In this dance class, from a series by the Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning, Rujeko Dumbutshena teaches how to use the concept of dancing on the clock to learn African Dance. She is accompanied by Farai Malianga, a Djembe drummer who is also from Zimbabwe. With a positive and engaging attitude, Rujeko introduces “dancing on the clock,” the practice that allows easier positioning of the feet for learning dance moves.
Rujeko Dumbutshena is a Zimbabwean dancer and dance teacher who radiates positivity and inspires those that encounter her. According to the News Archive at the University of Washington, where she is currently the Assistant Professor in the Dance Department, Rujeko’s choreographic experiments combine her childhood memories and her cultural heritage (Kwak). Furthermore, she finds inspiration in other African artists and performers, acknowledging and embracing the evolution of African Dance (Kwak). However, as a pedagogue as well as a performer, Rujeko also makes use of strategies such as the one described in this reflection to make African Dance accessible to her students.
In the short YouTube class, Rujeko introduces her two in-person students, as well as the online audience, to the concept of “dancing on the clock,” as mentioned above. The concept refers to drawing an imaginary clock around the dancer’s feet and orienting one’s steps according to the hands of the clock – for example, left foot on six o’clock, meaning right behind. Rujeko highlights the importance of counting, numbers, and direction in dancing as she prepares the audience for her class (Dumbutshena). She then continues to demonstrate a few steps, first showing them slowly, then speeding up and repeating them (Dumbutshena). Rujeko also emphasizes the importance of dance in African culture and its health benefits (Dumbutshena). In a very non-intrusive way, she introduces a new style of learning the steps, as well as references her culture and background.
The clock trick allows the dancers to visualize their steps easier, facilitating practice and learning of the movement. While most dance training consists of the repetition of movements as shown by the teacher, it can be difficult to visualize how the movements translate to one’s position. However, with the clock tactic, the bearings are easier to find, therefore facilitating the dancers’ learning. However, the directions of the steps, just as their count, are merely the skeleton of the dance itself. Knowing what the moves are and how to achieve the standard shown by the professionals allows the dancers to reach enough confidence and freedom to express themselves, to show a bit of themselves.
The concept of dancing on the clock is even more interesting in the metaphorical sense. As discussed in class, dance is a live artform in the sense that instead of canvases or paints, the dance medium is the human body, an alive organism. Therefore, the dancers are always in a way dancing on the clock, meaning that they, unlike paintings or photographs, are far from timeless. The dance choreographies, however, can be passed through generations and generations, changing through the years but remaining in existence. Although the clock the dancers are using in Rujeko’s teaching is imaginary, in reality, they themselves perform outside the clocks, as each instance of the dance is unique to the particular moment. Dancing performance and practice, although exuberating at times, can be exhausting and grueling, and hence the emphasis Rujeko puts on the convenience of learning is very helpful. Without taking away from the aesthetic or expressive nature of the dance, she makes it more accessible to individuals that want to participate in this art form.
Works Cited
Dumbutshena, Rudjeko. “Five(ish) Minute Dance Lesson – African Dance: Lesson 3: Dancing on the Clock”. Youtube, uploaded by Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning, 2012, Web.
Kwak, Lisa. “Rujeko Dumbutshena; Zimbabwean, Guinea West African, and Congolese Dance.”University of Washington: Department of Dance News Archive, 2021, Web.