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African
American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond presents works dating from the early 1920s through the 2000s by black artists
who participated in the multivalent dialogues about art, identity, and the
rights of the individual that engaged American society throughout the twentieth
century.

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African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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Nha Nhac: Vietnam’s Royal Court Music - Google Arts & Culture

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Nha Nhac, meaning “elegant music”, refers to a broad range of musical and dance styles performed at the Vietnamese royal court from the fifteenth to the mid-twentieth century

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Music, Makers & Machines - Google Arts & Culture

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A brief history of electronic music with more than 250 online exhibitions by over 50 partner institutions from 15 countries.

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Courtesan songs originated in temples through devadasis and gradually reached Kothas and concert halls. While the courtesan tradition degenerated, their private performances dwindled considerably. But their art was not completely lost. With the growth of Bollywood, their music started incorporating itself into popular Hindi movies, though in a somewhat changed manner, which catered to the interest of the masses; it soon became part of the popular culture.

This curation shines a light on a few leading actresses who have played the courtesan role.

The shift from 'Mujra' to 'Item number' is a part of this transformation. A much bolder version of a Mujra dance is an Item song in today's industry, to tempt the viewers. These songs have kept evolving since the 1980s. For instance, 'Saat Samandar Paar' from the film 'Vishwatma' (1992), was one of Bollywood's first 'Item Song' in which the Actress is represented as a seductive object just like the Courtesans.

Without the contribution of these filmi songs, Indian cinema wouldn't be the same. But Bollywood keeps on changing and transforming itself depending on the needs and demands of its national and global audience.

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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Mujra: Bollywood's Courtesan Genre - Google Arts & Culture

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Real-life Actresses who played the role of a Courtesan in Reel life.

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Production: Research Division, the National Gugak Center
Executive Producer: Kim Young-woon
Program Director: Kim Myeong-seok
Program Producer: Kim So-ri
Manager / Editor: Hong Se-ah

References
National Gugak Center, Musical pieces in the Hanguk Eumakhak Jaryo Chongseo 5: Gagok wollyu, National Gugak Center, 1981.
National Gugak Center, Classical Vocal Music Of Korea Reinterpreted, National Gugak Center, 2018.

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"Gagok wollyu," the Beauty of Songs in Gagok - Google Arts & Culture

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Learn about the Gagok wollyu owned by National Gugak Center and listen to its authentically handed down repertories

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Folha TV: São São Paulo Meu Amor

In 2014, during an interview for Folha TV, Tom Zé recalled his inspiration for the song São São Paulo Meu Amor, which came first at Record TV's 4th Brazilian Popular Music Festival.

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Brazilian Popular Music Festivals - Google Arts & Culture

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How the song contests of the 1960s led to a new type of Brazilian popular music, with the launch of songs that are now considered classics

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Since the founding of the United States, African Americans have played a pivotal role in American history and heritage. This series of exhibits showcases the black experience in the United States through the lens of American postage stamps.

Ragtime

A composer and pianist, Scott Joplin is known as the "king of ragtime," a significant development in modern music that combined African-American harmonies and rhythms with other musical styles. In 1899, Joplin composed "Maple Leaf Rag," which was the genre's biggest hit. He included ragtime songs in his opera Treemonisha, the first opera composed by an African-American.

"When I'm dead twenty-five years, people are going to begin to recognize me."- Scott Joplin

In 1976, almost 60 years after his death, Joplin was awarded a special posthumous Pulitzer Prize for his contributions to music.

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African Americans in Jazz, Poetry and Beyond - The Black Experience on Stamps - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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21st century is when the culture and new media are joined together, thus, the world can encounter (or share) new culture very easily. K-pop is one of the pop culture in Korea that has been spot-lighted. In the early 2000s, marketing on Korean drama and its OST as well as idols in oversea countries succeeded to grab their attention. Consequently, K-pop was known as Korean Idols Music at that moment. The development of new media, such as social network services as well as streaming services, Korean ballad, hip-hop and other genres has introduced to the world. Spontaneously, the strength of K-pop such as, easy melody, showy performance, music videos with the stories that arouse audiences' interest, etc. causes to grab attention from Asian countries. Not only the Asian countries. Since 2011, K-pop has been spread out to western countries and also grabs their attention easily. Consequently, the interpretation of k-pop has expanded. The exhibition "2000s K-pop History" introduces the trend of Korean Pop culture by using k-pop contents from every year. "2000s K-pop History" would help people to understand Korean culture and Korean pop culture and expect people to enjoy it.

