Dancing Deities

Overview

Dancing Deities is a documentary short that explores the practices of the Claxton Bay Orisha community in Trinidad. This film is primarily non-narrative in that it uses images to convey the rich musical, rhythmic and mythological aspects of this blend of African and Caribbean culture. Two practitioners do, however, give their perspective on Orisha worship and describe different deities in order to provide the viewer with some background information. But really, the film is a collage of images that portrays modern Orisha ritual practice. This film is valuable both in its positive depiction of this often misunderstood tradition and also in that it is one of the few existing present day visual resources on Orisha in Trinidad.