Kykunkor, or the Witch Woman

This article provided a fascinating description of Asadata Dafora's "Kykunkor, or the Witch Woman". This was the first opera performed in the US with authentic African dances and music, in African languages, and by a mainly African-born cast. The description of the opera gave me a sense of traditional African culture, dance and spirituality.
Several parts of Needham's article struck me as being particularly interesting. I was surprised by the claim that Asadata Dafora was "virtually forgotten". From what we have studied in class, Dafora seems to be a very important figure in the history of Black dance in the US. I was also intrigued to learn that Dafora's company gained a wide audience for the first time by performing at a Communist Party production.
Needham's article focuses on the critical reception of Dafora's opera. When he pitched his idea, it was derided as "too highbrow" because he wanted to show authentic African dance and music, not stereotypical "black" entertainment. The dance was unlike Western opera in that it incorporated polyrhythm, polycentrism, aesthetic of the cool, and dancers that weren't perfectly synchronized. Critics didn't accept it as opera because it focused more on dance than on music, and because it didn't fit into traditional Western notions of opera. It was, however, a huge commercial success, and had a large impact on American musical theater. It helped to legitimize black dancers, and provided inspiration to people like Gershwin.
Martin Breu
Dance 163