Dance to the beat, or count, or both...

The movie "Crash" that we saw in class illustrated multiple boundary objects. These terms, artifacts, concepts, etc., were primarily utilized with negative connotations to demonstrate power. Racial and derogatory terms were loosely spewed from the characters lips to confirm perceived power relations. No racial group in the movie was safe from verbal attacks whether stated within a community of practice to reiterate why certain individuals are to remain as outsiders, or used as direct insults to a member of a different community of practice. There were positive instances of boundary objects used in the film, but the negative seemed to stand out like a sore thumb. Wenger (1999) defines boundary objects as: "artifacts, documents, terms, concepts, and other forms of reification around which communities of practice can organize their interconnections" (p. 105).

Keisha Chante and the dancers. (I am the third one from the right.)

Taking a look at how boundary objects have influenced my life reminds me of my experience with dance. As a dancer I have learned two different forms of dance training. To look at the first form of dancing I have learned, let's consider hip hop dance which is a dance style that was created in the streets of New York in the 1970's primarily by Black youth. What differentiates this style of dance from many others is that it is based on freestyle dance moves. Or to put it another way, hip hop dancers create dance moves to the beat of music in an improvisational fashion instead of following choreography. The second form of dance follows structured choreography and use a system of counting which can be seen in dance styles such as jazz, ballet, and contemporary. This system is usually to an 8 count (for example: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...). This concept of learning to dance is fluent within trained dancer's communities of practice. A dancer's ability to follow counts is a fast and effective way to learn lengthy dance routines, and connects dancers from different countries and genres. Over many years dance pioneers have negotiated shared meanings of dance terms and concepts. It also helps you move ahead in a song if there is a challenging part that needs more practice and you don't want to keep starting the dance from the beginning. Someone with a background purely in street dancing with no formal training may find this very difficult. Statements such as "Let's pick it up from the third set of 8 in 5, 6, 7, 8..." have little meaning to someone who is not familiar with dance counts. To a trained dancer that statement is easily understood. They can quickly go over the first 2 sets of 8 in their head, and be confident at where to begin. Dance auditions are even less tolerable with regards to dancers catching on to a routine. Auditions are pressed for time and are only interested in dancers that can pick up a dance number quickly.

Dance rehearsal time. (I am the first girl with long straight hair.)

This reminds me of the time I was at a dance audition for the TV series Mahalia staring Canadian R&B singer Keisha Chante. One of the episodes had a short music video within it, and local dancers were auditioning to be background dancers. I recall one girl at the audition with a background only in street dance. I have personally seen her dancing and she is a very good dancer. But the choreography in this audition was solely taught with counts and she was unable to follow. Out of the 4 background dancers chosen, I was probably the weakest dancer but I had the look the director wanted, and was advantaged over the other girl as I had experience with dance counts. The girl who was cut also had the look the director was seeking but her dancing appeared weak as she struggled to adequately participate in the formal customs of trained dancer's communities of practice. Had she been exposed to this method of dance training, then I'm positive she would have been selected as a background dancer.

I have also been involved in a dance piece that required nothing more than talent, ability, and speed. When I performed my show "What Iz Hip Hop?" in the Atlantic Fringe Festival a few years back, there was a stomp dance routine within the show. There was no need of dance count usage for my dance troupe! Just hardcore stomp with hands, feet, and crushed pop cans!

The system of dance counts is a shared way of connecting dancers in their communities of practice. However, it also excludes dancers who do not utilize this system such as street dancers. There are many hip hop dancers that do not use this system and yet can dance better than any trained dancer. Some of these dancers are so talented that they can follow a dance count instantly without any background experience. There are also trained dancers that have participated in multiple intensive dance courses that know all the moves yet lack rhythm and talent. They are simply doing the correct moves but can't dance.

Do boundary objects always include forms of power relations? I have not answered this question in my blog, but feel it is a valuable question to pose inquiry. Boundary objects are a way of defining membership and prescribing shared meaning. This can be experienced by some as a positive experience as they feel connected and a sense of belonging. It can also have a negative experience to others who want to belong but feel excluded, or outsiders who feel that membership are exclusive to certain people who possess specific resources. An example of this is post-secondary communities of practice in which participants must pay for education and hold academic pre-requisites. I gave the example of the dance community both inviting members to feel a shared connection, as well as excluding some dancers. Can you think of other communities of practice that represent a form of inclusion and exclusion for the participants that appear to be engaged members?


References


Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1st ed.). New York:
       Cambridge University Press.

Picture 1 & 2: Personal pictures I uploaded.

Mahlia TV series (the episode that the dance routine for "Let It Rain"):