Category Archives: Folk Dance

Clicking Sticks: A Folk Dance

Nationality: Indian American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/27/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Telugu, Hindi, Spanish (kinda)

This is like a dance slash game -um- it’s from like Indian Hindu culture actually like it used to be Hindu, but it’s kind of becoming more of like an Indian thing now -um- and basically you have these sticks. Each person has like two sticks; They’re called Raas (pronounced “Ross”) R-A-A-S -um- and like you, you just go around like hitting your sticks with other people’s sticks and it’s like you, you just like dance around all night like hitting sticks with other sticks and like you’ll make like patterns with your friends and like different complex like dances.

 So like if I have these two sticks and you have yours we could be like 1, 2, 3, turn (gesturing to alternating sides with each count and then spinning around with sticks touching your partners) and then there’s like two lines and they go like opposite ways and like so like I’ll go like… so we both move to our, our left so like after we, I hit your stick three times and turn or whatever then I’ll go to like the person next to you and we’ll do the same thing and we’ll keep going. It’s kinda like a circuit kind of.

Yeah and it’s like it’s around the time so that this whole um dance party thing is called garba -um-… G-A-R-B-A. Um- so -um- yeah and it’s usually in like October November it’s like uhh fall harvest type of thing. Yeah. 

The Informant, one of my classmates, shared the dance of Raas after discussion section. The dance is commonly performed during the Navratri festival alongside a similar and simpler folk dance called Garba. The festival is celebrated to pay respect to the Mother Goddess of the Hindu religion, Shakti. The performance of the dance celebrates the nine incarnations of the goddess.

The Informant told me that she doesn’t remember a time where she didn’t take part in the festivities of Navratri, including the folk dances of Raas and Garba. They’re a part of her life. She doesn’t know who taught them to her or when she first danced. One of the Informant’s favorite parts of the dance is the color. She said it reminds her of Holi, the famous Indian “festival of colors” in which people smear each other with color. By the end, everyone is a vibrant hue. In Navratri, the people begin the festival wearing colorful and vibrant Garba garbs. The dance is rather simple. There are no official steps, but performers click sticks to keep rhythm.

Raas was a traditionally male dominated dance, but has become more inclusive over the years. The two things prominent in Raas are vigor and force, however, a one of passion instead of violence. Raas and Garba are both fast-paced energy-filled dances comprised of two circles, one rotating clockwise and the other counterclockwise.

I loved this account of some of the folk dances cherished in India, but I loved the backstory even more. The fact that these dances have been a part of her life so long that she can’t remember a time that they weren’t present is, in my belief, a true marker of a folk dance that is massively culturally important.  This act is a merging of three areas of folklore. The dance itself, the festival at which it’s performed, and the mythology it celebrates.

For more information on Raas, Garba, and the Navratri festival, see here.

Forehead, Elbows, Thighs And Feet

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Marin County, California
Performance Date: April 4, 2018
Primary Language: English

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the performer (MS) and I (ZM).

ZM: Do you remember when you first learned the head, shoulders…

MS: (interrupts) Middle school.

ZM: Middle school?

MS: Mhmm.

ZM: When did you make this version?

MS: Middle school. Wait what? We made up the middle school thing. We made up the new one in middle school.

ZM: Do you know when you learned the like…

MS: (interrupts) Learned “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes?”

ZM: Yeah.

MS: (long pause) Preschool.

ZM: Okay and…

MS: We did it as a joke.

Main Piece:

The following is a transcription of the performance given by MS.

Foreheead, elbows, thighs, and feet. Thighs and feet. Foreheead, elbows, thighs, and feet. Thighs and feet. Pupils, and nostrils, and (pauses to remember the rest) lobes, and teeth. Foreheead, elbows, thighs, and feet. Thighs and feet.

