Lemonade & Revelations: Contrasting Portrayals of Religious/Spiritual Expression In Black Performance Art
The unit I enjoyed most by far was the Alvin Ailey Revelations unit (perhaps I am biased in saying so), particularly for the ways it is able to present these tableaus of religious memory and experience (what DeFrantz calls “Blood Memory” in his book Dancing Revelations, analyzing the topic (DeFrantz)). However, Ailey’s Revelations was not the only Black performance we discussed which seeks to portray connecting to spirituality via a religious memory as part of their artistic expression. Beyonce’s Lemonade does as well, as we addressed in a later class discussion. While these performances are similar insofar as they are both Black performance art concerned with religious elements of Black culture, what interests me is how they differ in portraying these elements and what can be interpreted from those differences.
From Revelations “Take Me to the Water” Source
Both Revelations and Lemonade deal in part with Southern Black spirituality and the church, drawing on their personal experiences to develop the narrative for their respective performances. From here, though, is where the performances diverge. Ailey moves inward to visit and interrogate these personal memories or experiences he has borne witness to in his childhood. Beyonce, however, moves outwards, exploring the roots of African Diasporic spiritual traditions (Africanisms) in her performance as well her connection to them and those who came before her (Brooks et al).
Notably, Melanie C. Jones, in her essay within The Lemonade Reader, proposes this idea of Lemonade as a form of spiritual time travel: that Beyonce is, effectively, traveling back in time to honor her ancestors and explore their traditions (Brooks et al). Revelations can be understood as a form of time travel as well, traveling back to these familiar movements of “rural Southern spirituality” (DeFrantz). The difference between Beyonce and Ailey as creatives developing these performances is that Ailey is concerned with preserving this one day-long church service and all that the memory represents for him, and Beyonce has sought to capture generations back of evolving spiritual identities throughout the diaspora.
From Lemonade‘s “Sorry” Source
What can we understand from this? Well, in The Lemonade Reader, Valerie Bridgeman describes Beyonce’s exploration as a “spiritual longing” of sorts; essentially, a desire to understand and be connected with these spiritual traditions which have permeated throughout the diaspora in various forms over time (Brooks et al). Beyonce’s positioning of them in Lemonade can be observed as a form of honoring this shared ancestral connection present within African Diasporic spiritual traditions.
If Lemonade is in part manifested by spiritual longing, then Revelations is manifested by blood memory: Ailey’s experiences and how they shape and inspire him, which he utilizes in order to express and preserve the feeling of participating in the traditions associated with “rural Southern spirituality” (DeFrantz). Ailey’s Revelations can be viewed as honoring Black Southern spirituality as well, as he concludes with a church scene of a dancing congregation, in Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham. Nonetheless, their execution is still different enough that they are distinct; Lemonade and Revelations ultimately end up working to achieve different purposes respective to their various inspirations/influences.
Ailey’s Rocka My Soul in The Bosom of Abraham
Each of the performances, inspired by blood memory and spiritual longing respectively, can also be viewed as acts of remembrance. In that arena, Lemonade and Revelations are exemplary for how they tackle the themes of Black religion and how, when put in contrast to each other, one evokes remembrance for the sake of preservation, and the other evokes remembrance for the sake of (re)connection/inspired by longing.
From Lemonade‘s “Pray You Catch Me” Source
Works Cited:
“Africanism Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Africanism.
Brooks, Kinitra Dechaun, and Kameelah L. Martin. The Lemonade Reader: Beyoncé, Black Feminism and Spirituality. Routledge, 2019.
Chiorazzi, Anthony. “The Spirituality of Africa.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 22 Mar. 2019, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/10/the-spirituality-of-africa/.
“Defining Diaspora.” Defining Diaspora | About | Center for Black Diaspora | Centers & Institutes | College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences | DePaul University, Chicago, https://las.depaul.edu/centers-and-institutes/center-for-black-diaspora/about/Pages/defining-diaspora.aspx.
DeFrantz, Thomas. Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey’s Embodiment of African American Culture. Oxford University Press, 2006.
“Lemonade.” The Beyonce Wiki, https://beyonce.fandom.com/wiki/Lemonade.
“Pray You Catch Me Clip.” Vice, 2016, https://www.vice.com/en/article/rmjdz4/beyonce-jay-z-lemonade-music-video-track-review-2016. Accessed 17 Mar. 2023.
“Revelations.” Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, 19 Aug. 2022, https://www.alvinailey.org/performances/repertory/revelations.
“Sorry Clip.” Vice, 2016, https://www.vice.com/en/article/rmjdz4/beyonce-jay-z-lemonade-music-video-track-review-2016. Accessed 17 Mar. 2023.
Knight Foundation. “Revelations ‘Take Me to the Water’ Performed by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in 2011.” Knight Foundation , 2011, https://www.flickr.com/photos/knightfoundation/5985641517/in/photostream/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2023.