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2000s Korean Pop Music History_THE YEAR OF 2014 - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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“RuPaul’s Drag Race" Cast Explains The History of Drag Culture | Allure

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How China’s Queer Youth Built an Underground Ballroom Scene

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The Sicilian Puppet Theatre (Opra) is a characteristic theatre performance where the puppets, animated by "puppeteers", represent the exploits of the greatest medieval heroes who fought for Christendom against the Saracens.

In particular, the most recurrent theme in the Opra was the clash between the paladins of Charlemagne and the Muslim warriors who occupied the Iberian Peninsula, representing a real threat to the Frankish kingdom and the whole of Christian Europe.

According to historical tradition, puppet theatre on the subject of chivalry was already known in Spain in 1500s, was introduced to France in the seventeenth century and spread to Italy (Sicily) from the city of Naples in the early decades of the 19th century.

On the island it quickly acquired specific characteristics that made the Opera dei Pupi stand out from the generic art of puppetry.

The Sicilian puppets were in fact covered with elaborate metal armour and the right hand wire director was replaced by an iron rod, more suitable for making the puppets' movements direct and precise, especially during fights and duels.

Even the moral issues proposed during the shows, always based on a high sense of justice and respect for freedom, were a hallmark of the Opera dei Pupi, which was well in tune with the mood of the Sicilians and thus enjoyed great popularity.

As has often happened in the history and culture of Sicily, the Opera dei Pupi had its centres of interest in the two major cities of the island, where two important theatrical traditions, those of Palermo and Catania, can be distinguished.In both cities, experienced puppeteers taking short stories of predominantly oral tradition as a base, ingeniously adapted and personalised them, proposing plots taken from ancient chivalric literature, in which the Carolingian cycle had a predominant role with the History of the Paladins of France.

The show, which lasted about two hours in three acts, relived the loves and the deeds of kings, heroic Christian champions, Saracens noble, beautiful girls, witches and necromancers who forced the devils to do their bidding, huge giants and terrible dragons .

These characters were all personified by puppets built with great craftsmanship with a skeleton of wood and entirely covered in shiny armour and precious fabrics.

Their size and weight was smaller in Palermo (about 80 cm and 13 kg) and greater in Catania (about 1.30 m and 30 kg).

Special stage effects were used giving the shows a strong spectacle like the unexpected leakage of blood from wounded or dying puppets, elaborate effects that reproduced fountains from which sometimes blood would gush and the simulation of cities in flames.

The characters of the Puppets were immediately recognisable to the viewer because of their stylised costumes and characteristic voices. A king, in fact, was always dressed in an especially rich and beautiful suit and was recognisable by his crown, which, if surmounted by a cross, indicated the title of Emperor Charlemagne.

The Christian knights wore full armour, enhanced by a kilt and cloak, and had voices and faces that were almost always kind; whereas Saracen warriors were immediately recognisable by the typical turban, the crescents on their armour, their faces with big moustaches and their often earthy, guttural voices.

Le donne guerriere portavano armature con seni sbalzati e infine i Magonzesi, traditori cristiani, erano facilmente riconoscibili per il volto malefico, i baffi calati, gli abiti neri e le insegne piuttosto macabre sull'armatura, come il pipistrello.

Con tali caratteristiche, a partire da Palermo e Catania, l'Opera dei Pupi si diffuse in Sicilia a tal punto che sul finire del XIX sec. quasi tutte le città dell'isola vantavano compagnie di pupari locali.

L'interesse culturale dell'Opera dei Pupi si sviluppò in Europa durante il Romanticismo, toccando tappe di storia importanti specialmente in Francia, Inghilterra e Germania.

Durante gli anni Cinquanta iniziò un periodo di crisi dovuto all'affermarsi del cinema e alla diffusione della televisione: molte compagnie di pupari abbandonarono il loro antico mestiere.

The women warriors wore armour with bouncing breasts and finally the Magonzesi,Christian traitors, were easily recognisable by their evil faces, drooping moustaches, black clothes and the rather macabre insignia on the armour such as the bat.With such features, the Opera dei Pupi spread throughout Sicily from Palermo and Catania to such an extent that, in the late nineteenth century, almost every city on the island boasted local puppeteer companies.

