“In the Dionysiac dithyramb35 man is stimulated to the highest intensification of his symbolic powers; something that he has never felt before urgently demands to be expressed: the destruction of the veil of maya, one-ness as the genius of humankind, indeed of nature itself The essence of nature is bent on expressing itself; a new world of symbols is required, firstly the symbolism of the entire body, not just of the mouth, the face, the word, but the full gesture of dance with its rhythmical movement of every limb. Then there is a sudden, tempestuous growth in music's other symbolic powers, in rhythm, dynamics, and harmony. To comprehend this complete unchaining of all symbolic powers, a man must already have reached that height of self-abandonment which seeks symbolic expression in those powers: thus the dithyrambic servant of Dionysos can only be understood by his own kind!”
-Friedrich Nietzsche, “The Birth of Tragedy” (pg. 21)
This is an example of what Nietzche means to “reach that height of self-abandonment…only to be understood by his own kind”. This style of dancing is called “Krump” and involves the total body that looks violent and as if the individual is possessed to the outside observer but is totally understood those within the “Krumping” community.
Miguel Palmer
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