Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
This is the podcast for us dance teachers balancing our teaching job with other jobs, commitments, and just life in general! We don't need to know how to run the whole studio, work with students 20+ hours a week, or win big at competitions; we just want practical advice and real conversations about how to be the best dance teachers we can be with the little time we have with our students. Join Maia on the casual dance teacher's podcast and in the casual dance teacher's network on Facebook.
Maia
Welcome to the Casual Dance Teacher's Podcast, brought to you by CasualDanceTeacher.com. I'm your host, Maia. No matter who, what, or when you teach, I'm here to share all my best tips and tools, along with real and practical conversations with fellow dance educators, to help you be the very best dance teacher you can be. Let's talk about it.
Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for being here. Today's episode is on a topic that I've been wanting to do since season one of the podcast, so I'm thrilled to finally be getting at least a start on talking about African dance today.
I'm sure most of you know that African dance can encompass so many different styles, and there's so many different topics that we could cover just within the world of African dance, but today is going to be a fantastic start to opening up that conversation. I have an amazing guest here today to share with us, Audrey Davis Dunning. Audrey is the founder of Get Your Goddess, a women's empowerment organization designed to amplify women to the next level.
By combining her loves of African dance and personal development, Audrey has helped transform women of all ages into empowered goddesses destined for greatness. Having received her master's from Cornell University, Audrey has gone on to mentor and advise hundreds of women in their personal journey to success and fulfillment as a college professor and academic advisor. Audrey served as the artistic director of the Iwelewa Heritage Dance Ensemble and has performed at various venues, including the George Street Playhouse, PNC Art Center, Channel 9 News, and is the opening performer and panelist at the Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Investors Annual Conference.
As an NJPAC teaching artist, she has also done dance residencies at various school districts. Audrey's latest venture stems from her passion and experience for both African dance studies and the rich art and history of African culture. These passions helped Audrey birth her twins, her book Kutcheza, The Basics, Beauty, and Power of African Dance, and her Kutcheza online African dance course.
And if you think that that's a lot of things that Audrey has accomplished and offers and wanted to share before we even start the conversation, that is actually a very pared down version of Audrey's bio. She is an incredible artist and mentor and has so many accolades under her belt. So let's turn the conversation over to Audrey. Audrey, thank you so much for being here.
Audrey
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited.
Maia
I'm really excited as well. I've had the opportunity to read a little bit about your background. And for the show, I just did a very short bio for you to kind of introduce.
But there's a lot more that I want to hear in your words about your background. So can we start with that? I'm really most curious about the path that kind of led you to this African dance goddess identity, how that formed in you and how that or what led you to want to share that with others?
Audrey
Oh, yes. Well, first of all, I believe that all women are goddesses. All women are goddesses. That's my premise from the jump. I actually have a business. My business is called Get Your Goddess because I believe that it's our mandate as women to get our goddess every day because, you know, there are things that pick away at our goddess energy. You know, sometimes it's the self-talk we do, the messages we get from family, society, you name it. So part of getting your goddess for me is African dance.
African dance, African dance. And it's a transformation tool that I use in helping women get their goddess. So then as time evolved, people just started referring to me as the African dance goddess. And I got to tell you, I love it. I love it. Yes. African dance is my primary way of getting my goddess because like everybody else, I have to get my goddess every day, every day. Okay. Yeah.
Maia
So what was your background in learning African dance?
Audrey
Wow. It's so funny. I was always dancing. I really started dancing seriously and exclusively at age 13, which is kind of late in the dance world. But it was what I like to refer to as the summer of heartbreak that brought me to African dance. I had a major breakup and I was all bummed out.
And a friend of mine was like, you know what, enough of this, enough of this. And they dragged me to an African dance class. I mean, a traditional West African dance class with live drums and you walk in and people are wearing lapas, all these colorful, beautiful fabric.
And that literally not only lifted my funk, it changed my life and the direction of my dance. I no longer did jazz. I no longer did modern.
I was just like focused exclusively on African dance. And that was it for me from that day forward.