Context: For my short paper topic, I chose an authored song that utilized the common children’s folk song of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes.” When researching the song, I found many variants that differed from the way I learned the song. A little frustrated and confused as to how no one had recorded the version I was familiar with, I went into the common area of my apartment and asked if my roommate knew the song. I then asked her to perform it for me and she was not able to complete the full song in what she called the “normal” way that she learned in preschool. What she was able to perform, however, was a rendition she made with her friend in middle school to mock the standard song. Although her version had the same general format and melody of “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” she sang different body parts then typically featured. While singing a particular body part she would touch it just like in the popularized version, with the exception of her pupils.

Background: The performer is a sophomore studying at the University of Southern California. She grew up in Marin County, California and attended preschool and a private middle school there.

Analysis: I thought this was interesting because while we often discuss natural variation from trying to remember the words, this was a conscious alteration of the song. At a young age, MS and her female friend made a parody to mock the song and express their individuality.

For another version of this folk song see…

“The Children – Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes.” Genius, 2018 Genius Media Group Inc., genius.com/The-children-head-shoulders-knees-and-toes-lyrics.

 

 

Ferias Monucipilanas

Nationality: Colombia
Age: 27
Occupation: IT Project Specialist
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4/1/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Every city, every town, has a yearly party, feria monucipilanas, and each have their own saint in which they cherish and praise during the festival. The people of the city make a big tower that you light at the bottom of the tower so then the fireworks make really colorful designs upon explosion. Alex is a Colombian native who immigrated here when he was just a little boy. His family left Columbia in response to all the violence that was emitting from Pablo Escobar’s reign of terror. In order to keep his family traditions alive, his parents constantly told him about the vast events and beauty of his homeland and people. These fairs seem like the walks that Catholics due in Los Angeles during Easter to acknowledge a saint.

Festejo Dance

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 52
Occupation: Dance Instructor
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 10, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

In an interview with my old dance teacher, he describes the traditional Peruvian Festejo Dance:

Interviewer: “What is one of the most famous dances in Peru?”

Informant: “Festejo is definitely one of the most popular dances because it’s so festive and has a good rhythm.   There’s a lot of African influence in the dance so the music is very procession heavy and theres a lot of movement in the hips.  One of the best parts of the dance is that it can be performed in a pair or in a big group, so it’s perfect for festivals and big celebrations!”

Interviewer: “What are the traditional costumes like?”

Informant: “Traditionally the women wear big colorful skirts and blouses and the men wear either colorful pants or a colorful shirt.  The major colors are the colors on the Peruvian flag: red, white, blue, and green.”

Interviewer: “What kind of music do they dance to?”

Informant: “It’s Afro-Peruvian music so there’s a lot of percussion.  The cajon box drum is an especially popular instrument to use when making music for Festejo dancing.”

Interviewer: “What are the origins of this dance?”

Informant: “It was brought over with the African slaves which sparked the African influence over Peruvian culture.  At first, the slaves were discriminated against and their culture was not blended with Peruvian culture until the 1950s when Peru wanted to distance themselves from their Spanish influence and create their own culture.”

Interviewer: “How did you learn about this type of dance?”

Informant: “My friend from Peru taught it to me.”

Analysis: The history of the Afro-Peruvian dance also shares the history of the Peruvian people and the immigration patterns of the area. This piece of folklore is important because it demonstrates how much of an influence African culture has on the region and how it did not have much of an influence until after 1950.  I especially enjoy this piece of folklore because I love dance and learning about how dance influences culture and vice versa.

Tarantella

Nationality: Italian
Age: 43
Occupation: Professor
Residence: California
Performance Date: 02/20/2017
Primary Language: English

Original Script: Tarantella is a dance always performed Italian weddings, festivals, and celebrations. Tarantella was originated from Taranto, a small town in the southern Italy, at around 15th century. The legend of Tarantella is related to a poisonous tarantula spider. A lady was once bitten by the spider, and she fell into a trance. The only solution to save her was the crazy dance performed by other people encircling her. The instruments used in the performance are usually mandolin, guitar, and tambourines. Every beat of the music would have a different effect on the lady, and the people searched for the precise rhythm that could cure the lady by trying different beats and movements.