DANCING IDENTITIES OR THE INTRICACIES UNDERPINNING DANCE COMMODIFICATION IN BUJUMBURA CITY1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71105/Keywords:
Bujumbura city, Burundian culture, traditional dance clubs, dance commodification, identities.Abstract
This article explores the intricacies underpinning the market negotiation in traditional dance commodification in Bujumbura city. With the traditional dance club proliferation, clubs adopt strategies in the competitive search of the maximum of customers. The gaol of this article is to understand the strategies adopted by traditional dance clubs to attract and keep the consumers of their products. The main focus is on how club members organise to produce attractive songs and dances, what makes the performances unique, and how they adapt the contents to the identities of their customers. Eleven members of six of the traditional dance clubs operating in Bujumbura city participated in this research. A qualitative approach was adopted and an ethnographic method applied to investigate the mechanisms under study. Findings reveal that, besides strategic geographic positioning, most of the investigated dance clubs start with song-writing before performances. The meticulousness used in the formulation of the messages conveyed through the words and gestures of the performances takes precedence over everything to reach all the possible customers in their different identities. Several choreographic techniques are applied, a range of traditional instruments and clothing used to attract customers.
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