Maia
That's so beautiful. And I think I can kind of relate that I was trained in more of the Western styles of dance and that I learned a bit about African dance later in life. I think there's definitely a mental reset that you have to do with African dance to be able to get into the spirit of it. And I'm really curious when you're teaching African dance, what's the balance? How do you find the balance for new students between learning technical aspects of it and just embracing that element of finding your inner goddess through it?
Audrey
That's a great question. One of the first things I kind of address is the fact that, you know, women tend to be very self-conscious about how they look and how they appear. So the first thing I have to let them think about is stop looking in the mirror thinking about what you're doing and how you look compared to this one. That's not what this is.
That's not what this is. This is about you connecting to your body. It's about you doing what works for you.
So I start with let's get that burial out of the way. And then second, I talk about it as a treat for your body, your mind, and your soul. I call African dance the ultimate me time because you can release, you can get in tune with the rhythm.
That's what I want them to focus on, the rhythm, the joy, and all the wonderful things that are happening in the class. Because in African dance class, not only are you learning steps, there's protocol that I'm teaching. Because there's very specific protocol for African dance class.
I'm, of course, teaching them history, the culture, the context in which that dance is done. So because I tell them you have to bring the right energy to this particular dance. So then they start leaning into that information, and they start forgetting about whether I look this way, that way, and all of those things.
And I got to tell you, one of my favorite, favorite outcomes of diving deep into African dance is how it freed my mind about my body. I no longer was obsessed with how my body looked. I was more in gratitude for what my body could do.
It could twirl, it could jump, it could do these phenomenal steps. And talk about a mental reset. How freeing is that for women? You know how much women are unbonded about stuff like that? So when you go to an African dance performance, and you see every size woman, every age woman up there on that stage, killing it, you can see yourself and realize that there's space for you.
Maia
I love that. This is bringing up another question in the moment, and I'm not sure if I'm going to word this eloquently at all, but as you're saying this about how you're teaching, it sounds like really in the angle of empowering women. Is African dance typically taught differently to men versus women?
Audrey
I wouldn't say taught differently to men versus women. Most of my students are women, as I like to call them, good and grown women. The good and grown women, which is absolutely delicious, because it really helps them do that reset as their body changes and its functionality and the way it looks. So it's the perfect reset.
Now, when I do have men in my class, and I do have men in my class, I don't alter my teaching per se, and my message is still the message. And they get it too, because men go through their own stuff too. They have their own mental things as well.
So I can honestly tell you I've never had any men say, you know, that didn't feel right to me. I didn't like what you said or anything like that. And even when I'm doing like, say, for instance, courtship dances, because there's different types of African dances.
So courtship dances where there's very flirty movements and things like that. I have a wide enough dance vocabulary where I can adopt a step for the men, where they don't necessarily have to do the hip twist or something like that. So that makes them feel super comfortable, and it works, totally works.
Maia
Okay, fantastic. And another question that came up for me with that is the specific protocol of African dance. I'm sure you could do a whole session just about that. But can I just dig a little bit deeper on that? Maybe an example of how you go about teaching that?
Audrey
Yes. So my favorite part of the African dance class, and it soon becomes their favorite as well, is the African dance circle, the Bantaba. That usually happens at the end of an African dance class, where we literally form a circle, and the circle has to include the drummers, right? And then every student, and I mean every student, has an opportunity to go in the middle of the Bantaba and do the favorite step of the day, or maybe another dance they learned before.
And I let them know, I free them that, listen, everybody has a plan about what you're going to do when you go in the bantaba. But once you get in there, that plan might go poof, but anything you do is right. So I free them, I already put that out there.
So some of the protocol in the Bantaba is, at some point, you have to look at the drummers and face the drummers. So if you went into the banzibar, the African dance circle, and the whole time your back was to the drummer, that would be considered disrespectful protocol. At some point, you have to face them, because it's a sharing of energy.
It's a drummer's drum, you know, expending energy. They're lifting the vibe in the room. They're providing the music for you.
So it's an acknowledgement. But then you can dance off with the other dance sisters. That's fine.
But you have to at least acknowledge them. So that's one example.
Maia
Yes. Okay. I have so many questions that I totally did not prep you for. So just go on the journey with me here, or you can be like, no, stop.
Audrey
It's fine. It's fine. Let's go.
