Dance as a Medium for Social Stability: A Case of Umuada Burial Performance

Abstract

Societal moral decadence has given rise to a lot of vices in various communities, and this has lead to instability in the society. Social instability is the bases for underdevelopment and economic backwardness in the society. It hampers and hinders every effort and opportunity for human and material development. The deplorable situation has given rise to the cry for an effective medium to stabilize the society. Dance has been suggested as an effective tool to actualize this true African dream. As a live art, dance has the flexibility to incorporate the current trends in the society in its package. A dance project can present the happenings of a society to a community and can suggest how the community ought to be. Most importantly, dance is an art form that is so involving that dancers and audience could get so encompassed in participatory communalism that differences can be shade or forgotten in the course of performances. The Umuada burial performance is a typical example of a dance performance that can be so involving that in the process, it may become a medium for social stability.