Elina Seye - Performing a Tradition in Music and Dance

Elina Seye - Performing a Tradition in Music and Dance cover

Embodiment and Interaction in Sabar Dance Events

The sabar tradition, the traditional dances and rhythms of the Wolof people, are until today a central element of various celebrations in Senegal. This book is an ethnographic study of sabar dance events, social occasions where dance and music are the primary forms of expression. Sabar events are approached here as performances, as constructions of the sabar tradition and as particular sites where social roles and relationships are embodied through performative actions. The study demonstrates how dance and music intertwine in the improvised interactions of sabar events, and how the aesthetics of the sabar tradition is connected to wider socio-cultural values.