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African/Caribbean cultural expression has significantly contributed to and impacted the development of contemporary British culture. Reggae/dancehall culture has shaped the entertainment place/space through its ‘sound systems’, developed in Jamaica from the 1950s as ‘mobile [music] outfits playing recorded music’ (Veal 2007: 75), and its dance and performatization (Patten 2022), meaning the behavioural actions of its participants. Yet, use of reggae/dancehall cultural expression raises many issues to do with place, space, and the role of dance, both within and outside of the social and ‘ritual’ contexts it emerges from, especially employed purely for its aesthetic value (Öztürkmen 2005). Reflected in the above quote, this chapter presents a qualitative ethnographic exploration into reggae/dancehall and its spiritual embodiment, whilst offering a reflexive performance focused reimagining of participatory fieldwork methods. It therefore outlines the theological and dance studies approaches developed in exploring the African worldviews and spiritual functioning of reggae/dancehall in Jamaica (Patten 2022) and the methods adopted and adapted in my current investigation into the genre's function and evolution in Britain.
Keywords: African/Caribbean cultural expression ; ancestral knowledge communication ; Black body politics ; contemporary British culture ; corporeal dancing body ; cultural memory ; dance and performatization ; embodied corporeal resistance ; ritual ; spirituality and dancehall
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https://doi.org/10.1386/9781835950579_18 Published content will be available immediately after check-out or when it is released in case of a pre-order. Please make sure to be logged in to see all available purchase options.