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“The Clave Comes Home”: Salsa Dance and Pan-African Identity in Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2017

Christey Carwile
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Abstract:

While salsa dance is popularly, and now globally, understood to be a symbol and expression of Latin identity, its adoption in non-Latin contexts has produced new meanings and cultural configurations. This is particularly the case in West Africa, where salsa is not only catching on among urban youth, but is becoming understood and approached from an African perspective. This article explores the ways in which salsa dance in Ghana serves as an innovative, embodied expression of a contemporary, pan-African identity. This is seen in Ghanaian dancers’ ideological reinvigoration of salsa’s African history and in the physical incorporation of local styles and presentations. Salsa in Ghana is recast through global networks, which in turn contributes to its global character while refashioning it to better suit local motives and desires. Thus, rather than emphasizing salsa’s African roots alone, dancers in Ghana equally engage with the complex routes of the dance.

Résumé:

Alors que la danse salsa est populairement et globalement comprise comme un symbole et une expression de l’identité latine, son adoption dans des contextes non latins a produit de nouvelles significations et configurations culturelles. C’est particulièrement le cas en Afrique de l’Ouest, où la salsa ne se contente pas seulement de gagner la jeunesse urbaine, mais elle est également devenue comprise et approchée d’un point de vue africain. Cet article explore les manières dont la danse salsa au Ghana sert en tant qu’expression innovante et personnifiée d’une identité panafricaine contemporaine. Ceci est évident non seulement dans la revitalisation idéologique des danseurs ghanéens de l’histoire africaine de la salsa, mais aussi dans leur incorporation physique des styles et des présentations locales. Simultanément, les danseurs de salsa au Ghana remanient le genre, contribuant à son caractère global tout en le remodelant pour mieux correspondre aux significations et désirs locaux. Ainsi, les danseurs du Ghana, plutôt que de mettre l’accent sur les racines africaines salsa seules, s’engagent également avec les nuances complexes de la danse.

Keywords

Salsa danceyouth culturecosmopolitanismpan-African identityGhana
Type
ARTICLES
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , September 2017 , pp. 183 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2017 

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