The cultural interest in the Opera dei Pupi developed in Europe during the Romanticism era, reaching important milestones in history especially in France, England and Germany.

A period of crisis emerged during the 1950s due to the emergence of cinema and the spread of television and many puppeteer companies abandoned their ancient craft.

The theatre puppets are 120 cm height to the crest and weigh about 12 kg.

They are built with a spruce based frame covered with straw and in turn covered with sackcloth.

The torso is joined to the limbs and the head with iron rings to simulate the movements of the human body and the armour is all brass.

The torso is dressed (with or without armour) depending on the character that it will represent in the show.

In the Sicilian Puppet Theatre, the "manianti" are those who use their hands to move the puppets through the manoeuvring rods and wires.

They remain hidden from the public behind "scenes" of the sky and ground, they stand on the raised animation deck called "u scannapoggiu".

The "parraturi" are those who give the characters their voices, they also improvise dramatic dialogue and assume the role of director of the show itself.

The voices take on different timbres and tones from time to time depending on the characters and their part.

The armour is made of brass, copper or nickel silver and fully embossed according to traditional rules inherited from the old masters.

The costumes are traditional, trimmed cloaks of kings, fringes and braiding, often painted and embroidered.

Curator-Camera di Commercio di Catania

The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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Sicilian Puppets - Google Arts & Culture

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The Sicilian Puppet Theatre (Opra) is a characteristic theatre performance where the puppets, animated by "puppeteers", represent the exploits of the greatest medieval heroes who fought for Christendom against the Saracens.

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Rap and Hip Hop: Crash Course Black American History #47

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The Griot tradition of West Africa | Sibo Bangoura | TEDxSydney

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Ukraine’s Performing Arts - Google Arts & Culture

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Learn more about the performing art as a living tradition of Ukrainian people

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Dhaanto is a style of traditional Somali music and folk dance. It is specific to certain Somali-speaking areas in the Horn region. The dance-song was revived during the Dervish period in the early 20th century, when it was used to raise the 'spirts' of soldiers and was often sung on horseback. Additionally, the genre was employed in Islamic poetry. Modern exponents of the dhaanto style include the Somali singer-songwriter Aar Maanta.

Famous dhaanto artists include. Ahmed Budal, Ali Dhaanto, Bashir Carab, Nuur Araale, Kafeya Sarhay Isaaq, Hodon Ma'allin, Bashir Jaawi and Abdi Dhaanto, and more.

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Dhaanto is a style of traditional Somali music and folk dance. It is specific to certain Somali-speaking areas in the Horn region. The dance-song was revived during the Dervish period in the early 20th century, when it was used to raise the 'spirts' of soldiers and was often sung on horseback.

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As the summer sun rises above the mesa edge, people in the village begin the day. Suddenly the early-morning silence is broken by the melodic voice of the village crier, who has exciting news. A Butterfly Dance will take place in four weeks. The men of the village are invited to go to the kiva in the evening to start gathering the songs for the upcoming dance.

The Hopi Butterfly Dance is a two-day, ceremonial social dance for young people. During late summer and early fall in northern Arizona's Hopi villages, the dance takes place when a person or family decides to sponsor it. Ceremonial arrangements must be completed before the village crier's announcement. The village men provide the prayer songs for the dance. They select the songs and practice them in the kiva, an underground chamber where all Hopi ceremonies are conducted. Often evoking the world's natural elements and nature's gifts, the songs thank the Creator for the Hopi way of life.

When the songs are ready, young people who wish to participate are ceremonially taken to the kiva to practice dancing to the songs. Only young, unmarried girls may participate in the dance. The girl's partner is a clan relative on her father's side. The relationship between the two is friendly and teasing. The boy may be called her boyfriend, but, as clan relatives, they are not allowed to marry. During ceremonial preparations in the kiva, village elders guide the young participants in proper ways and appropriate behavior. At home, in the days before the dance, a girl's mother and grandmother also guide her in proper behavior and the ceremonial meaning of the dance. The girl learns what it means to be a young Hopi woman and her purpose and meaning within Hopi culture.

The young people learn all thirty-two songs that will be danced during the two days, along with each song's movements. The lead singer encourages the young people to feel the messages of the prayer songs. When necessary, the men describe the appropriate hand and foot movements, and they interpret the songs' meanings to ensure that the participants understand. The evening before the Butterfly Dance, during the last practice dance at the kiva, the girl gives her partner food that she and her family have prepared for him.

