UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Student Experiences of "Soul Healing" in Music and Dance Performance Courses at The University of California, Los Angeles Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4bh793tw Author Rann, Lara Diane Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Student Experiences of Soul Healing in Music and Dance Performance Courses at The University of California, Los Angeles A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology by Lara Diane Rann 2015 Copyright by Lara Diane Rann 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Student Experiences of Soul Healing in Music and Dance Performance Courses at The University of California, Los Angeles by Lara Diane Rann Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor Cheryl L. Keyes, Chair This dissertation illuminates students’ experiences of “soul healing” through the cultivation of spirituality, self-love/ self-knowledge, mentorship, and community in the context of two UCLA courses: the Music and Dance of Ghana World Music Performance Ensemble, taught by master drummer Kobla Ladzekpo of the Anlo-Ewe ethnic group in Ghana, West Africa, and “Advanced Hip Hop,” taught by “street dance” pioneer and choreographer Rennie Harris, of Philadelphia, PA. My definition of soul healing is inspired by historian Bernice Johnson Reagon’s conviction that many African American music traditions were conceived and carried out for the purpose of treating the wounds left by “soul murder,” a phenomenon that historian Nell Irvin Painter characterizes as the collective trauma that resulted from the trans- Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath. Drawing upon philosopher Arnold Van Gennep’s theory of rites of passage and anthropologist Victor Turner’s ensuing conceptualization of liminality, I conclude that the courses explored in this dissertation create the circumstance for a transitioning into adulthood that empowers students to healthfully matriculate through the university while ii they heal mentally and physically from challenges faced before and during college. My qualitative research, based upon five years of participant observation, advances our understanding of the significance of ethnomusicology pioneer Mantle Hood’s theory of bi- musicality and the role of performance ensembles in current world music pedagogy, while also prompting a renewed appreciation for the presence of African and “African descended” music and dance instruction in higher education. This study contributes to the disciplines of African American studies, African musicology, dance studies, dance and movement therapy, education, and anthropology, while adding more specifically to the fields of cultural studies and ethnomusicology. iii The dissertation of Lara Diane Rann is approved. Anthony Seeger Jacqueline C. DjeDje Steven Loza Edith Omwami Cheryl L. Keyes, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2015 iv DEDICATION To Aurelia Joy v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii Vita x INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: Review of the Literature 9 CHAPTER TWO: Soul Healing in The UCLA Music and Dance of Ghana World Music Performance Ensemble 63 CHAPTER THREE: Soul Healing in “House” 103 CHAPTER FOUR: Bringing It All Together 131 Conclusion 168 Appendix A: Survey, “Healing in Music and Dance of Ghana” 173 Appendix B: Survey, “Healing in House: Advanced Hip Hop, Spring 2012” 175 Interviews 177 References 178 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you God! Thank you to my family. Thank you to my daughter, my parents, Dr. Emery L. Rann, Jr. and Dr. Flossie Foxx Rann, to Jonathan, Little Flossie, Emery III, and to my grandparents, my godmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and extended family for your love and guidance throughout the years. Thank you also to the Memorial Presbyterian Church family for your prayers and encouragement. I give thanks for my L.A. family, cousins Brian Watt and Hollis Paysour, and to A Church That Studies and Agape International Spiritual Center. Thank you to my beloved teachers, Rev. Michael and Dr. Rickie. Special thanks to Rev. Dr. Metoyer, Dr. La’Tonya Reese-Miles, Dr. Barbara Drucker, and to Dr. Ric Alviso for hiring me as a professional on this path. Thank you also to the families who provided lodging and care during my travels as a graduate student in Egypt, Brazil, and Senegal. