Race Dance
An interview with Soyinka Rahim
By Stell Simonton
Can dancing together improve understanding between the races? Can it bridge the gap between the generations?
Soyinka Rahim believes it can; she brought her her Race Dance project to Atlanta in mid-September.
It's a workshop developed in Oakland, Calif., a city with an active public dialog on the subject of race and which was the setting of a recent movie, "Fruitvale Station," about a police shooting of a young black man.
In Race Dance, held at Atlanta’s Mask Center, participants interact through movement and other activities to communicate their experiences in a playful but expressive way. It’s part of an organization called InterPlay, which seeks to unlock “the wisdom of the body” through movement and stories, silence and song, ease and amusement
Rahim also collaborated with Lois ‘Toni’ McClendon to lead an intergenerational workshop at Spelman College.on Sept. 15 as part of the Black Women’s Life Balance & Wellness Conference.
Q. Stell Simonton: How exactly does the Race Dance project work? What do you do in the workshop?
A: Soyinka Rahim: My intention is to support a space so that people can have meaningful conversations and share their own experience around race…
We always start InterPlay off with a basic body warm-up. We believe in play. … We can get to the root of some of the issues, whether we’re talking about racism, economics, family …. ….
We would start out with a warm-up, because once the body has moved a little the spirit opens up, the soul opens up. So we do a little simple shaking and stretching … very acceptable for all ages.
Then I like to do a meditation -- a guided appreciation meditation so that we can acknowledge those who have come before us.
And then I try to play with a little name game -- something that gets people to see each other in the room. And take that into a “walk-stop-run-follow” activity. It really allows people to walk around the room and look at each other…
W all have our own judgment about race and how it is affecting us or not affecting us.
I like to play a game using different intonations of “I’ve got a judgment about this.” “I’ve got a judgment about that …” [speaking strongly] “I really, really’ve got a judgment about that!”
That kind of lightens people up. And honors the fact that people have different experiences. Some people feel like they’re not affected at all. And I’ve got a judgment about that!
Q. SS: Can you explain further?
A. SR: Basically it’s just getting in touch with people’s understanding.
I want you to get with your partner and go back and forth and say what you know about race or racism. In relation to school, money, jobs or any other thing. …
You’re just going to say, “Oh, yeah. I know about this … from the corporate world or I know about this from my church.” But we’re not going to tell the story. .. It’s an opportunity for people to explore any stories or experiences that they’ve had personally or read about or whatever.
Q. SS: Can you give an example of something useful that comes out of the race workshops?
A. SR: …I guess what comes up for me is that it’s a platform for people who don’t have a lot of experience being in diverse communities... It’s an opportunity for people to be in the same space and share their understanding … and become more conscious about how they would approach a situation.
Q. SS: How do InterPlay activities help bridge age differences?
A. SR: There’s a certain amount of wisdom that comes from you as a child, and a certain amount of wisdom that develops as you mature. To have those two go hand-in-hand (which is also one of our InterPlay forms: contact hand-to-hand moving with each other) creates an energy that’s powerful. It allows one to honor the age difference. One may not be able to move as easily as the other!
Q. SS: How did the Race Dance project get started?
A. SR: I’m very passionate about figuring out how to create a more diverse InterPlay community. So Cynthia Winton-Henry [a founder of InterPlay] and I were always having this conversation: How do we get brown-skinned people into this movement? There were always these roadblocks.
I think InterPlay is so powerful As an African-American woman, I realize these are ancient tools. InterPlay has re-introduced movement, storytelling, vocal toning, creating sounds and chants ….
Q. SS: What is your background?
For most of my life I’ve danced with companies in the Bay Area. I've been teaching dance as long as I can remember.
I grew up in Oakland, Calif. I danced with a Congolese company, a Ghanaian dance company, a samba dance company, then I danced modern jazz. I had a scholarship at the [Alonzo King] ballet school. I wasn’t really a ballet dancer but I had an opportunity to get the training. Alonzo King, director of LINES dance company, gave me a scholarship.