The young girls wear their dress-up mantas for the dance. Early on the first morning of the Butterfly Dance, the girl's partner takes her to his mother's house to complete her ceremonial dressing. The family dresses her in hair bangs to cover her eyes, a colorful dance scarf, anklets, and jewelry. The girl's new kopatsoki (headdress), created especially for her, is carefully placed and secured on her head. The colorful designs on the kopatsoki present her clan symbols and may include a symbol of her partner's clan. Finally her feet are painted yellow, a color that represents the eagle's yellow feet and will enable her to dance lightly throughout the day.

During the pre-sunrise hours of the dance day, the village plaza is ceremonially prepared. The people in the village understand their responsibility in helping to care for the plaza during the dance. The butterfly dancers appear in the plaza in two lines facing each other, each girl holding fragrant pine boughs. The older girls and their partners dance at the head of the double line, with the younger dancers following. Everyone dances lightly, keeping time with the drumbeat, and the dancers' hand movements interpret and emphasize each song's meaning. At appropriate times during the dance, the boys shake their hand rattles for emphasis.

With their family and/or clan relatives assisting, the sponsoring person or family provides the midday meals each day for the dancers and singers. The offering of the meals demonstrates thankfulness to the singers and dancers for participating. A brief speech of thanks may also be made after the food has been provided.

Throughout the dance, the girl wears the kopatsoki proudly but in an elegantly humble way. Afterwards, the girl receives the kopatsoki as a gift from her partner, along with a new shawl and a basket of groceries. Other family and clan relatives of the boy may honor the girl with additional gifts of grocery baskets. Weeks after the Butterfly Dance, the young girl and her family repay her dance partner with traditional Hopi foods that they have prepared. For each shawl the girl has received, she gives a specially woven basket. The offering of reciprocal gifts is a way of recognizing and accepting special family relationships.

-Gloria Lomahaftewa

Gloria Lomahaftewa (Hopi [Cloud/Water Clan]), Songopavi Village, who is of Hopi and Choctaw descent, is an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe. She has twenty-five years of experience in curating museum exhibitions and collections, consulting with tribes about museum collections, conducting tribal community outreach, developing educational programs, interpreting cultural materials, and in museum administration. She is also a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act specialist. Lomahaftewa was formerly a curator at the Heard Museum and the Museum of Northern Arizona. She lives on the Hopi reservation, working with Hopi Cancer Support Services, and she is actively involved in a project to construct a tribal museum, language, and archive resource center.

A girl's or young woman's ceremonial dress for the Butterfly Dance is composed of a traditional Hopi dress (a piece of woven black cloth fastened over the right shoulder, leaving the left shoulder bare and reaching to the knees); a woven belt, often dyed black, red, and green; a brightly colored, lace-trimmed, cotton shawl; and anklets. The most striking components of a girl's outfit, however, are her headdress, called a kopatsoki, and black hair bangs, which cover her eyes. The girl receives the kopatsoki as a gift from her dance partner. It is made specifically for the girl by the boy or one of his family members. The imagery includes symbols of the girl's clan and sometimes of her dance partner's clan. The central figure on this headdress, situated between stalks of corn, is the Niman Katsina. Rain clouds border the edges of the kopatsoki.

Headdress and wristbands, 2011. Made by Lavelle Frayne Mahle. Hotevilla, Arizona. Wood, paint, parrot feathers, leather, yarn. 26/8785. Hair Bangs, 2011. Made by Palmer Lomakema. Phoenix, Arizona. Hair, cotton binding, thread. 26/8786. Earrings, 1929. Wood, turquoise. Arizona. 16/6629. Necklace, 2011. Made by Moonte Sinquah. Arizona. Turquoise. 26/8833. Manta (Dress), 1950. Made by Frank Gaseonema. Arizona. Wool, dye. 24/7776. Scarf, 2012. Made by Jeanette Sahneyah. Arizona. Cotton. 26/8832. Sash, 1965. Made by David Tewamanewa. Second Mesa, Arizona. Wool, dye. 25/5435. Anklets, 1919. Third Mesa, Arizona. Canvas, wool yarn, hide thong. 9/566. Bracelet, 1970. Made by Manuel Hoyungawa. Arizona. Silver, turquoise. 25/6226. Bracelet, 1982. Made by Michael Kabotie (Lomawywisa). Arizona. Silver, turquoise. 25/6329. Photograph by Ernest Amoroso, NMAI.