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Amos Burns and family, Ms. Jean Simmons and family, Ms. Donna Armstrong and family, Ms. Ty-Juana Taylor, Isaac, and to my daughter’s caregivers, who made it possible for me to continue on this journey as a parenting student. I would further like to acknowledge my loved ones and great mentors that passed on during this process, including Mr. Franklin and Mrs. Bettye McCain, Mr. Carl and Mrs. Lottie Foxx, Mrs. Jacqueline Morris Brooks, Ms. Indira Love, Mr. Jeffory Alexander, Dr. Teshome Gabriel, Dr. Mable McLean, Dr. Spurgeon Webber, Mrs. Beucenia Dodd, General Black, Omo Ogun, DJ Frankie Knuckles, Marjory Smarth, Francisco Aguabella, Gerald Wilson, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston. Rest In Power! vii Kudos and cheers to the teachers who inspired this dissertation: Professor Kobla Ladzekpo, Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole, and Rennie Harris. Thank you for encouraging my love of song and for bringing the dancer out in me. Thank you also to the World Stage for nurturing my talents and to the community of Leimert Park for providing a space for me to hone my skills. Special acknowledgments also to DJ Black Diamond, for furnishing the soundtrack to my writing, “The Jill Scott Deep House Experience.” I would like to recognize UCLA’s Graduate Division for funding me over the years through the Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship, Graduate Research Mentorship, Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, Quality of Graduate Education grant, and the UC Diversity Initiative for Graduate Study in the Social Sciences at UCLA, as well as the Department of Ethnomusicology for granting me the Wise Scholarship. Thank you also to my support team of UCLA staff and faculty: Dr. Christine Wilson, Dr. Valerie Shepard, and Dr. Renee’ Hudson of the Graduate Student Resource Center, Dr. John Taborn, Dr. Heather Tarleton, Dr. Nicole Green, Dr. Richard Yarborough, Peter Sellars, Vusisizwe Azania, and Mia Watson. Many thanks to the Association for Black Women in Higher Education, UCLA Students with Dependents, and University Village, and to “Move and Shake: Academic Women Connecting in the Journey,” a virtual community powered by InSight Initiative, Inc. for helping me navigate the last leg of this journey. Regards to my sisters in song, Regina M. Sewell and Marisa MacFarlane, for your unconditional friendship, and to my “saints in the struggle,” who labored with me: Dr. Nataria Joseph, Dr. Natasha Rivers, Dr. Tammara Massey, Dr. Portia Jackson, Kimberly Townes, Iyabo Rumarai, Charmon Swaringer and family, Dr. Tisha Holmes, Dr. Birgitta Johnson, Dr. Dalena Hunter, Dr. Chinyere Osuji, Dr. Jelani Hamm, Leticia Soto, Yong Ha Jeong, Dr. Brigita Sebald, viii Farzad Amoozegar, Wade Dean, Larry Robinson, Rose Boomsma, Deonte Harris, Dr. Mekeila Cook, Dr. Guadalupe Escobar, Dr. Gwendolyn Rivera, Shamell Bell, Tameka Gilbert, Dr. Jessie Vallejo, and Dr. Alexandro Hernandez. Much love also to my “home team:” Ebonee’, Brandi, Carla, Andrea, Stanley, Bernadette, Ace, India, DeLano, and Aisha! Shout outs to Ms. Sandra McKerroll, Ms. Joy Doan, Aaron Bittel, Alfred Bradley, David Martinelli, Loren Nerell, Luis Henao, and to all of the Herb Alpert School of Music staff who helped me in any way. Special thanks also to Ethnomusicology department faculty Dr. Helen Rees, Dr. Tim Rice, Dr. James Newton, Charley Harrison, Dr. Kenny Burrell, Dr. A.J. Racy, Dr. Roger Kendall, Dr. Amy Catlin-Jirazbhoy, and Dr. Rocina Becerra. Finally, I salute my inimitable exam and dissertation committee members, who have truly been with me through thick and thin. Dr. Cheryl L. Keyes, Dr. Anthony Seeger, Dr. Jacqueline C. DjeDje, Dr. Steven Loza, Dr. Edith Omwami, and Dr. Irma Dosamantes-Beaudry, words cannot express my gratitude. If I have forgotten anyone, please charge it to my head and not to my heart. “Mama may have, Papa may have; but God bless the child who’s got [her] own… who’s got [her] own.” --Billie Holiday ix VITA Education 2007 M.A., Ethnomusicology University of California, Los Angeles 2002 B.A., Anthropology, Music minor, Davidson College Selected Honors and Awards 2010 Wise Scholarship, UCLA Ethnomusicology Department 2009 DIGSSS Award for Students in the Social Sciences 2008-2009 UCLA Graduate Research Mentorship Fellowship 2005-2008 UCLA Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship 2007, 2008 UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship 2006 Quality of Graduate Education Award 1998-2002 Davidson Scholar, Davidson College 1999 Jury Honor Roll (Piano), Spelman College University Teaching Experience 2013-2015 Teaching Fellow, Department of Ethnomusicology, UCLA: Development of Jazz, Global Pop, Chicano Music in the U.S. 2013-2014 Lecturer, California State University, Northridge: History of Hip Hop Music 2009-2010 Instructor, UCLA Graduate Mentorship Program (AAP), The Arts Initiative Honors Seminar with Dr. La’Tonya Rease-Miles 2007-2008 Teaching Associate, Department of Ethnomusicology, UCLA African American Musical Heritage with Dr. Cheryl L. Keyes Music Cultures of Africa and the Near East with Dr. A.J. Racy Cultural