Why do Africans have so much rhythm in their body as opposed to Caucasians?
This is a really horrible question for a few reasons: first, how
are you defining "African" vs. Caucasian? Are you trying to imply
that African music is more rhythmic than European? Or are you
dividing the world into an American-style dichotomy between black-
and white-skinned people?
In the first case, your question is misguided because it is
wrong to assume that African music is any more rhythmic than
European. Many dance styles, though not popular now, originated in
Europe. The most obvious would be any kind of ball room style,
though it would be fair to say that these styles were perfected in
South and Central America. However, dance styles such as polkas,
mazurkas and waltzes come from Europe and do have rhythms. African
music, on the other hand, is often less cohesive and "put-together"
than European music. Bear in mind that the full orchestra is a
European concept, not African; we can see that the standards of
music are very different between the two continents. It would be
unfair to say that one type of music is better than the other, but
it is probably fair to say that the concept of rhythm has been more
thoroughly explored in European music than in African.
On the other hand, if you are using the American dichotomy, then
you are talking about a cultural divide, not a racial divide based
on skin color or genetics. This is nurture, not nature. Going back
to the fact that traditional "white" dance styles are no longer
considered "cool," (i.e., polka), we see that a lot of white people
in America are not encouraged to dance. Add to that the fact that
many Christian denominations declare music and dancing anathema, we
see that many white people have a culturally conditioned fear of
dancing! Think of "basketball rules" at middle school dances, for
example. For this reason, a lot of white traditional dances have
completely died out in America, and with it the average white
person's desire and ability to dance. If a white person does study
dance, he will probably be more interested in the prestige that
comes with traditional black styles (i.e., Hip-Hop, break dancing,
&c.) or Latin styles (i.e., tango, salsa, samba, &c.). If a
white person pursues polka, jazz or choreography (such as you might
find on Broadway), he'll face very strong stigmas - traditional
"white" styles such as polka or Broadway choreography are
respectively considered "painfully uncool" and "gay." However, for
a white person to study "black" dances, he may face the stigma of
being a poseur, a fake or fool.
Dance, then, is a very difficult thing for a white person in
America to participate in. There are prejudices and stigmas on
every side - should he be true to his heritage and forfeit his
social standing by studying polka? Or should he adopt a new
tradition and risk looking like a poseur? What about the risk of
eternal damnation promised at his church? Should he go against
God's will and join a dance team?
Your question is impossible to answer unless we know what
perspective you're coming from. If you are a black person trying to
throw out a bit of bravado, then your answer would be "Because you
are fly." If you are a racist, black or white, your answer would
fall back on cliched racial stereotypes - you probably don't want
an honest or real answer. Because you are racist, you would rather
hear the cliches and stereotypes that will confirm your prejudices.
Sorry, I can't do that. If you want a racist answer, it is this:
white people can't dance because their culture does not give them
any real opportunities to do so. Black culture does. It doesn't get
any more racial than that because dancing ability is not a racial
characterisitic! You might have gotten the impression that it does
because, in America, cultural lines are drawn along skin color
lines - white Americans are not the only people with a restrained
and repressed sense of rhtyhm!
If you're just a generally misguided person, then your answer
is, in short, "They don't have more rhythm in their bodies at all."
It might be productive for you to read up on the concept of race,
perhaps studying some genetics in there as well. In addition, you
would do well to be more introspective and pay attention to the way
you move and the way people around you move. Finally, you ought to
open your mind up a little and pay attention to culture - most
differences that, on the surface, appear to be based on race are
entirely cultural!
