Tribal/Folk Dancing

[chachachacat]

I went to the Polynesian Islands Festival both days this weekend, and saw some great tribal dancing from Tonga and (Samoa? not sure.)
I miss that sense of community, of dancing together that America does not really have. There were people of all ages, from 3 to 73 on that stage, dancing their heritage in matching costumes, and having fun.

I am envious. I want to belong to dancing culture like that.
Imagine what effects this kind of dancing must have on them, it must be great.

[CANI]

I went to the Polynesian Islands Festival both days this weekend, and saw some great tribal dancing from Tonga and (Samoa? not sure.)
I miss that sense of community, of dancing together that America does not really have. There were people of all ages, from 3 to 73 on that stage, dancing their heritage in matching costumes, and having fun.

That does sound like fun!

One of the things that I love about ballroom is the fact that there are often people of all ages (in my experience from 16 to late 80s) enjoying social dancing together. In a way, I see this as a strong sense of community.

[fascination]

I beleive zhena has something to say on this as well :)

[Zhena]

I beleive zhena has something to say on this as well :)

Well ...

What international folk dancers do is take selected bits from other people's cultures. One of the eternal questions in the folk community is how much the dances can be separated from the source cultures.

In a way, we're envious of those who have living cultures that include dance ... but in another way we're glad that we can take the attractive bits from a multitude of cultures and make them parts of our own lives and experiences.

At various folk dance festivals I've seen performances by groups from an enormous variety of cultures ... and I'm always impressed by the whole package ... the way the dance is enhanced by the costumes, "props" and interactions between individuals. There are so many ways to express basic humanity through dance ... the variety is astounding, but the similarities underlying the variety is even more astounding.

The thing is ... that sense of community found in a traditional culture also comes with restrictions. In our modern society, we reject many of those restrictions ... on how to behave, on who to marry, on how to deal with "outsiders". Keeping the "nice" bits of the heritage while discarding the "restrictive" bits is a real challenge for any community. In the US the traditional community will almost inevitably disperse into the larger community, or rather into the larger set of sub-communities based on connections different from a shared cultural heritage (interest, occupation, geography, etc.).

This has some interesting manifestations during the transition period ... I know of numerous people who feel an attraction to cultures/dances not linked to their own heritage ... leading to double-takes when (for example) you see a person of a "wrong" ethnicity in a performing group that represents a specific culture.

Bottom line ... it's not simple.

[chachachacat]

But it's interesting. Thank you.

[chachachacat]

p.s. I have never felt so blonde!

(I've only been blonde for a few years.)

[leftthebuilding]

Lets fight next who stole walking, jumping, turning to other side, eating, breathing and being exist from others :confused: .

[chachachacat]

Lets fight next who stole walking, jumping, turning to other side, eating, breathing and being exist from others :confused: .


What?What?

We were not even talking about this.

No one was fighting.

[leftthebuilding]

What?What?

We were not even talking about this.

No one was fighting.
What international folk dancers do is take selected bits from other people's cultures. One of the eternal questions in the folk community is how much the dances can be separated from the source cultures.
OK, I was triggered because of certain group... They OWN all ;)

[Zhena]

OK, I was triggered because of certain group... They OWN all ;)

Would you mind providing a few more details? This is a topic that could go in several different directions, and I don't understand what you are trying to say.

Thanks.

[leftthebuilding]

Would you mind providing a few more details? This is a topic that could go in several different directions, and I don't understand what you are trying to say.

Thanks.

I send you PM, I do not want to hijack this thread.

[Wannabee]

I went to the Polynesian Islands Festival both days this weekend, and saw some great tribal dancing from Tonga and (Samoa? not sure.)
I miss that sense of community, of dancing together that America does not really have. There were people of all ages, from 3 to 73 on that stage, dancing their heritage in matching costumes, and having fun.

I am envious. I want to belong to dancing culture like that.
Imagine what effects this kind of dancing must have on them, it must be great.

I am Native American and we have many cultural dances. These dances are performed for many reasons and signify many different things like war, love, marriage, family, rain (had to cliche it somewhere :-), etc. and vary from tribe to tribe and even amongst bands of the same tribe. These dances are a deep part of our traditions and are still practiced heavily in certain party of the country.

There are many similarities that I've observed between these dances and ballroom. They are both very social in nature, everyone does their best while performing them, and there is meaning behind the movement. I guess the biggest difference I've noticed between them is the costuming. If any of you have ever seen a Pow-Wow or a demonstration by Native American dancers of any tribe, the costumes are very elaborate and absolutely beautiful. This is also true of ballroom costumes. The difference imo though is the thought process behind the costumes. The dresses and shawls and headdresses, etc. are all made to resemble certain aspects of the tribes culture. A ribbon on this particular dress or shirt sybolizes something. Wind is represented in the movement of a skirt, power and courage are earned and then represented in the fullness of a headdress. Fire and the power of water are sewn into the costume in the way of beads and decorations. Each aspect of a tribal dress has so much meaning. And this, IMHO, makes them extrodinarily special. I have been fortunate enough to dance ballroom and tribal dances. I am very blessed.

[chachachacat]

Thanks for that post. The original Americans were cool. In touch with nature, very spiritual, a beautiful culture which the new Americans wrongly destroyed.

By "American," a word which I hardly ever use, I meant the 'melting pot'
which we have today. No offense meant.

[leftthebuilding]

OK... I think Lumi takes a hike from this forum too. There is hunting eye of NAFPS on this forum too, right? I am sorry but I never ever cope after that racist group, never... Own the air, keep everything, I do not touch anything, I do not eat anything, I do not even walk....

Maybe admin of this board close my username, thank you ......

:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:

*Screams and runs under rocks*

[chachachacat]

I completely do not understand what Lumi means at all.

[Wannabee]

Thanks for that post. The original Americans were cool. In touch with nature, very spiritual, a beautiful culture which the new Americans wrongly destroyed.

By "American," a word which I hardly ever use, I meant the 'melting pot'
which we have today. No offense meant.

I was not offended at all by your use of "American". I thought your thread brought up an interesting point and I wanted to share my experiences to contribute.

I honestly hadn't considered my tribal dance experience when thinking about my ballroom dancing. And this allowed me to reflect...

Thanks for posting.

[Larinda McRaven]

I completely do not understand what Lumi means at all.

they are gone now anyway.... :roll:
so the thread may now move forward as before. :)

[Steve Pastor]

"Native American" is a term used very frequently here in the Pacific Northwest.

[Angel HI]

The OP's point is one that I have discussed often. Having lived, and still teach, in several cultures around the world, I have noticed the differences between the amer culture and most others regarding dance. Having lived on Maui since '94, and completely getting into the HI'ian culture, and the hula, I really empatize w/ her feelings after experiencing that culture.