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Hopi Butterfly Dance - Circle of Dance - October 6, 2012 through October 8, 2017 - The National Museum of the American Indian in New York

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Circle of Dance is a five-year exhibition that presents Native dance as a vibrant, meaningful, and diverse form of cultural expression. Featuring ten social and ceremonial dances from throughout the Americas, the exhibition illuminates the significance of each dance and highlights the unique characteristics of its movements and music.

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Leading up to Ancestralizing the Present on June 10, the event's curator (and Dance Centre Artist-in-Residence) Dr. Mique'l Dangeli breaks down four fundamental aspects necessary in generating a more complex understanding of Northwest Coast First Nations Dance:

1. The Northwest Coast is one of the most diverse regions of Indigenous people in North America.The cultural and linguistic diversity in this region is extreme, one of the most diverse regions of Indigenous people in what colonialism has deemed North America. Northwest Coast First Nations refers specifically to the Indigenous peoples whose territories are now known as Western Washington, the Coast of British Columbia, and the Southeast Alaskan Panhandle. The diversity in cultural practices, as well as shared or similar beliefs and practices, is not only at the heart of-but also accounts for-the strength of the work of Northwest Coast First Nations dance artists and their dance groups.

2. "Dance Groups," not dance troupes or companies, are central to the expression of identity and Indigenous rights on the Northwest Coast.The term dance group is used in the everyday vernacular of Northwest Coast First Nations people to refer to collectives of singers, drummers, and dancers who perform songs and dances owned by their Nations, families, and communities. Membership of each dance group is self-determined and delineated in a variety of ways. Intergenerationality is central to Indigenous pedagogical practices (ways of teaching) that allow for embodied knowledge to be transferred and maintained by people of all generations.
Ownership of songs and dances performed by dance groups are passed down hereditarily and/or given, what we refer to as 'gifted', between individuals, communities, and Nations. Rights to songs and dances, are governed by what First Nations people refer to as -bodies of laws that form Indigenous legal systems. The relationship between protocol and Northwest Coast First Nations dance practices is immensely complex. The main point I wish to make is that for Northwest Coast First Nations people, songs and dances are not only an integral expression of our identities, an embodied archive of our languages, histories, relationships to and ownership of land and waterways, but it is also our legal system. The act of singing a song or performing a dance that does not belong to you, is a claim-through Indigenous legal means-to another's identity and the territorial rights owned by that hereditary line. This is one of the many reasons why appropriation hurts our communities so deeply.

3. Northwest Coast First Nations songs, dances, and ceremonies were outlawed in Canada from 1884-1951. For 67 years, it was illegal to be who were truly are.Northwest Coast First Nations dance practices cannot be separated from their criminalization in Canada from 1884 to 1951. I feel that I must share a conversation I commonly have regarding frustration to the response Indigenous groups have toward "Reconciliation" efforts: "Why don't your people share your practices by teaching others to do them?" A simple answer is: Because it is who we are. We have inherited the right to perform these songs and dances from our ancestors. It's only been legal for us to do so for the past 65 years. Rather than asking us to teach non-First Nations people, as a part of so-called "Reconciliation," provide us with the support (space and funding) to strengthen our own practices and recover what we have lost during our cultural genocide.

4. They might look like old songs and dance to you, but they are new to us.Northwest Coast First Nations dance artists are composing new songs and choreographing new dances nearly every day. Along the coast, hundreds of new songs and dances are being brought to life (performed for the first time) by First Nations people in ceremony at potlatches and during public events every year. Because we are in our regalia (ceremonial clothing) and singing in our language doesn't mean that what we are performing is ancient. We are continuing the ways of our ancestors by writing our lived history into songs and dances for future generations to embody.

N'toyaxsism! ~ My gratitude to all of you.
_________________________________________

This blog post has been extracted from a longer article titled Dancing Our Identity:Four Fundamental Aspects Necessary in Generating a More Complex Understanding of Northwest Coast First Nations Dance by Dr. Mique'l Dangeli, which originally appeared in the March/April 2016 edition of Dance Central.

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Understanding Northwest Coast First Nations Dance

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Leading up to Ancestralizing the Present on June 10, the event's curator (and Dance Centre Artist-in-Residence) Dr. Mique'l Dangeli breaks down four fundamental aspects necessary in generating a more complex understanding of Northwest Coast First Nations Dance: The Northwest Coast is one of the most diverse regions of Indigenous people in North America.The cultural and linguistic diversity in this region is extreme, one of the most diverse regions of Indigenous people in what colonialism has deemed North America.

