisfy a need or want, a product or service can be copied by a competitor but a brand is unique. A product or service can be quickly outdated but a successful brand is timeless. When consumers are making decisions amongst brands available in the market, it includes brand as an element to determine the qualities of the product rather than employing their time to enhance their knowledge of the product/service in information searching activities.

Therefore, consumers use brands as cues to make decisions to purchase or try products.

A brand is therefore a product/service whose scope comprehensively distinguishes it in some ways from other products or services designed to satisfy the same need. These differences may be purposeful, rational, or tangible-related to product performance of the brand. They may also be more symbolic, emotional, or intangible-related to what the brand represents or means in a more abstract sense

Traditional dance as a “product” needs to be branded and packaged in a manner that makes it commercially viable. A brand refers to the physical or abstract characteristics that an organization or product is identified with or known for (Sammut-Bonnici, 2015). A brand has the prospect to enhance any product/service and helping to set it apart through various ways (Bryne, 2013). Therefore, branding involves the conscious and consistent creation of unique marketing identity in the form of a name or image for a service or product with the view to capturing the attention of the consumer (Pearson, 1996). Basically, it is the duty of a service provider to claim its own space in the ever changing marketing environment. Currently, there is the need for effective branding to make the dance product attractive because of the proliferation of both amateur and professional dance groups. Wansink and Huffman (2001), and Brown (1950) agree that packaging equally plays an important part in the success of a product/service. Customers are constantly seeking new ways to satisfy themselves, hence the need for better packaging of products. What this means is that packaging should continuously evolve to meet this demand by providing quality that meets the expectation of customers.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Culture is a dynamic phenomenon and as a result there is the need to adopt strategies that will preserve the varied expressive cultures.  African culture such as music and dance have got the potential for posterity.

In recent times, maintaining culture requires modernization to remain resolute in its survival in the face of global challenges (Imjai et al., 2014).

Since institutionalization of dance in 1962, the industry has not gained much in terms of visibility and patronage due to the fact that most people see it as part of their culture and their everyday lives. Hence, this makes it difficult for it to be accepted as a product worth paying for and as a career that people depend on to survive.  The African Dance industry or sector for some time appears to be unattractive and unprofitable. With regards to strategic plan implementation for business or marketing purposes, not much is done by stake holders or key players in the industry to attract the attention of the general public or organizational bodies engaging them.

According to Nii Yartey as cited in Romain, (2002) posits, “Traditional dance in Africa was created in another time but the dances are still relevant today.” This study therefore argues that true as this statement may be, traditional African dances require rebranding to make them more attractive and trendy. This notion of modernization finds expression in the rebranding of dance as earlier indicated to enable it become   ‘re-appreciated’ to facilitate the building of sense of national unity and pride (Romain, 2002).

In addition, the adaptation of folk dances to a more contemporary setting requires altering the dances to fit the social standards of younger generations which have primarily been expressed in sdances by changing the sexual category characters in the dances (Romain, 2002). For instance, historically Adowa was dance performed by only women, nevertheless men now take roles within the dance to expand its scope. In like manner, females are also featured as drummers, a role that used to be the preserve of men.

Maijaroen (2009) contends that some performers managed to modify their customs and practices in line with modern trends in order to survive. Gradually, dance is becoming a dynamic art form that aims to better serve a generation which does not think like their successors (p. 22).

In spite of these scholarly views, dance as a product in Africa is still crying for patronage. This study seeks to investigate why the dance industry has been an unattractive one to the general public and suggest some marketing strategies on how to enhance attractiveness of dance fraternity to be more lucrative. Also the study aims to document how branding and packaging can be an effective tool to commercialize traditional dances in Africa and the types of modern strategies that can be put in place to increase patronage for the benefit of dance practitioners and the Creative Industry as a whole.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The study objectives include the following:

1. To find out the importance of internet and modern trends in the commercialization

of  African traditional dance performances.

2. To investigate which elements of African traditional dances that can be branded and packaged for public consumption and/or commercial purposes.
3. To develop a model for branding and packaging that will aid in commercializing

African traditional dances.

1.4 Research Questions

1. Is the internet an important channel of commercializing traditional dance in Africa?
2. Can all elements/forms of African traditional dances be branded effectively?
3. What are some of the factors that account for the low patronage of African traditional dance performances?
4. Which marketing model is appropriate to brand and package African traditional dance for commercialization?

1.5 Definition of Key Concepts

This section defines selected key concepts that guide the study. They are traditional dance, branding, packaging and commercialization.

1.5.1 Traditional dance

Traditional dance is sometimes referred to as folk or cultural dance. ‘Traditional’ is often used to accentuate on the ethnic backgrounds of the dance. A traditional dance will therefore have emerged from a people’s cultural traditions, for example, the folk dances of indigenous populations of Europe. However, dances that have a ritual origin or purpose are not usually considered to be Traditional dances. Rather, these are known as ‘Religious dances’ (Manning, undated).

 

1.5.2 Branding

Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising. Branding is a set of marketing and communication methods that help to distinguish a company or products from competitors, aiming to create a lasting impression in the minds of customers.  

 

1.5.3 Packaging

Packaging involves the processes, materials and tools engaged to contain, handle, protect, deliver and transport a product or service. The role of packaging in commercialization is comprehensive and may require functions such as to attract attention, assist in promotion, and impart essential or additional information of the product/service. Furthermore, it denotes the exercise of merging interrelated goods or services into a single offer.

 

1.5.4 Commercialization

According to Siegel et al. (2003), commercialization depends on research and development to take initiative and followed by discovery, evaluation feedback, faculty inputs and patents, if required. Moreover when products and services are commercialized, they contributes to wealth generation of the organization, thus financial progress and sustainability with a well-defined mechanism.

Commercialization is “the process of transforming ideas, knowledge and inventions into greater wealth for individuals, businesses and/or society at large”. It is also a large detachment of innovation process compelled by market.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This research sought to study how branding and packaging could be effective tools in commercializing African traditional dances, defining the connection between brand and customer and some branding tactics.  This study therefore, aimed at how to unravel the various ways through which African traditional dances could be branded, packaged, and made more commercially attractive and viable.

Accra Metropolitan Assembly area in the Greater Accra region was the study site. Accra was chosen because, it is as an epitome of urban context. The study aimed at investigating the branding and packaging of traditional dance in the context of urbanization. The selection of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly area as study site for the research was based on three relevant factors namely; the richness of data, availability and easy access.

My focus was to examine how dance companies and groups brand and package dance as a product. Therefore, my inclusion criteria covered only dance companies that engage in commercialization of dance, artists who work in a company that commercializes dance, choreographers who theatricalize dance for production and those institutions involved in training professional dance  Artists.

1.7 Significance of the Study

Patronage of African traditional dances over the years has been very low. This could be attributed to poor branding and packaging accounting for such a situation. This study sought to help unravel the challenges associated with the branding and packaging of traditional dances in Africa. Through the findings, a model for how to brand and package traditional dances in Africa and beyond is created. The study also provided information on how their branding affects consumer preferences as well as how individuals and companies can build on their marketing strategies to attract more customers and increase their market share. The information generated by the study is also relevant to businesses in general for their marketing development and for other future research.

HOW TRADITIONAL IS AFRICAN DANCE TODAY: AFRICAN DANCE AND ITS ESSENCE

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