Bear Dancer, January 2009 (Tanya photo)Yearly Cycle of Dances
I have seen in many parts of the world folk dances celebrating the changing seasons of the area.
This seem to me to be a natural healthy thing to do and I have always enjoyed watching and even participating to a very small extent in the folk celebrations.
Of course most of these celebratio0ns have become folk dance for pay touristic attractions--with the usual spin-off trinkets and souvenirs. Most often the origin and the purpose of the dance cycle has been more or less forgotten--but I have experienced dances for and by simple people for their own cultural reasons--maybe "religious" maybe just to have a good time together.
Since I like to make papier mache masks and have worked some in theater I thought it would be interesting and fun to start a series of celebrations--featuring costumed dancers performing in a yearly cycle--and since the creatures of the earth are so threatened by the explosion of humanity--I though it would be fitting to honor some of the creatures of the area in which the dances are performed.
We are presently in Redding, California--the home of the very unusual Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento river. The gnoman of this sundial is HUGE since it lifts the cables supporting the heavy pedestrian bridge across this fairly wide river.
I thought this spot would be god for such a series of quasi-folk dances and a six-month yearly series of celebrations--sort of like those done by the Hopi Indians of Northern Arizona--but not religious and with participation not limited to the local people (Like the Hopis).
This idea has not born any fruit at all--but I thought it would be fun anyway to begin in a VERY small way the series of "dance celebrations".
The photo above shows the "bear dancer"--the first of the series--near the Sacramento River--but not very near the Rainbow Bridge.
This seem to me to be a natural healthy thing to do and I have always enjoyed watching and even participating to a very small extent in the folk celebrations.
Of course most of these celebratio0ns have become folk dance for pay touristic attractions--with the usual spin-off trinkets and souvenirs. Most often the origin and the purpose of the dance cycle has been more or less forgotten--but I have experienced dances for and by simple people for their own cultural reasons--maybe "religious" maybe just to have a good time together.
Since I like to make papier mache masks and have worked some in theater I thought it would be interesting and fun to start a series of celebrations--featuring costumed dancers performing in a yearly cycle--and since the creatures of the earth are so threatened by the explosion of humanity--I though it would be fitting to honor some of the creatures of the area in which the dances are performed.
We are presently in Redding, California--the home of the very unusual Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento river. The gnoman of this sundial is HUGE since it lifts the cables supporting the heavy pedestrian bridge across this fairly wide river.
I thought this spot would be god for such a series of quasi-folk dances and a six-month yearly series of celebrations--sort of like those done by the Hopi Indians of Northern Arizona--but not religious and with participation not limited to the local people (Like the Hopis).
This idea has not born any fruit at all--but I thought it would be fun anyway to begin in a VERY small way the series of "dance celebrations".
The photo above shows the "bear dancer"--the first of the series--near the Sacramento River--but not very near the Rainbow Bridge.
Tomasito, 2009
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