Vamos fazer o Glocaldance acontecer em BSB:
Estamos oferecendo aulas de dança do caminho da seda, da canela e das folhas sagradas. Venha dançar com a gente!
Veja nossa programação abaixo!

sábado, 30 de outubro de 2010

Day 8- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- Bollywood and Bhangra

Ok, India, here we are. We came from Central Asia dances, Belly dances and Chinese dances, while still not giving time and energy to the vivacious Bollywood and Bhangra dances. While Bollywood dance is part of the film industry and tells a story within a story, Bhangra is a tribal dance from Punjab and delas with the conflicts and way of living of the inhabitants in that region.
According to the Wikipedia: "The dancing in Bollywood films, especially older ones, is primarily modelled on Indian dance: classical dance styles, dances of historic northern Indian courtesans (tawaif), or folk dances. In modern films, Indian dance elements often blend with Western dance styles (as seen on MTV or in Broadway musicals), though it is usual to see Western pop and pure classical dance numbers side by side in the same film."  
See below two styles of Bollywood performed in two diferent films:

1. we chose Ma hive youtube dance and song,  thanks to Malini's suggestion and  Kamal& Matthias 'wedding party!

Film Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)




 2. Next dance is




We show below a Bhangra dance performed in the Bay Area in 2009. Bhangra began as a folk dance conducted by Punjabi Sikh farmers to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. The specific moves of Bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land. This dance art further became synthesized after the partition of India, when refugees from different parts of the Punjab shared their folk dances with individuals who resided in the regions they settled in. This hybrid dance became Bhangra. The folk dance has been popularised in the western world by Punjabi Sikhs[2]and is seen in the West as an expression of South Asian culture as a whole.[3] Today, Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe – including pop music, film soundtracks, collegiate competitions and even talent shows. enjoy this week, and get soar!

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sexta-feira, 29 de outubro de 2010

Day 7- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- History of the silk road, art and dance.



During the last week several events tested my determination to continue with my blog and my project. Somehow, as if trying to stop me of doing what I had proposed to do, my car battery died before I had to drive to my belly dance class. Then our home internet did not work, as thunderstorms hit our home and left us without connection for the past week. Adding to that, we had to come to Rio de Janeiro, and I knew that dancing would be more restrict. Even though, I continue to write and dance, at home, without internet and I promise to dance three hours tomorrow to make up for these days without blogging. 

I have also kept my promise to write about the silk read historical context. In fact, as I thought about the Silk road, something clicked inside my head, and I could remember how I used to like to dance while listening to Kitaro’s Silk Road LP (before even CDs existed).
Who does not remember the Silk Road written by the worldwide known Japanese musician Kitaro, who created this incredible piece of soundtrack  for a documentary on the Silk Road produced in Japan during the years of 1975-1981.
Kitaro’s piece was inspired by the journey of a man who became the first Budhist in Japan. In the 7th century ac, Monk Genjo Sanso traveled the Silk Road (network), from Japan to India, and brought Buddhism into China and other East Asian regions.
As Genjo, many men and women traveled during the ancient periods of history throughout this interwoven routes to exchange their goods. 
(Wikipedia) "The Silk Routes (collectively known as the "Silk Road") were important paths for cultural, commercial and technological exchange between traders, merchants, pilgrims, missionaries, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from Ancient China, Ancient India, Ancient Tibet, Persia and Mediterranean countries for almost 3,000 years.[4] It gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade, which began during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE).
Extending 4,000 miles, the routes enabled people to transport goods, especially luxuries such as slaves, silk, satin and other fine fabrics, musk, other perfumes, spices, medicines, jewels, glassware and even rhubarb, as well as serving as a conduit for the spread of knowledge, ideas, cultures and diseases[5] between different parts of the world (Ancient China, Ancient India (Indus valley, now Pakistan), Asia Minor and the Mediterranean). Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of China, India, Egypt, Persia, Arabia, and Rome, and in several respects helped lay the foundations for the modern world. Although the term the Silk Road implies a continuous journey, very few who traveled the route traversed it from end to end. For the most part, goods were transported by a series of agents on varying routes and were traded in the bustling mercantile markets of the oasis towns.[5]
 