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Contemporary Chamorro music is a ubiquitous part of life on Guam at the beginning of the 21st century and a key element of modern Chamorro culture. Chamorro music encompasses a wide variety of styles that reflect the wide variety of musical influences that have gained popularity through various historical eras.

The sounds of modern Chamorro music are diverse ranging from older style batsu, jitterbug and cha cha to country and western, disco, rock and roll and island-style reggae. Most recently, a new form of Chamorro music is being created to accompany the modern versions of ancient Chamorro dances that are gaining popularity on the island. In addition to its entertainment value, Chamorro music has become one of the primary vehicles for the perpetuation of Chamorro language in the now English-language dominated popular culture of Guam.
Chamorro music today
Guam has two local radio stations which focus almost exclusively on Chamorro music and there is another in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The genre has also developed a substantial market in the mainland United States wherever Chamorros from Guam and the Northern Marianas have settled.

An active community of musicians perpetuates the genre by continually producing new albums and playing live at Chamorro dance clubs and parties as well as such contemporary institutions as the twice weekly "Night Market" at The Chamorro Village complex in Hagåtña. It has also been adopted by hotels and many of Guam's commercial outlets providing both locals and tourists an ambiance that reflects the island's unique cultural identity.

Although most Chamorro music today is influenced by outside cultural influences that have come to Guam in the post-World War II era, contemporary Chamorro musicians perpetuate a cultural practice with a lineage that goes back to ancient times.
Ancient Chamorro music
Music has been an important cultural element in the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Marianas since the islands were first settled about 4,500 years ago. While much of the information about these years has been lost, the first European visitors during the 16th and 17th centuries made note of the importance of music in various cultural practices on the island.

Various sources mention a call-and-response type of singing that took the form of poetic debate which has come to be known as Chamorrita or Kantan Chamorrita. This is a competitive form of singing in which one chanter wins when the other can no longer come up with a response. The use of this art form ranged from playful teasing to the instigation of war. It is not clear today what these melodies sounded like but it is likely that the "Gumupu si Paluma" melody which is used in contemporary Kantan Chamorrita evolved from one of these ancient melodies.

There were also other forms of chants, and like most Pacific cultures, chants and songs were used both to tell stories and to preserve important knowledge.
Music of Kustumbren Chamorro
Kustumbren Chamorro is the name for syncretic indigenous culture that developed in the Marianas through over 200 years of Spanish colonial rule. The Spanish era was a time when Chamorros converted to Roman Catholicism and incorporated its rituals into their daily lives. It was also a time when Chamorros were influenced by the Filipinos, Mexicans, Spanish and others who came to the island for various reasons and sometimes married into the local population.

All of these influences shaped the music of the islands. In addition to foreign rhythms and melodies introduced by missionaries, settlers and visitors, new musical instruments such as the guitars, pianos, violins and harmonicas undoubtedly changed the tonal values of Chamorro songs. During these years many of the earlier forms of music were lost or transformed, but new music introduced from outside influences was embraced and transformed by Chamorro musicians.

There were various forms of music on Guam during these years. Perhaps the most dominant in everyday life was music associated with the practice of Catholicism as found in the Catholic Mass, novenas, and rituals surrounding the Catholic sacraments of baptism, marriage and death. Many of these religious songs are still sung today by Chamorro speakers.

There were also many folk songs that told of daily life on Guam, of hardships, of love, and whatever else came to the minds of songwriters. Others songs were simply adaptations of popular western songs. One of the most popular songs in pre-WW II Guam was "Hagu i Flores," a Chamorro version of "You Are My Sunshine."

Many such songs went hand-in-hand with dance and so conformed to the rhythms of the two most popular Spanish dance styles: the Spanish Waltz (batsu) and the polka (so'tis), dances that maintained their popularity into the early American period. The cha cha and the jitterbug would later become popular with the first post-WWII generation.

Although the culture of Guam changed considerably over the years, the ancient practice of Kantan Chamorrita continued to be perpetuated by skilled practitioners throughout the island's Spanish Era (1668-1898) and Naval Era (1899-1941).
Ethnomusicologist Kim Bailey defined Kantan Chamorita as:
Ancient folk songs, arranged in quatrains of two octosyllabic couplets, which, according to some writers, are composed on a single melody, the variations depending on the individual style of performance. The distinctive features are spontaneous improvisation and a dialogue performance between two or more people, depending on the occasion or function.

