Chapter 3. Seneca Social Dance Music

Audio Examples

Stomp Dance
The widespread stomp, with possible origins in the Southeast among the Creek and Seminole, is danced today not only by the Iroquois in the Northeast but also by tribes around the Western Great Lakes and the Plains region.
Performed by Avery and Fidelia Jimerson. (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings album #04072 track #1)

Rabbit Dance
According to the Jimersons, the Rabbit Dance was brought to Allegany form the West by Herb Dowdy in the early 1960's. The four songs recorded here were composed by Avery Jimerson around 1970 and, musically, combine characteristics of Plains style with typical Seneca features. This rabbit dance, with its strongly descending melodic line, shows Plain influence but the steady duple beat coinciding with the pulse of the melody is Seneca. A large water drum can be heard here emphasizing the non-typical nature of the Rabbit Dance and to approximate the lower-pitched sound of the Plains drum.
Performed by the Allegany Singing Society. (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings album #04072 track #9)

Round Dance
In the round dance men and women alternate and face inward for the entire dance. This kind of dancing is not typically Seneca. The dancers first move in a counterclockwise direction but at the mid-point of the song, with a signal from the drum, they change direction to dance clockwise. The arms of the dancers sway gently with the forward and backward movement of the right foot.
Performed by the Allegany Singing Society. (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings album #04072 track #10)

Notes provided on this page are by Mary Frances Riemer and taken from the album
Seneca Social Dance Music on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

Return to Home Page