Charlotte Dance Student Amaree Ratliff Delivers At Scholar Summer Research Symposium

Congratulations to @cltdance_dept student Amaree Ratliff for her research and dance film presentation at the UNC Charlotte OUR Scholar Summer Research Symposium!

Amaree, who is earning her BA in Dance Performance, Choreography, & Theory and a BA in Anthropology, has been researching the African American tradition of ring shout all summer under the mentorship of dance professor Tamara Williams.

“African American traditions are easily discarded in today’s Westernized society,” she states in her abstract. “In school, we are taught watered-down historical events, if they even make it into the curriculum.”

Her research allowed her to dive deep into the cultural and spiritual significance of this practice, and her presentation consisted of a short description of ring shout and how it inspired her piece, “Blood Memory- Resistance.”

“I investigated an African American tradition brought over by the enslaved people of the Americas,” she continues in her abstract. “This tradition held steady throughout slavery, rallied the community together, passed secret messages, and protected African culture despite strict regulations; this tradition is called ‘Shouting.’

African American tradition influenced the modern styles of ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop, but the sacred traditions like Ring Shout are as quiet as our ancestors when they were repressed. Our ancestors’ decisions that required boldness and bravery are the reason that we are able to, and should carry on, these traditions today.”

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