INTERPRETING COSTUME AND MAKEUP IN ADANMA DANCE PERFORMANCE
Keywords:
Adanma, dance, mask, costume, makeupAbstract
Costume is the clothing a dancer wear to enhance his appearance before an audience. It is symbolic especially to African traditional dance theatre. It reflects the cultural heritage of the origin of the dance. Make up is the application of cosmetics to the face and body of a performer to communicate meaning and create visual aesthetics. Thus, culture is the way of life of a people. It can be expressed through the theatrical performance of a people. Costume and make up help to identify the cultural background of a society. Thus, Adanma masquerade dance is no exception. Adanma dance is indigenous to Igbo people of eastern Nigeria and it represents their rich cultural heritage. Through its costume and make up, the cultural significance of the dance is revealed to the audience. The researcher observed that due to Western influence through colonization and social media, cultural dance and other performances stand to lose its relevance in Indian society. Therefore, this study seeks to evaluate the meaning of costume and in Adanma dance, by analyzing the Adanma dance performance of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Theatre Arts Department as a case study. The study finds that culture and costume and make up influence the theatrical performance of a society. It is concluded that costume and make-up are indispensable in African and Igbo traditional performance.
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