Dancing Funga Alafia: A West African Welcome Dance with Nondi Wontanara
From Kennedy Center: Teaching Artists Present · 2020
14 min1st2nd3rd4th5thDanceMusic
Summary
The group Nondi Wontanara teaches Funga Alafia, a West African welcome dance, together with its drum rhythm. Part of the Kennedy Center's Teaching Artists Present series — clear a safe space and have students dance along with the teaching artist.
Viewer safety
All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
This class gives students a full-body dance experience.
- Which movement felt easiest, and which was the hardest?
- How did the music or rhythm change the way you moved?
- What is one step you could teach a friend?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: locomotor (traveling) movement, non-locomotor (in-place) movement, rhythm, phrase.
Try it: Dance along, then invent a short movement phrase with a beginning, middle, and end and show it to a partner.