Maia
But so as I mentioned, I have primarily taught ballet and modern dance classes. That's my background for the most part. But there are elements of African dance that like the Bantaba at the end, the sharing of energy, I feel like is often lost, especially in ballet classes.
So I do like to bring in like, hey, let's make a circle. Let's leave room for improvisation and letting you do things, you know, off the top of your head without feeling so uptight. So I'm curious if you have any other examples of things that you think that teachers, maybe even in other genres, like if they're not an African dance teacher, but whatever you're teaching that you should borrow from the culture of African dance.
Audrey
Well, I think this, the protocol of African dance has a lot of good lessons that can apply for everyone. Really making sure that people understand the culture of the dance, the context in which it's done. What is the adornment that is worn for that dance and why? Right? You go to an African dance performance, the adornment is very full as opposed to, juxtaposed to ballet, which, you know, your hair has to be back and, you know, it's a little bit more rigid.
In African dance, we're wearing jewelry, we're wearing multiple belts, we're wearing cowrie shells. Why? And what do the colors mean? So filling in all of that gaps because everyone is going to have a richer experience when they understand how the movement relates to the music, the culture, the history, the adornment, and how it all ties together to preserve a very rich tradition. Because, again, going back to my statement about energy, the energy you bring to the dance will be more va-va-va-voom when you really understand, oh, I'm doing a warrior dance now.
So I got to come a little different than, oh, I'm doing a courtship dance where it's flirtatious. And that's a different energy. So having that knowledge as a backdrop, as a reference, will inform your dance and make you a better dancer.
Maia
Amen. Now I'm going to kind of ask you about the flip side of that, which is within African dance. Are there any things that you've seen in African dance classes that you think are maybe the wrong approach? Are there any things that you've seen that don't do justice to that full picture and culture of African dance?
Audrey
Well, you know, every dance teacher has their own style and their own training. I was blessed to be mentored and have as my primary African dance teacher, Yewande Kelly Johnson. She's no longer with us. May she rest in peace.
But under her tutelage, she had a very welcoming energy. She had a very inclusive energy. And the highest, highest, highest compliment that I received from a student, because the way they put it, I've received this feedback consistently, but the way this student put it just melted my heart.
She said if she was a first time student, one of my good and grown goddesses, and she finally came to class, you know, a little reluctantly because, you know, and when she was sharing her experience, she said, you know what? You have a practice of radical welcome. I said, what? She said, you have a practice of radical welcome. She said everybody in that class felt seen, whether they were experienced, whether they had two left feet, whether they were young, whether they were men, whether she said it was just so beautiful to watch.
So that practice, which I got from my mentor, is one of the things that is super important because African dance can be intimidating to folks, right? Sometimes people think, okay, I need a dance degree, six months of cardio and a passport to even jump in the room, right? To create a space, a safe space, a radical welcome, what you have is perfect, okay? You haven't danced in 10 years, that's perfect. You're good and grow, that's perfect. You were a little baby, you were a teenager, that's perfect too.
You're a man, that's perfect. There's a space for everybody here. So that's my biggest come from because radical welcome is the first step to success because if people don't feel seen, they don't feel safe, they feel intimidated, it's going to be a bad experience.
And then how does the tradition continue? It won't.
Maia
Oh, that's awesome. That answers both questions, right? Like any teacher in any genre can do that.
And also within West African, that's the first step. So thank you so much for that. This next one, I'm going to just read right off my phone because I want to make sure that I quote you correctly because I just pulled this off your website and wanting to learn more from you about it.
So it says, "elevate your energy, enhance your life and unleash your inner power with African dance." So there's a lot there, but I guess we'll just go one at a time with elevate your energy. Can you maybe give some examples of how you help people elevate their energy through African dance?
Audrey
Yes. Well, you know, as a dance teacher, when you move your body, when you breathe deeply, it changes your energy. It elevates your energy. So a lot of my students, my good and grown goddesses, when they walk into the room, they're carrying the day with them, the work, the responsibilities, the kids, the I just ran through the cafe to get here or whatever the case may be.
And they may not be coming in high energy, but by the time they leave between the movement, what I'm sharing with them, my encouragement, my reminding them how fabulous and wonderful and goddess like they are, all of that raises their energy. And I know it does because they leave and they're like, I needed that. I feel like I could run around the block now.