The central Asian sections of the trade routes were expanded around 114 BCE by the Han dynasty,[6] largely through the missions and explorations of Zhang Qian,[7] but earlier trade routes across the continents already existed.[citation needed] In the late Middle Ages, transcontinental trade over the land routes of the Silk Road declined as sea trade increased.[8] Though silk was certainly the major trade item from China, many other products were traded, and various technologies, religions and philosophies as well as the bubonic plague (the so-called "Black Death") also traveled along the Silk Routes. India played a vital role in the trade, being virtually by the center of the route as well as having unique products such as spices, precious stones, and hand-crafted goods."




We can find a variety of sources about the Silk Road's cultural and historical heritages just at the click of our mouse and keyboards, inside the internet: Wikipedia's definition of the period of the silk road trade, University of Washington Exibition on the silkroad,  as seen above, then a foundation called the Silkroad foundation, Ballet Afsaneh, the Silk Road documentary (a joint japanese and Chinese TV show) about the history of a mummy, "Princess Xiaohe".   More recently, in 2007, Yo-Yo-Ma, famous cello player, created a very impressive project called Silk Road Project and group called the Silk Road Assemble, in Palo Alto, Bay Area, California. And ever since, they have been traveling through USA, Europe, to Asia with one of the best musicians playing traditional and modern instruments on the theme of the Silk Road. A pearl of the Silk Road.
It is incredible how the Silk Road can be so fascinating to inspire musicians, dancers, anthropologists, an infinite source of creativity, sounds, spices, colors and movements, even games around the world. On the  game side, the hybrid modern and ancient aspect brought by the Silk road is imprinted in online games,  from South Korea,
Hope all these aspects inspire me to continue dancing and growing my repertoire on the Silk Road theme!!!  Tomorrow, Bollywood!
Yeahh, shake your arms!
 Um beijo if you are there patiently reading.



sábado, 23 de outubro de 2010

Day 6- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- Persian dance Azzizan by Laurel Victoria Grey

After a long day with the boys, and taking care of the renovation together with Andrew, I was able to squeeze my first recording of the choreograph of the Enchanted Bird Song, and according to Andrew, it is very loving. I promise to upload this choreograph to the youtube when is ready ( in two weeks I hope), I will draw the figurine too.

For more inspiration, I found this dance from the Silk Road Dance Company, called Azzizan. This is a beautiful dance that reminds me of elegant and colorful birds, in fact as the video explains the garment is inspired by Persian Saffavid miniature. The dancers are wearing flowing silk veils, which typifies a kind of Persian style of dance called Azeri.







Azzizan: "Don't grieve, my love, for life is beautiful. Don't be treacherous with anyone, for the world has many colors.

Choreography and costumes: Laurel Victoria Gray"



In the next posting I will bring some information on the "Silk Road" history, because I cannot live without a good foundation of historical context in my research.  Alas, my ethnography of the silk road is quite short and very limited, as I have never been in person to the region where once the main route of commerce during the Ancient and Medieval periods happened until the first Spaniard, Italian and Portuguese navigators discovered a long but direct rout to the Chinese and Indian markets.


quinta-feira, 21 de outubro de 2010

Day 5- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- belly Dance and Uyghur Dance from China


