Dance in Suriname
Suriname has a variety of traditional and contemporary dance styles which have developed from the cultures of its ethnic groups.
In addition, several foreign popular styles have been adopted from the West, the greater Caribbean, Java and Bollywood.
Young Caribs in eastern Suriname came under the influence of the French-Antillean cadence rampa, while the Arawaks switched almost entirely to kawina music.
Due to a shortage of women, the Maroons remained in contact with the Creoles on the plantations, so the two cultures did not grow far apart.
Since the abolition of slavery, a trend of migration to the capital from the plantations and the interior of the country began and continued until the beginning of the 21st century.
An example of an indigenous element is the style of dancing while bending knees for indji-winti (also ingi-winti),[4] the entertaining winti gods who make pranks, obscene jokes and charades.
[5] Several original Winti dances also developed, such as the sekete among the Saramaka, and the awasa and songé among the Aukan, in which the dancers also make music by shaking instruments attached to their ankles.
The ancient dance was performed primarily by dancers and, because of its beauty, was sometimes permitted and attended by plantation owners.
In it, regular characters acted as the Sisi (ceremonial leader), Aflaw (fainting lady) and the Datra (doctor).
Other forms of dance and drama included the susa, which was performed mainly by men, and the kangas, which is a collection of children's games and movements to music that have African origins.
[4] During funeral rites, the dragemans (pallbearers) perform mock marches, which are similar to dance steps.
[7][8][9] Chinese were the first group of contract laborers to enter Suriname to solve the shortage of workers resulting from the abolition of slavery.
The ceremony is traditionally meant to scare away evil spirits and is performed by Chinese worldwide during nearly all special festivals.
From the desire of Indo-Surinamese youth to dance and have fun, rather than listen to moralistic baithak gana, the 20th century saw an increasing interest in Bollywood films.
Leading Surinamese dancers in this genre are Evita Issa,[18] Namita Bhaggoe-Ajodhia[19] and Sieske Rama,[20] and it is generally performed by Indo-Surinamese.
[22] From the Dutch East Indies, Javanese people brought the horse dance Jaran Kepang.
There were also styles that had their own further development in Suriname,[24] including the set-dansi (related to the quadrille)[25] by artists such as Jopie Vrieze and George Schermacher.