So they, this is not something I have to guess about. This is the feedback I get not only from them, but guess what? It happens for me too. It happens for me too.
It happens. I say the minute I put on my Lapa, the Lapa is the traditional skirt that we wear when we're dancing. The minute I put on my Lapa, that's like my super cape.
No matter how tired I am, just going through the motions of tying my Lapa in the traditional way, it just like dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. I love it. It's that sharing of energy.
Maia
That's amazing.
Audrey
And then the drum, let's not forget the drum. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you.
Maia
Yeah, talk about that actually.
Audrey
The drum, that rhythm. because I traditionally teach with live drummers, live drummers. There's nothing like it, nothing like it. And even if I'm really tired that day, when I come in, the first conversation I have is with my drummer, which I always talk to them first, because the relationship between the dancer and the drummer has to be like this, has to be like that. I'm crossing my, interwinding my fingers, folks, since you can't see me, has to be like this.
So if I'm really dragging, or maybe I'm feeling a little sick or something, I'd be like, okay, I'm gonna need you to really have that rhythm right for me, I'm gonna have to ride that rhythm today. And so all I have to say, all I have to do is say, I need to ride that rhythm today, they know, okay, she may not feel a hundred percent, so I'm gonna make the music even sweeter, I'm gonna maybe hit that bass hard. They know what to do, because that's healing too, the music is healing, it's medicine.
And then they got me, my drummers are exceptional. So I just, one sentence, because of the communication, the history, they know what to do. Boom.
Maia
That's incredible. Yeah, and actually, I'm so glad that we took a second to talk about that. First of all, just the live music in general, and the interconnectedness of African dance and the drumming and rhythm, I feel like is its own special magic.
And I definitely do want to hear if you have any specific stories, it sounds like just in your own life, if you don't mind sharing, or maybe anecdotes you've heard from students of yours about how this has enhanced their life outside of the classroom as well.
Audrey
Oh, I always say African dance is a tool of transformation. It's a transformation tool.
So even in my life, right, if I have big meetings, where I might be feeling like a little uh, I will duck into the bathroom, do some of my warrior steps, like there's certain dances, certain moves that I do. And then when I go into that meeting, boom, it's mine. What are we talking about? Let's go.
Because it really shifts your energy. So I practically use it for myself to enhance my feeling of inner power and confidence. So I definitely use it in that way.
And then one of my good and grown goddesses had shared with me that for years, getting dressed and things like that she'd only look here from the face up. She wouldn't look at her body. She wouldn't look at her body, you know, disconnected, all the messaging, all the, you know, changes in life.
But getting into the goddess community, doing the African dance, she said with tears streaming down her face, tears streaming down her face, I look at my body in the mirror now. I look at my body in the mirror now. Priceless, priceless, priceless.
And then, and I'll just say this because of course my mind is racing. The things I witnessed in my class, sometimes you'll see a woman who comes in so timid, so, you know, not sure and kind of playing in the back. And by the time we get to the bata ba, she is taking center and she's doing it in a way like everybody look at me.
I am taking up space. I am here. And it's like to see what can happen in an hour, hour and a half.
And you could, you could see it. She doesn't have to say it. You can see it by the way she's moving, by the way she's taking up space. It's like, okay.
Maia
Yeah. I love when we have those breakthroughs with students. And I think one thing that I pulled from what you're saying that is often lacking in other styles is understanding the communication behind the movement. And that does make it so much easier to apply what we're learning in the classroom in other areas of life. So yeah, I can see every teacher benefit from trying to implement that in their own classroom.
Audrey
Yeah. The other thing that my students really like, and again, I'm talking about from the teens to the good and grown ladies, I refer to all of them as my dance sisters. And my rule is, and I say this at the beginning of the class, because again, I set the tone.
And I said, hello, I, you know, I introduced myself. And of course I had them introduce each other. And I said, look around at each other.
You guys are now dance sisters. My rule is you dance with me once we are dance sisters for life. And then I refer to them as dance sisters consistently when I text them, when I email them.
And you know, when I see them, hey, dance sister, hey. So the community, the community, because sometimes a dance class is a person's only safe space, you know, because life can be very complicated, you know. So I love fostering that.
