The Anthropology of Dance

I love the way different cultures express themselves in dance.

Cultural and ethnic dance styles are as unique as the areas of the world they come from. Their histories and traditions go back hundreds and even thousands of years. Cultural dances around the world are practiced in Asia, Europe, Africa, America and Australia and really anywhere on the globe except probably Antarctica.



Sometimes dance is a part of sacred ritual. Sometimes it is just a way to let off some steam after the work week. Whatever. Whenever and wherever we travel I always try and seek out venues and festivals where local dancing is on display. Bonus points if we get to participate.

the Sardana in Barcelona

Sometimes I don't have to try very hard at all. Some dancing is still very much a part of everyday life. I found it amazing to see Barcelonés drop their purses and packages in the middle of an impromptu circle in the plaza on their way home from their Sunday outing in order to join hands to dance their native Sardana. We stood by and watched, trying to follow and memorize the steps in hopes of joining in. But like Greek dancing in the tavernas, it's best to left to the people who dance it from their soul.

@ a bal-musette in Paris

In villages all over France, dancing is still very much what one does on a night out. We have joined the party in a number of village squares in Provence and on the dance floor in a Paris suburb at a Bal-Musette. No experience necessary!

On some dance floors it is better to combine your dancing with lessons. Lambada in Brazil and Tango in Argentina. What better place to learn?

learning to Tango in Buenos Aires

a ceilidh ... in Kearny, New Jersey!

Not so with Irish and Scottish ceilidhs. While thrilling to watch, these folk dances and reels are very complicated. Best to just clap along and stomp your feet.

Fete de la Saint Jean, Megeve

Likewise, we left the Savoie folk dancing to the professionals on stage at the Fete de la Saint Jean in Megeve.

And at other festivals which feature dance in Brittany and Catalonia, Tuscany and Bavaria. These festivals are great. They not only bring the local culture alive but they provide a performance opportunity for traditional dance. Most of the festival dancers are pretty young so you know the dance culture will live on.

close-up of Savoie dancers

One of my fondest memories from my college summer backtracking trip across Europe involved dance. My travel buddy Laura and I were flying home from Vienna the next day and we were out on the town searching for our last meal before bed. We passed a park near the Danube where we could hear the waltzes of Strauss playing in the distance. We followed the music to a large pavilion where we found a Thé Dansant in full swing. Women in colorful full skirts were twirling around under the glass pavilion in the arms of men in suits waltzing to a full orchestra on the elevated bandstand. Laura and I joined in the fun and we never made it to dinner that night. But we didn't go to bed hungry! Years later Vince took me on our first date to see the New York City Ballet perform Vienna Waltzes at the New York State Theater. It was like watching a recreation of that very night in Vienna. I was still full on the memories.

Ilenden Festival, Bitola

If you are lucky enough to be in a village or city in the summer with a dance festival, don't miss it. When I did my field study at the archaeological dig at Heraclea Lyncestis in Macedonia, our group stayed in nearby Bitola. Every night there was another festival in this little compact city. A theater festival, an ice cream festival and the famous Ilinden Festival of Dance. All the various tribes and ethnic groups of central and eastern Europe were represented. It was awesome. Better than ice cream!

thai dancing in Bangkok

As a last resort, if we can't see them naturally on the street or in the parks, at festivals or in dance halls and restaurants, we go to a tourist show like this one in Thailand. Or floor shows in Mexico and luaus in Hawaii. And that's okay too. I just want to see the dances.

Tasty porridge (photo by Donna Abbott-Hrench)

Which is why I went to check out the Giant Ingoma at the Lesedi Cultural Center outside of Joburg. In addition to a tour through a cultural museum of recreated native villages, a film on the history of the native population in Southern Africa, and a Monati lunch or Boma dinner, they present a medley of local native dances with some background narrative thrown in.

our welcoming committee

Traditional African dance has roots dating back thousands of years. But quite frankly, since we have been in South Africa, except for when we it is part of the entertainment at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town or the African markets in Joburg, we have not really experienced a lot of ritual featuring traditional dance. I will have to work on that. In the meantime, we have Lesedi ...

 

Joburg gumboot dancing

Xhosa dancers

Basotho from Lesotho

Swazi from Swaziland

We did have a short opportunity to join in the fun and dance as well. Fortunately none of our group seemed to get any of our dance moves on film or video. That vision is probably better left to memory.