Kantan Chamorita was used as a way to make monotonous labor enjoyable, but also played a role in festive occasions. For example, tuberos (a person who taps a coconut tree for the sap to make tuba, a coconut liquer) would often "throw" Chamorritas as they passed their time up working in coconut trees. Another common setting for Chamorritas was roof thatching parties where two or even three-way Chamorritas could be heard. Kantan Chamorrita also played a role in wedding celebrations.

Another popular form of Chamorro music was the serenada (seranade). Men would sing these songs to their love interests as a form of courtship. Seranadas were also commonplace at family gatherings as they were the perfect settings for relatives to get together and sing. This custom can possibly be traced to Spanish times but soon died out after WWII.
Music during World War II
Through almost three years of Japanese administration during WWII, many Chamorros were forced into a more "traditional" lifestyle as they moved to their ranches in hopes of limiting contact with Japanese soliders.

The Chamorro language, whether through song or simply spoken, served the people as a language of resistance since it could not be understood by the Japanese. Popular songs such as "Ramon San," "Senindan" and the English language song "Sam, Sam, My Dear Old Uncle Sam" kept Chamorro spirits alive at this difficult time in history.
Music after World War II
In the mid and late-1940s Chamorrro lives were radically altered by resettlement in new villages as the island transformed into a massive military fortress as WWII raged on in Asia. The next three decades would see Chamorros reduced from over 90 percent of the island's population to the brink of minority status. While the Chamorro language was still used in most Chamorro homes in the 1950s and 1960s, it became less likely to be heard in public places and many new settlers to Guam had no knowledge of the language.

For older Chamorro musicians less common use of the Chamorro language didn't mean that they stopped playing the songs they already knew. However, for the younger generation that was coming of age in the post-war world, there was greater motivation to embrace the new cultural influences that were coming through the airwaves of Armed Forces Radio and later KGTF, Guam's public broadcasting television station. Musicians during these years also had new opportunities for employment since military clubs needed bands, but opportunities in this case were for playing popular American music sung in English.

Still there were many Chamorro songs written during these years and like the folk songs of earlier eras, these songs reflected the interests and concerns of Chamorros of the time. For example, well known songwriter Roque Mantanona wrote his song "Bai Hanao Pa'i Gera" (I Am Going to the War) in Hawai`i as a he prepared to participate in the Korean War.

It was not, however, until the 1960s that Chamorro music began to once again gain a wide following on the island. Among the groups that began to gain popularity in the early 1960s were the Charfauros Brothers, the Delgado Brothers, amongst many others. Chamorro musicians began playing at fiestas, political rallies and on talent shows such as Alan Sekt's "Talent on Parade" which aired on KUAM television.

Singing in Chamorro during these years took on the added purpose of cultural activism which is best represented in Jesus Charfauros' "Munga Yo' Ma'Fino Engles" (Don't Speak to Me in English) which was performed by popular local recording artist Johnny Sablan.

It was not until 1968 when the Chamorro music recording industry really began with the release of Johnny Sablan's Dalai Nene, the first Chamorro LP. Sablan's early albums were many cases excercises in historical and cultural preservation since he made an effort to revive songs from pre-war Guam and put them on record.

Sablan also played an important role in promoting local talent with the production of the Kasamiento album in 1973. This album included the first recordings of future stars Flora Baza, The Charfauros Brothers, Mike Laguana, Terry Rojas and Frankie Sanchez.

During the early 1970s Jesus and Tommy Charfauros took over the "Chamorro Hour" show on KUAM 610 AM which would come to be known as "Programma Chamorrita." A problem at the time was that there was not enough Chamorro music to fill the airwaves so they, along with younger brother, Ike, took it upon themselves to record local artists on reel-to-reel tape for their program. They would go on to open their own recording studio in 1977 and produce some of the most popular artists of the time including J.D. Crutch, Mike Laguana, Flora Baza, The Reyes Brothers and George Cruz. They also recorded the Saipanese group Tropicsette which had become popular on Guam playing at Joe and Flo's in Asan, one of the first clubs on the Guam to feature Chamorro music.

