From Monday’s class, “Baamaaya” was the piece that I found most interesting. This traditional dance and it’s accompanying musical piece is performed in Ghana.  It was something I had never seen/heard before and had an interesting make-up. I found the way the beats were layered very unique. The origin tale we focused on in class is the one tied to the translation of the word itself. In english it translates to “the fields are wet.” According to this origin story, the dance was used to appease the gods who they (the people of Ghana)  thought were punishing them through a drought. They danced to bring rain for the entire community after crime was committed against a woman. Today, the purpose of this traditional dance has changed. It is performed for many occasions but most commonly for funerals. The change in uses shows just how drastic music’s purpose changes over time or by society. It’s interesting to see how a “rain dance” became a funeral dance, the tradition itself is able to preserve their culture by having the same dance used for a different purpose. Although the purpose has changed there are some continuities like the way in which the people dance, the beat, the format, the attire, etc. The dancers’ costumes still mimic women’s clothing. The instrument ensemble also remains the same as it consists of drums, sayalsa (rattle), and calamboo (a type of flute). The change does seem positive as a dance once used as punishment is now used to celebrate the end of one’s life. 

From Wednesday’s class, the piece I found most interesting was the “Rite of Spring” piece that was created in 1913 as a ballet piece. The storyline is “a virgin girl is forced to dance herself to death.” Igor Stravinsky intended to revolutionize the world of ballet. He put his own spin on ballet and strayed from what was initially associated with the genre. In the video, we are able to hear the dissonance clearly as it sounds extremely harsh and unpleasant to our ears. The meter shift was also something that did not initially sit well with the audience. They ended up “shouting, even fist fights broke out between supporters… items were thrown on stage”. It was disliked by many but now that has changed. The piece is now “one of the most influential orchestral compositions of the century” as the corresponding choreography along with the music present the idea of breaking free from the strict norms that confined classical music and it’s uses. This is an obvious positive change as the piece went from being severely disliked, to being appreciated for its true meaning. It can now inspire other artists to break free from societal expectations and make their music or dance unconventional, unique, and unprecedented.