The Coyote and The Rabbit

Nationality: Argentinian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Performance Date: 04/09/2017
Primary Language: Spanish

Main piece: You know why the coyote howls to the moon? He was chasing a rabbit and it jumped so high that it landed on the moon. That’s why we see a rabbit in the moon. Now, the coyote doesn’t want to eat the rabbit. He has fallen deeply in love with him and the moon after chasing them for so long. He sings his love every night. That’s why we hear them howl to the moon.

Background information about the piece by the informant: Emanuel lived in Lima, Peru for a year in a study abroad program. He learned this story from a street merchant woman when she sold him a wooden figurine of a wolf, which he tends to wear around his neck because it reminds him of what he considers to be “a beautiful love story”.

Context on the piece: It’s not clear from what Peruvian belief this story comes from. It might have its origins in Incan mythology, or it could have been brought by Spanish settlers. Perhaps it’s a combination of both, but seems to be a very specific myth for the locals of Lima.

Thoughts on the piece: The moon is seen as a feminine symbol of love across many cultures, and this myth is no exception. It manages to blend it with an explanation to why the moon has the silhouette of what appears to be a rabbit. This makes sense, as for a long time no one knew what the moon really was, but it was undeniable radiant and beautiful. So, having the howls f the coyote in a story like this might make their presence a more romantic one than a threatening one. It’s also interesting to see the coyote play a humbler role in this culture, as he is usually shown as the trickster or the con artists by other societies. It shows that this Peruvian folk may have a more humbling sensibility to beauty.

Unity in Numbers

Nationality: Canadian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 03/20/17
Primary Language: French
Language: English

Subject: Proverb

Informant: Phillipe was born in Quebec, Canada and has two sisters and a brother. His family is originally from Quebec, therefore he grew up with french as his native tongue.  He currently studies Finance in California.

Original Script: L’union fait la force / Union Makes Strength

Background information by informant: This proverb is very powerful in Canada because it addresses the core of Canadian culture. The best way to become strong and powerful in anything is through the unification of individual elements. That is especially true when attempting to organize and manage such a large and powerful country such as Canada

Context of performance: This proverb prevails in any team setting, especially in sports. However, it also emerges in academic environments such as business classes in school.

Thoughts: Even though a proverb such as this one is very applicable to a competitive team setting, it is curious to note how it can expand its original intended boundaries to generate a much larger effect in an entire culture. Consequently, this creates a powerful unity within all members of a particular culture.

Barrel and Wine Proverb

Nationality: Italian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17

Subject: Proverb

Informant: Guido was born in Rome, Italy in a traditional Italian family. He currently studies business in California and plays rugby for his college team.

Original Script: La botte vecchia fa il vino buono / The old barrel makes the good wine.

Background information by informant: It describes the respect and regard that Italians have for not only old material items, but also for their elders. The culture understands that as you age, you gain valuable knowledge and experience that you continue to carry with you.

Context of performance: It proverb comes through in the manner that most Italians pay a lot of respect to their elders throughout their day to day.

Thoughts: A proverb can be a lot more than simply a short saying. It can allude to the manner in which a culture interacts with each other and what they attribute value too. Additionally, it also influences later generations to value similar things.

Romulus and Remus

Nationality: Italian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17

Subject: Folk Legend

Informant: Guido was born in Rome, Italy in a traditional Italian family. He currently studies business in California and plays rugby for his college team.

Original Script: Romulus and Remus were two brothers abandoned by their mother on the Tiber river and raised by a wolf. They are eventually adopted by a Shepard and go on to found Rome, the most prominent city in all of Italy.

Background information by informant: The story has many important themes of Roman culture, especially the theme of persistence which was extremely crucial for the cities development and impact in society during that period.

Context of performance: The two brothers and the wolf are a major symbol in Roman culture. Everyone knows their story and any gift shop has artifacts that symbolize the wolf mother and her children.

Thoughts: It is interesting to note how much impact a legend can have on a certain culture. The story of Romulus and Remus describes not only the incipience of Rome, but also the symbolic significance of the mother in Roman culture. It is not necessarily someone that is related to an individual by blood, but one that provides attention, love, and affection to their children. The legend personifies this through the character of the Shepard.

Chinese folk dance

Nationality: China
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: U.S.
Performance Date: April 2, 2017
Primary Language: English

This friend of mine [Noted as W] is a dance enthusiast, and she provided a clip of her performance of Chinese dance. 

The interview:

Me: So, what are the significant features of Chinese dance?

W: For staters, you’re wearing those traditional clothes. There are some featuring movements I could share with you though. The primary movements are mostly jumping, leaping, turning, and flipping. I think flipping is the most distinct movement among the all, where you need to do some tumbling movements, or circling your torso around your waist, something like that. The turnings are also important. There is a rule that whatever direction you intend to move at, you should go to the opposite first. For example, if you’re going to move your hand to the left, you should go right first for a little bit to give the audience a false impression, like what I did in the video at 00:06. This rule applies to almost every Chinese dance. I couldn’t really describe it, other than how it’s performed and those technical movements, it’s also imbedded in the feels and spirit of the performers.

Thoughts:

The dance my friend performed turns out to be a dance re-choreographed from the original a folk dance. However, it would still be regarded as a traditional Chinese dance. There are countless folk dances in China, what characterized them into the genre of Chinese dance are those movements and the aura the dance brought out, but not the dance itself.