Keep the Dance Alive

Directed by Rina Sherman
Documentary Educational Resources

In 1997, filmmaker, writer, and anthropologist Rina Sherman was awarded a Lavoisier Research Bursary by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to conduct a multidisciplinary, ethnographic study of the daily lives of the Ovahimba people, located in northwestern Nambia and southwestern Angola. Keep the Dance Alive is a part of this project, The Ovahimba Years. In a nutshell, the documentary chronicles the “music, dance, and spirit possession practices” of the Ovahimba, focusing on the life of a single family for seven years. Since infancy, music is intertwined into the Ovahimbas’ life, as singing, rhythm, dance, and spirit possession is reflective of a multifaceted and complex social order.

At a mere 75 minutes long, the footage of Keep the Dance Alive was chosen from over 300 hours worth of film collected over her seven years in Angola and Namibia. In fact, Dr. Sherman was a filmmaker before she acquired her doctorate in anthropology, which is apparent at the first viewing of the documentary. Regardless of what one thinks of the film itself, there is no denying the expert cinematography of the African landscape and of the Ovahimba people (particularly for a documentary). Sherman, as any worthwhile anthropologist does, maintains a strong distance between herself and her subject throughout the film, providing her studied interpretation of Ovahimba dance practices, while allowing the camera to linger upon the subject after she has finished her explanation. As a result, she provides the audience with their own opportunity to observe the dance and/or spirit possession for themselves, going far beyond the average National Geographic special. Sherman, in this case, does not provide a great deal of narration, permitting her subjects to mostly speak (dance?) for themselves.

The film itself is quite marvelous, and will be particularly fascinating for those with an interest in anthropology, music, and particularly you ethnomusicologists out there. The film is a bit academic, and I imagine it will be primarily shown in undergraduate anthropology courses. However, I believe that the anthropology neophytes (myself included) out there would largely benefit from a viewing (or several) of Keep the Dance Alive.

Review by Theresa Anasti