Dancing and the Stance: Mapping a Creative Practice in African Dance-Drama

Abstract

This article documents ‘Funmi Adewole Elliott's Practice as Research project into her solo performance practice which is derived from African dance-drama. Her aim is to develop the theoretical context of her practice. Using methods proposed by Robin Nelson, Linda Candy and Ernest Edmonds, her project focuses on the making of a short solo performance The Blind Side (2022). Through analysis of The Blind Side, Adewole Elliott describes how she utilises conventions of African storytelling and Neotraditional Creative Dance to create the performance piece and locate its discursive context. The project opens up a space of ‘know-what’ for her practice leading her to form three lines of inquiry; the conceptual-cultural domain in African dance-drama, the physical dramaturgy of the storyteller and what physical dramaturgy can offer Neotraditional Creative Dance practice.