Yoruba Dance: Semiotics of Movement and Body Language in Nigerian Culture | Traditional African Dance Performance & Cultural Studies

Not an easy read, but interesting to be immersed into the Yoruba culture and follow through some of the festivities and ritualistic patterns attributed to the various deities/orishas. That said, this is not a "how to" book, but rather an ethnological study, to given the reader an understanding of what an African dance from that region is like, and what it means, without which it is impossible to grasp the dancing culture of that part of Africa or any other part of the world. We read about the holidays for various Orishas and how they are celebrated. But you should understand that reading about the dance and seeing it are not related to each other. One has to see the movements and listen to the music and get into it, in order to derive an aesthetical pleasure from it and thus "get it" as dancing is about enjoyment, so I urge to find the videos and look at this beautiful culture with the fresh eyes and perhaps even try to emulate it in your own dance aesthetic.This is a serious book for practitioners who want to know about festivals and the impotance of dance in the Yoruba culture.