I don’t have anything to report on dancing on my 5th day of glocaldancing. I noticed that Tuesdays are quite difficult for me, because it is the day I teach at the UC Brasilia the whole day, from 8am-6pm, with a short interval during lunch time. It is pretty intense day, both mental and physically, because of the long commute and car riding. I hate driving long distances to work, it is tense and hard on the body. I do need to relax as I do it, because there is no other way around for now. Then trying to write something new and meaningful on this blog after researching and then trying out a new dance can be quite a challenge after a long day @work.
So we will make a deal: every Tuesday I have to teach long hours, I will write on Wednesday or Thursday, and promise to keep learning new dances according to the number of days I did not write on this blog. Just reporting that today I was practicing the Modern style Belly dance Titi has choreographed, but I am now feeling a strong connection with the Uyghr dance and the bird dance. I will finish my new piece, and make a recording of it.
I am doing this blog to keep me sane. And it is bringing a great sense of serenity already in this first week, with the support of good friends , it is bringing to me inner confidence I can do it and it is worth. Creating this blog has brought new meaning to my life, it is healing for me and want to offer and share this experience with others who want to learn about ancient cultures and their incredible living heritage in the present. When I dance I feel this incredible connection with Life Force and Creation. In the I Ching, it would be the trigram number 1: Creation.  It might sound so cliche but I feel one with the Universe creative force when I dance, One with the powerful beings!
A vegetable part of me blossoms and invites a new creative pollen to spread and an animal part of me hunts for new movements and precision.  I love to research old and new dances, and then find new vocabularies and phrases in the old and ancient dances: choreography is a process of learning how to speak the dance languages. Like writing poetry, choreography finds rhymes with rhythms,  our body is a giant pen writing swirls and invisible lines in the space, and charges with emotion our hearts while silences our thoughts with music. The same comparison can be with painting, as dance can create a whole scenery,  a whole story with nuances of colors and movements and depth of interpretation. The artist who dances gives a lot of energy!

The depth of movement is important. For example, the bird song translates a photograph of a hybrid nature of wires and birds. More pictures and change of birds flying from and landing on the wires, a sequence would give depth and variation in the music.  what the artist can see  and feel, he translates into beautiful orchestration of musical instruments, into harmony. This choreograph speaks to this embodied response of the image and the sound of image, not as a reflection of this image but as a translation of feelings: from wires and birds to lovers waiting to make love, for example, to people on trains, airplanes or boats, etc. etc.

segunda-feira, 18 de outubro de 2010

Day 4- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- Uyghur Dance from China

It was so nice to receive many lovely emails from wonderful friends supporting this project. It does give me hope and a new meaning to my life. Thank you Jesse for reminding me what once Emma Goldmanm, who stands as a major figure in the history of American radicalism and feminism, said: "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution" 


I do not know yet what sort of revolution I am taking part (apart from the anarchical decision that I am not voting this year for president), but definitely dancing is revolutionary and survives time and injustice. My sense of environmental justice, especially the defense of the human rights of traditional populations and their cultural traits always make me look at indigenous groups and their ancient dances. Here's some from China, more precisely from the Xinjiang Uyghur Province, where we find the Uyghur Dance. I love this folk dance so much, as for me is a missing link in the silk road history and culture, representing the survival of ancient waves of migration of Persians and Turks that  happened more than thousands of years from Central Asia to where today is China. This si my third source of inspiration to my new bird choreography.




This Uyghur dance is a famous sun  worship dance called Dap Usuli performed by Dilnar Abdulla, one of the most important Uyghar dancer in the world. This dance is performed by a soloist using Dap, an ancient Uyghur musical instrument. Sun worship was practiced by ancient Uyghurs!  Ancient Uyghur cities depict the sun as a deity.

This is a picture of me wearing a Uyghur dress and performing at the SF Ethnic Dance Festival in 2006.




I have never been in the Uyghur Province, but I heard that Uyghurs have a great love of singing and dancing. Their dances are so colorful, lively and reflect respect, bravery, openness, happiness and above all, optimism. I identify myself and resonate with the Uyghurs so much, as for the Uyghur: "dancing is a way of life." Their folk dances are all about posture, position, wrist and hand movement. Coordination is the key to the dancers beauty and posture to it's sense of importance. Turns are important parts of the dance. The dancers turn fast and then suddenly stop. All the dances have their own distinct turns and the climax of any dance is the increasing tempo of the turns as if each dancer is trying to out do the others. Uyghur folk dances also incorporate "shimmering". There is a rhythmic and continuous shimmering of the knees and a short shimmer when a step is changed. 