Maia
Yeah. Thank you for doing that. Now we're getting to wrap up time, but I really wanted to ask you about this too, before we wrap up. Can you tell me a little bit about your book?
Audrey
Yes, my book, Kucheza, The Basics, Beauty and Power of African Dance. Yes, it's a perfect introductory book for those who are curious about African dance. People love it because it's an easy read.
It has a glossary in the back. And this book, the whole purpose is for people to understand that African dance isn't just a collection of steps, you know, and the steps are cool, and the steps are funky, and the steps are everything, but there's also a history, there's a culture, there's a tradition. And I talk about how African dance can heal you.
I also tell some funny African dance stories in here, you know, that has happened during performances. And of course, I talk about my mentor, Yewande Kelly Johnson. But I've gotten tremendous feedback on the book. And yes, I hope people check it out, because you will learn, learn, learn a lot.
Maia
Okay, perfect segue. So now I'm just going to ask you more generally for those listening that want to learn more, if they want to get your book, if they want to follow Get Your Goddess, or any of the other things that you're doing, what's the best way for folks to connect with you and learn more?
Audrey
Well, the best way, my favorite way for you guys to learn more about me is to join me on my free monthly African Joy online African dance class.
The 17th of every month, whether the 17th falls on a Monday, a Saturday, a Sunday, a Wednesday, the 17th of every month, my class is literally called African Joy, because I'm about that joy, African Joy. And from 7:30 to 8:30 Eastern Standard Time, I do a free African dance class, I call it my kiss to the community, because it's a way for everybody to get some of this deliciousness of African dance. You don't have to leave your house, you don't have to reach in your pocket and pay a dime.
All you have to do is log on right from the comfort of your home. And people really enjoy it. So the way you register for that class, you go to my website, getyourgoddess.com, because you got to get your goddess, getyourgoddess.com. And you can register for the African Joy class.
It occurs the 17th of every month from 7:30 to 8:30. And also on the website, you can get my book in an e-version, or if you want the hard copy, you can get it at Amazon as well. And kucheza, just as a point of information, kucheza is a Swahili word that means play, dance, flirt.
And that's the kind of energy I want people to approach African dancers with a playful, joyful, let's have a good time approach.
Maia
Oh, amazing. I didn't even catch that you had a free class on your website. So thank you so much for offering that. That's awesome.
Audrey
Yes, I love it. I love it. And people come and they dance, men and women. And because it's online, I have students from all over the globe as well.
And we just have a good time. And sometimes if people are rushing in, they didn't even have a chance to change to the African dance school, they're still online. And sometimes people are just there for the vibes and the music.
It's like whatever feeds your spirit, just come and experience it. Just come and experience it.
Maia
Oh, yay. Okay. I will be sure to share that. Awesome.
Well, I have one final question. But first, just because there's so much that we covered here, is there anything else that you want to add that we haven't gotten to yet that you just want to throw in before we wrap things up?
Audrey
My favorite line, African dance will give you life.
I say that all the time. It will give you life because it feeds you physically. It feeds your body physically. It fills your spirit. It fills your soul. It resets you mentally. It puts you in a community of marvelous people. It is life changing and you feel more powerful and unstoppable. And it shows.
Maia
Hey, this is Maia wrapping things up for today's episode.
Another huge thanks to Audrey for sharing. And also, as I'm recording this little closer to the show, I actually since had the chance to take Audrey's online class and oh my goodness, it was so fun. Definitely checked all the boxes of everything that Audrey talked about with feeling very comfortable feeling like a sisterhood welcoming, inspiring, powerful.
It was such a wonderful experience. And I'd really encourage everyone to join me in taking that class again in the future. If you need a refresher on where to find that I will link Audrey's website in the show notes for the episode.
And you can always go to casual dance teacher.com to find all of our episodes, transcripts, more information, resources, etc, etc, etc. If you also would prefer to connect on social media, you can find us at the casual dance teacher on Instagram or in the casual dance teachers network on Facebook. And of course, as always, I have to ask a little favor of you to please leave a review wherever you're listening to the podcast to help us connect with other goddesses around the world.
With that, thank you and I'll see you next time.