Art, Percussion, and Dance

Music and dance go hand in hand, but sometimes the dance IS the music, or at least part of it.  The most obvious example of this is tap dance, where the dance creates the percussion.  Tap is the perfect blend of music and dance because the dance is part of the music.

Watch how this Latin Jazz combo works with the dancers as percussionists.

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There are, however, other examples where art and percussion and dance come together.  When I was in college I discovered for the first time an Appalachian dancing doll.  A friend and I were transfixed by the concept and bought the doll at a crafts fair.  We were art school students so we bought a blank one and painted it.  My friend moved away after graduation and we used to lovingly ship the doll back and forth like a child from a broken home.

In this video you can see how the doll is a musical instrument and a dancer at the same time:

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Don’t miss next week’s post on dancing marionettes!

by LaurieAnn Lepoff

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