As I am choreographing the bird song and 1001 nights story from Day 3, hope I can tell a short story about birds and lovers, using Uyghur folk dance movements and dance.

domingo, 17 de outubro de 2010

Day 3- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- Belly Dance

This time I want to share two sources of inspiration which are giving to me creative energy to dance and choreograph again.

The first one is the beautiful poetry of a bird song, written by Jarbas Agnelli who was also inspired by a photograph of birds on wires taken by Paulo Pinto, both from Brazil. My dear friend John Cordell shared this source of inspiration, and sais: "esse vídeo que estou te mandando é uma prova de que quando estamos com a mente serena, a beleza da vida surge num passo de mágica... sem querer... basta ver.." Thanks John!!




And another piece of inspiration is a story of One thousand and one nights, that I am sharing with you called: The Page who Feigned to Know the Speech of Birds.[FN#207]


A certain man of rank once entered the slave-market and saw a page being cried for sale; so he bought him and carrying him home, said to his wife, "Take good care of him." The lad abode there for a while till, one day, the man said to his wife, "Go forth to-morrow to the garden and take thy solace therein and amuse thyself and enjoy thyself." And she replied, "With love and gladness!" Now when the page heard this, he made ready in secret meat and drink and fruits and desert, and sallied forth with them privily that night to the garden, where he laid the meat under one tree, the wine under another and the fruit and conserves under a third, in the way his mistress must pass. When morning morrowed the husband bade him accompany the lady to that garden carrying with him all the provisions required for the day; so she took horse and riding thither with him, dismounted and entered. Presently, as they were walking about, a crow croaked,[FN#208] and the page said, "Thou sayst sooth;" whereupon his mistress asked him, "Dost thou know what the crow said?"; and he answered, "Yes, O my lady, he said, Under yonder tree is meat; go and eat it." So she said, "I see thou really dost understand them;" then she went up to the tree and, finding a dish of meat ready dressed, was assured that the youth told the truth and marvelled with exceeding marvel. They ate of the meat and walked about awhile, taking their pleasure in the garden, till the crow croaked a second time, and the page again replied, "Thou sayst sooth." "What said he?" quoth the lady, and quoth the page, "O my lady, he saith that under such a tree are a gugglet of water flavoured with musk and a pitcher of old wine." So she went up with him to the tree and, finding the wine and water there, redoubled in wonderment and the page was magnified in her eyes. They sat down and drank, then arose and walked in another part of the garden. Presently the crow croaked again and the page said, "Thou sayst sooth." Said the lady, "What saith he now?" and the page replied, "He saith that under yonder tree are fruits, fresh and dried." So they went thither and found all as he said and sat down and ate. Then they walked about again till the crow croaked a fourth time, whereupon the page took up a stone and threw it at him. Quoth she, "What said he, that thou shouldst stone him?" "O my lady," answered he, "he said what I cannot tell thee." "Say on," rejoined she, "and be not abashed in my presence, for there is naught between me and thee." But he ceased not to say, "No," and she to press him to speak, till at last she conjured him to tell her, and he answered, "The crow said to me, 'Do with thy lady even as doth her husband.'" When she heard his words she laughed till she fell backward and said, "This is a light matter, and I may not gainsay thee therein." So saying, she went up to a tree and, spreading the carpet under it, lay down, and called to him to come and do her need, when, lo! her husband, who had followed them unawares and saw this, called out to the page, saying, "Harkye, boy! What ails thy mistress to lie there, weeping?" Answered the page, "O my lord, she fell off the tree and was killed;[FN#209] and none but Allah (be He extolled and exalted!) restored her to thee. Wherefore she lay down awhile to recover herself by rest." When the lady saw her husband standing by her head, she rose and made a show of weakness and pain, saying, "O my back! O my sides! Come to my help, O my friends! I shall never survive this." So her husband was deceived and said to the page, "Fetch thy mistress's horse and set her thereon." Then he carried her home, the boy holding one stirrup and the man the other and saying, "Allah vouchsafe thee ease and recovery!" "These then, O King," (said the damsel) "are some instances of the craft of men and their perfidy; wherefore let not thy Wazirs turn thee from succouring me and doing me justice." Then she wept, and when the King saw her weeping (for she was the dearest to him of all his slave-girls) he once more commanded to put his son to death; but the sixth Minister entered and kissing ground before him, said, "May the Almighty advance the King! Verily I am a loyal counsellor to thee, in that I counsel thee to deal deliberately in the matter of thy son;"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

