Sunday, June 23, 2013

African dance in Appalachia.

This weekend I went down to the festival celebrating African culture. It was warm but not unpleasant, and the energy of festivals downtown is always fun.
 Sometimes, I envy the kids playing in the fountains. I'm always tempted to run in there with them.
 This day of the festival included a parade with a drumline, dancers and stiltwalkers.
The kids, from first grade through high school, have been attending a camp to learn African drumming and dancing. The cutest are the little bitty girls. I stayed long enough to watch each age group before heading back home.

Posted by at

31 comments:

  1. eJune 23, 2013 at 9:02 PM

    This looks and sounds wonderful and it looks to have been a good crowd. Thanks for sharing it here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Secret Agent WomanJune 24, 2013 at 6:40 AM

      It was quite a crowd - I had a hard time geting close enough to grab a little video.

      Delete
  2. limeJune 23, 2013 at 9:03 PM

    i have a friend who is an african drummer. i so enjoy this sort of thing. glad you got to enjoy it all on a lovely afternoon as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. VioletSkyJune 23, 2013 at 9:14 PM

    I like the drums - always wanted to be a drummer when I was young. I've taken a few drum sessions on African drums and I find the rhythm to be comforting in a way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RonJune 23, 2013 at 9:25 PM

    FANTASTIC photos! Love the all the bright colors you captured!

    Looks like you had a super time!

    Yes, we had our African celebration festival here in Philly about two weeks ago. It was called, Odunde.

    Enjoyed the video clip!

    X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Secret Agent WomanJune 24, 2013 at 6:43 AM

      I put the festival name up in the first photo, but didn't write it because I don't want local people landing on me through googling it! It's grown over the years that I've been here.

      Delete
  5. Brian MillerJune 23, 2013 at 10:56 PM

    that sounds like a rather cool time...nice bit of culture and bet it was pretty amazing to feel those drums in your chest as they danced....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Liz MaysJune 23, 2013 at 10:58 PM

    Now I would really have enjoyed that. I watched a shortened version of that kind of thing at the NC Museum last year and so loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Should Fish MoreJune 23, 2013 at 11:02 PM

    Was it from any specific culture or part of Africa? The last 'costumes' look rather West Africa, one of the coastal countries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Secret Agent WomanJune 24, 2013 at 6:46 AM

      West African, mostly, and the name is Swahili. But its designed to help the African-American folks here reclaim their heritage in a positive way.

      Delete
  8. BijouxJune 24, 2013 at 6:34 AM

    Looks fun! I didn't know that stilt walking had anything to do with African culture. Interesting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Secret Agent WomanJune 24, 2013 at 6:47 AM

      I read that the stilt walkers are an Ivory Coast tradition that symbolize effort toward goals. I wish I'd captured them dancing on those things - it was pretty amazing.

      Delete
  9. AkelamaluJune 24, 2013 at 11:36 AM

    That looks like so much fun. I love drums.

    ReplyDelete
  10. nickJune 24, 2013 at 2:54 PM

    We have fountains like that in Belfast and I always feel the same - I'd love to play around in them like the kids! Perhaps there should also be some bigger fountains for the adults to enjoy?

    The stilt-walkers were dancing? Wow, that's incredible, I'd love to have seen that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Secret Agent WomanJune 25, 2013 at 9:40 PM

      I think the fountains are a great idea - a pretty safe way to let kids cool off.

      Delete
  11. swefflingJune 25, 2013 at 1:46 AM

    Dancing stilt walkers? Wow. As children stilt walking was a very Scandinavian thing to do, the ones where you stand half way up the poles with the rest above your waist. Much the easiest way to do it. I still used to do it when in my forties but not sure of my balance nowadays. I wonder how stilt walking came to be identified with different cultures, interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Secret Agent WomanJune 25, 2013 at 9:41 PM

      I don't know how the stilts were attached to their legs, but they weren't holding on to them. And during the dancing, they were jumping around on the stilts like it was nothing. Very impressive.

      Delete
  12. AnonymousJune 25, 2013 at 7:43 AM

    Another 'old' blogger I'm glad to find again :) I have a fountain similar outside my house... guess what I'm gonna do tonight! (Formerly Eternally Distracted)

    ReplyDelete
  13. laura b.June 25, 2013 at 4:33 PM

    We sometimes have African dancers and musicians come into the library to perform. Mostly West African traditions, it seems. Thanks for the video, very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  14. mollyJune 25, 2013 at 8:44 PM

    I've just been reading about Twila Tharp, and, between that and this, I've decided I haven't danced nearly enough in my life! Next life I'll ask for a set of drums for my second birthday and refuse to go to a school run by nuns!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Secret Agent WomanJune 25, 2013 at 9:42 PM

      Isn't that the truth? It's what I miss most about college.

      Delete
  15. Alice AudreyJune 28, 2013 at 8:14 PM

    What fun! If I lived in the area I'd have been in the thick of it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. KimJuly 9, 2013 at 8:24 AM

    This would be a great thing to take my kids to. Something animated and lively that would catch their attention.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)