Senegal

I went to Senegal for the 2014 New Years Eve so I wanted to do a post about their dance. I thought I was really good while I was dancing. But looking back at the video I was horrible and way too stiff!

I didn’t understand much about Senegalese dance, but it must have some tradition, story, ritual or base behind it so I did some research.

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There is Mbalax, it was created around 1970. Mbalax is a type of music. It’s a mix of soul, blues, jazz, R&B, rock, and Senegalese drums. Even though French is the official language in Senegal these songs are in Wolof (the most common language in Senegal). There is a fun, festive, unique, quirky, modern side to this dance and that is why I like it. Watch this video:

 

 

 

Olé!

Flamenco is a mix of several cultures and dances. It comes from Greek, Roman, Indian, Moorish, and Jewish cultures and dances. Originally flamenco was not a dance, it was a song, chant or cry that was accompanied with rhythm (the beating of a stick on the ground for example). Interestingly in flamenco there are usually either twelve, three, or four beats, as opposed to the way we’re used to: eight beats.

Now for the fun part. Watch this video and if you want to you can learn the steps with me.

Thanks to:  expertvillage (from YouTube)

Speak to God or dance away

I’m now going to talk about Whirling Dervishes that I saw in Turkey. The “dancers” are actually Islamic monks who  have been trained to do this since they were 5 years old. They try to connect to God by spinning around and around. At first it was a ceremony only for the monks, but now it’s also a tourist attraction. To start, watch this video of the ceremony (this video is rather long so take a peek starting from 1min45).

Since you’re not allowed to take videos during the performance, I had to get this video from Youtube (from Chaîne de pavdb092).

Known to the West as Whirling Dervishes, the members of the Mevlevi Order (named for their founder Mevlana) from Konya, Turkey lived in what we might call cloisters or monasteries – what to them was a Mevlevihane. From the 14th to the 20th century, they influenced classical poetry, calligraphy, the visual arts, and music. Orthodox Muslims rejected music saying it hurt the listener’s religious life, so the Mevlud (Whirling Dervish) music was the only one to develop.

All in all, Whirling Dervishes isn’t my favorite dance. It is just OK but it is an interesting and cultural experience.

Learn Irish Dance (movie)

Here is a movie that I created. I recommend you try to learn and do the dance steps with us:

This is my last post on Irish dancing. I’m not going to tell you my next topic; you’ll just have to come back and see where I visit next! ♥

This video was filmed at the Sarah Clark School of Irish Dance in Paris: http://www.sarah-clark-academy.com/en

The music was taken from The Red Haired Boy by Eddie Murphy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIpfv0eTn4s

Keiki hula

These videos are what you get when you combine hand movements, steps, costumes, language and music.

Keiki means kids in Hawai’ian so Keiki hula means kids’ hula.

This is a good example because it’s not too hard but not too easy:

Very hard boys Keiki:

Advanced Keiki:

Very funny beginner hula:

This is the last post about hula, to find out what the next kind of dance will be you’ll have to come back and see for yourself (’cause I’m not telling you)!

Dress me up in Hawai’i

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This is a kind of outfit that people wear to dance traditional kahiko.

Here in this photo, I am not wearing flowers around my head, but I am wearing a flower in my hair. This photo was taken before a hula show with my group in San Francisco. It was my first dance show on stage! It was in front of about 900 people! I was with other kids my age and my sister.

A hula skirt is called pāʻū: pronounced pa-oo. Traditional pāʻū are made of dried leaves, green leaves or kapa. Kapa is a handmade cloth. In the olden days Hawai’ian women were topless! But now women wear tops to match their pāʻū. This is a pāʻū made of dried leaves:

You also wear flowers around your neck. It’s called a lei, and the ones around your head are called leipo’o.

Hula dancers also wear kupe’e. They are bracelets and anklets. They’re often made of kukui nuts like the brown ones in the picture or fern leaves braided together.