Can dancing together improve understanding between the races? Can it bridge the gap between the generations?
Soyinka Rahim believes it can; she brought her her Race Dance project to Atlanta in mid-September.
It's a workshop developed in Oakland, Calif., a city with an active public dialog on the subject of race and which was the setting of a recent movie, "Fruitvale Station," about a police shooting of a young black man.
In Race Dance, held at Atlanta’s Mask Center, participants interact through movement and other activities to communicate their experiences in a playful but expressive way. It’s part of an organization called InterPlay, which seeks to unlock “the wisdom of the body” through movement and stories, silence and song, ease and amusement
Rahim also collaborated with Lois ‘Toni’ McClendon to lead an intergenerational workshop at Spelman College.on Sept. 15 as part of the Black Women’s Life Balance & Wellness Conference.
Q. Stell Simonton: How exactly does the Race Dance project work? What do you do in the workshop?
A: Soyinka Rahim: My intention is to support a space so that people can have meaningful conversations and share their own experience around race…
We always start InterPlay off with a basic body warm-up. We believe in play. … We can get to the root of some of the issues, whether we’re talking about racism, economics, family …. ….
We would start out with a warm-up, because once the body has moved a little the spirit opens up, the soul opens up. So we do a little simple shaking and stretching … very acceptable for all ages.
Then I like to do a meditation -- a guided appreciation meditation so that we can acknowledge those who have come before us.
And then I try to play with a little name game -- something that gets people to see each other in the room. And take that into a “walk-stop-run-follow” activity. It really allows people to walk around the room and look at each other…
W all have our own judgment about race and how it is affecting us or not affecting us.
I like to play a game using different intonations of “I’ve got a judgment about this.” “I’ve got a judgment about that …” [speaking strongly] “I really, really’ve got a judgment about that!”
That kind of lightens people up. And honors the fact that people have different experiences. Some people feel like they’re not affected at all. And I’ve got a judgment about that!
Q. SS: Can you explain further?
A. SR: Basically it’s just getting in touch with people’s understanding.
I want you to get with your partner and go back and forth and say what you know about race or racism. In relation to school, money, jobs or any other thing. …
You’re just going to say, “Oh, yeah. I know about this … from the corporate world or I know about this from my church.” But we’re not going to tell the story. .. It’s an opportunity for people to explore any stories or experiences that they’ve had personally or read about or whatever.
Q. SS: Can you give an example of something useful that comes out of the race workshops?
A. SR: …I guess what comes up for me is that it’s a platform for people who don’t have a lot of experience being in diverse communities... It’s an opportunity for people to be in the same space and share their understanding … and become more conscious about how they would approach a situation.
Q. SS: How do InterPlay activities help bridge age differences?
A. SR: There’s a certain amount of wisdom that comes from you as a child, and a certain amount of wisdom that develops as you mature. To have those two go hand-in-hand (which is also one of our InterPlay forms: contact hand-to-hand moving with each other) creates an energy that’s powerful. It allows one to honor the age difference. One may not be able to move as easily as the other!
Q. SS: How did the Race Dance project get started?
A. SR: I’m very passionate about figuring out how to create a more diverse InterPlay community. So Cynthia Winton-Henry [a founder of InterPlay] and I were always having this conversation: How do we get brown-skinned people into this movement? There were always these roadblocks.
I think InterPlay is so powerful As an African-American woman, I realize these are ancient tools. InterPlay has re-introduced movement, storytelling, vocal toning, creating sounds and chants ….
Q. SS: What is your background?
For most of my life I’ve danced with companies in the Bay Area. I've been teaching dance as long as I can remember.
I grew up in Oakland, Calif. I danced with a Congolese company, a Ghanaian dance company, a samba dance company, then I danced modern jazz. I had a scholarship at the [Alonzo King] ballet school. I wasn’t really a ballet dancer but I had an opportunity to get the training. Alonzo King, director of LINES dance company, gave me a scholarship.