Personal Narrative: My African Dance Experience

My second outside event is based on an African dance show that I attended with a few girls on my soccer team. I had decided to go because my professor from my dance class had recommended it. At first I really did not want to go. I thought it was going to be boring and a waste of time. On the other hand my friend Cali from dance class kept begging me to go with her. She would not stop telling me how much fun she thought it would be. Eventually I gave in and over time I actually got a little excited. I asked all around who was going and I found out a few girls from my soccer team were so we all decided to go together in a big group. When the time finally came we all dressed up very nicely and went on our way. Everyone was super excited as we
made our way to the performing arts building. We all bought snacks and were ready to enjoy the show.
As we made our way to our seats we all realized our tickets read different seating areas. As we were all about to split up we realized that the theater was fairly empty and decided to sit together and ignore the assigned seating. As we sat down we all began to talk about what we thought the show was going to be like. We all believed that the show would be fast paced with lots of energy. We were expecting traditional african dance with interesting colorful outfits. We thought it would be something unique that we’d never seen before.
We all waited anxiously for it to begin, hoping that we would enjoy it.
The lights went out and singing began. And the singing went on and on and on. Until finally the dancers came out. The dancers just stood there swaying back and forth to the music. Just as I thought something exciting was going to happen one of the singers started talking into the microphone. He talked as if he were trying to tell a story about the three dancers who were swaying. His accent was very heavy so I did not understand what he had said at all. When he backed up and began to sing again the dancers stopped swaying and finally began to dance. Again I had hope for an exciting dance and again I was disappointed. The dancers continued to repeat the same few dance moves over and over. I was confused and did not understand what the point of this dance show was for. I did not understand the story being told, or even if a story was being told. After the show ended I was relieved. I am not sure if the other people in the audience enjoyed it or not. If I had to guess I would say they did because they all applauded and the tickets were very expensive. Luckily as a Mason student I got in for free. When the show was over my friends and I walked out of the show room only to find out that the show was not over and it had only been intermission. At this point my friends and I just decided to leave and catch the last few minutes of the boys soccer
game.
At the end of the day the African dance show was a good experience and I learned something valuable, which is that I do not like dance shows. I am glad that I experienced it and tried something new. It was nice to see that just because I do not enjoy something does not mean that others do not as well. I learned that Mason is not only diverse in ethnic background but also in activities and things that people enjoy. Just because I enjoy soccer does not mean that others like it or value it the same way I do. So out of this whole experience I do believe that I learned something very valuable and will continue to try new things.