I loved this article. The beginning sections were interesting and highly informative, speaking of the background and performance ritual of the Whitman sister. It was like reading a story about amazing pioneer women. Once the article began to talk about the way they dealt with race politics I was enthralled. I could not believe that something so advanced and brave went on during such a stagnant time and I did not know about it. I felt the article not only gave me a sense of what happened but also how it happened and what it meant when it did happen.
I also found it interesting that once again the theme of protection through dance appeared. In the first few weeks we talked about Krumping with Tommy the Clown and how he provided a form of protection and instilled a code of ethics onto all of his dancers. There is a clear parallel between the two as if one were a dancer with the Whitman Sister one would be kept safe and kept in line morally. As the article quoted: "Any mother could tell you that if your daughter was with the Whitman Sisters, she was safe."
Not only did the sisters provide security through their troupe but they also changed the political playing field. The sisters made it very clear (according to the article) that they would not be treated any differently because of their race or gender. They even were able to change certain civil codes so that their black audience were able to sit in chairs at their shows. They also questioned their audience's views of race and gender when they played with they played with skin tone and gender. Once the audience discovered that it had infact been a white woman doing a black dance and a black woman doing a white dance I am sure people were completely shocked. I am sure that if their act were set twenty years later, they would have made people redefine and rethink their whole "what is black dance?" stance. I believe the work that they did was revolutionary and inspiring.
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