
Released
This documentary will explore the Afro-Caribbean dance, ‘whining’ alongside the practice of twerking to analyze respectability politics, pressures to accommodate whiteness, and gendered criticism of sexual expression within the Black diaspora. Using archival footage of West African dance, expert opinion from dancing and gender studies professors, and the active participation of partygoers in a dance experiment, Watkins will paint the picture of the defiance, autonomy, and ancestral veneration intrinsic to these traditional movement styles.
Keywords
dance
dancer
sexuality
autonomy
gender
sensuality
exploring sexuality
female sexuality
west african
west africa
twerking
whining
defiance
black community
social experiment
ancestral
cultures of west africa
whiteness
safe spaces
black women
burlesque dance
buck dancer
suppression of sexual expression
femme
hip-hop dancer
archival footage
caribbean studies and caribbean disapora
afro-caribbean
respectability politics
hypersexualization
desexualization
bodily autonomy
Casts
Vera Adams
self
Quadrelle Harris
self
Nyla Murray
self
Queen Nzinga
self
Maria E. Rivera
self
Crews
Kayla Naomi Watkins
Director
Simone Holland
Director of Photography
Ja'Rel Ivory
Producer
Aidan M. Un
Editor
Carmel Berg
Lighting Design
Cullen "Cloud" Askew
Lighting Design
Kessai Watkins
BTS Photographer
Theron Louis
BTS Videographer
Moira McConnell
Best Boy Electric
Lucy Soutter
"B" Camera Operator
Lucy Soutter
Digital Imaging Technician
Mo LaRena
"B" Camera Operator
Prudence Katze
Sound
Steve Sklarow
Sound
Joshua Childs
Production Assistant
Kayla Naomi Watkins
Writer