Day 2- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- Belly Dance

After two days without dancing more than twenty minutes each day, and having Tom and Luca with us, taking them to two birthday parties and a camping party at their school, I was wondering when I could have time to dance. Today, I finally found a whole hour and a half, and I practiced the new belly dance veil choreography Arabic modern Egypcian style and rhythm that reminds me of the One Thousand and One nights, because it is so mysterious, romantic and burlesque! I am wearing a top and a belt with a check embroidery blue shot sequins on white fabric and a breezy white silk skirt, and a blue shot silk veil! Beautiful!
I also enjoyed other 8 belly dance songs, with more shimmies and undulations.

I should confess that it was not easy to start to dance again after a long week and weekend with the boys adding work and house renovation! But a promise is a promise! I need to find that special place in me to reconnect with the great spirit of the dance. Shiva maybe!
Maybe Sherazade will keep me telling me 1001 stories to distract me, and not let me kill my dance spirit.

I am asking the Universe to send me force, all dancers of the world, and the guardians of all dances of the world to offer me space and time, even when these can be scarce, may I find serene mind and inspiration to dance and collect a year round dances of the world.
Salom and Namãz Burdan
may you all be blessed with long-lived dance!



quinta-feira, 14 de outubro de 2010

Day 1- Dances of Central Asia and Silk road- Belly Dance

Since I came back to Brazil, I am slowly returning and learning about this universe of dances and movements.

Many times I wonder about how belly dancers can create such amazing undulations in their bodies, and make all that shimmy movements with grace and a beautiful smile in their faces. All is illuminated! It is just amazing what a human body can do when a drum, a flute, a violin and cymbals play altogether. Her body lets out her inner ocean waves, wind flurry and flame energy. Her earthly strength, bones and muscles melt as she dances derbak, sairi, ayub, maksoum, and many other styles of Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish, Moroccan and Tribal belly dance. The silk road is there still in the waves of the internet, from many virtual deserts of the Central Asia, guarded by beautiful dancers of fertility force and goddess culture.

Well, today I am dancing an ayub song that is choreographed by Titi, my belly dance instructor at Ayuni dance school!

I will show you the whole choregraphy when is done!

Un baccio

Renata

terça-feira, 12 de outubro de 2010

Traditional dances from Andes - Peru and Bolivia

Back in 1994-96, while I was still living in Bolivia, I did my training in Traditional dances from the Andes, traveling to Cusco, Peru where I met the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo. It was very important to meet all these artists and dancers who enchanted me with their discipline and dedication to their culture. I have profound respect for their knowledge and love to their heritage!

Danceversity com Hannah Romanoswiski


My dear friend Hannah also gave me a wonderful opportunity to dance with her and be one of the faculty at the best world dance school for kids and youth.
I miss you all!!!

Hawaiian Dance


Since 2002, while living in the East Bay, I had the honor to dance with wonderful hawaiian dancers and be part of this world.
I want to continue my training, and will return humble to this world.Academy of Hawaiian Arts, Kumu Kumu Hula Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu and Misao Misuno, all great people who taught me how to dance the Hula Kahiko e Hula Auana!

Ballet Afsaneh


Back in 2005, while I was still living in San Francisco, I was honored to be part of this wonderful traditional Central Asian dance company, Ballet Afsaneh.