Tropicsette was important because it was the beginning of renewed connections between Chamorros of the Marianas who had been isolated by the travel restrictions of the Trust Territory days. Members Candy Taman and Frank "Bokkongo" Pangelinan remain among the most well known Chamorro musicians today.

During the 1980s lowered production cost for cassette-tape recordings resulted in a dramatic increase in the production of Chamorro music. Stars of the 1980s included J.D. Crutch, Gus and Doll, Alexandro Sablan, The Guam Sirenas, Frank Magellan Santos and K.C. DeLeon Guerrero. Since that time many new artists have emerged.

Today, Chamorro musicians continue to perform and maintain a strong fan base. Some popular artists include K.C. DeLeon Guerrero's brother Daniel DeLeon Guerrero, Ruby Aquiningoc Santos and Jesse Bais, among several others.

There is, however, concern that the Chamorro music industry is threatened by the proliferation of digital formats which make piracy easier than ever. Nevertheless artists continue to produce new albums not so much to make money as to promote the indigenous culture of the island.
Neo-traditional Chamorro music
During the 1980s a new type of Chamorro music emerged, this time to accompany the revival of traditional Chamorro dancing. This began with a production entitled "Guahu Taotao Tano" which was developed as an entry for the 1984 South Pacific Arts Festival in New Caledonia. The musical production was directed by the late Silas "Ed" Gould.

Although the production did not make it to New Caledonia, it made a big impression on those on Guam who experienced it and helped awaken awareness of the ancient Chamorro identity. It was eventually showcased in Tahiti in 1985.

"Guahu Taotao Tano" was then taken to the South Pacific Arts Festival in Townsville, Australia in 1988. Today there are several successful dance groups that perform to this new type of traditional music and compete in inter-island dance competitions.

Coltilde Castro Gould, an excellent storyteller, also composed many Chamorro songs during this time. Gould composed songs such as "Man Biha na Tiempo," "Piknik," "Si Rose" and "Inapinicara." Most of these songs were recorded instrumentally by Jack De Mello from Hawai`i on the LP Legends of Guam.

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A deep dive into evolution of Chamorro music on Guam

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Contemporary Chamorro music is a ubiquitous part of life on Guam at the beginning of the 21st century and a key element of modern Chamorro culture.

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Chinyanta Kabaso: The dazzling diversity of African dance - in 14 moves

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If African culture were a tree, then dance would be its flowers, says choreographer and TED Idea Search winner Chinyanta Kabaso. In a captivating display of both traditional and modern dances, she showcases the beauty of these movements and explains how they reveal the history of migration and shared cultural connections of different ethnic groups across the continent.

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If you’re ugly you must learn to dance. So says a Zimbabwean proverb that is used to encourage people in the community to dance. And when the drummers change the beat, the dancers must change their step. African music and dance are inextricably linked – when we talk about a certain type of music we cannot fail to mention the type of dance that accompanies it. Sometimes a dance is even more noticeable than the music, which is there to simply provide the canvas for the beauty of movement to take form.

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Throat Singing: A unique vocalization from three cultures

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Throat-singing, a guttural style of singing or chanting, is one of the world’s oldest forms of music. For those who think the human voice can produce only one note at a time, the resonant harmonies of throat-singing are surprising. In throat-singing, a singer can produce two or more notes

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Lakhon is an overall term referring to many forms of dance-drama in Thailand. It may derive from Java, where the plot of a performance is called lakon. The most archaic genre of lakhon is lakhon nora or nora from the Thai part of the Malay Peninsula, which will be discussed later. The most classical form is lakhon nai, developed at the courts of Ayutthaya and Bangkok and originally performed by royal maidens, while the popular form lakhon nok was originally performed by men.

In the nineteenth century international influences and theatrical realism led to even other forms of lakhon. The various genres differ in plot material and in some performance techniques. While nang yai and khon illustrate the events of the Ramakien and are quite epic in nature, only one of the lakhon genres bases its plots on the Ramakien. In the others, the plots are derived from the ancient Buddhist Jataka stories and folk-tales. Thus the lakhon plays often have a distinct fairy-tale character.

Lakhon Nai

Lakhon nai is the most classical form of lakhon dance-drama. It developed at the courts of Ayutthaya and Bangkok, and its name means the "inner theatre" referring to the fact that its performances were limited to the private quarters of the royal palace. Its history may be longer, possibly going back to the ancient dance-drama of the Khmers. The first written reference to lakhon nai, however, comes from the Ayutthaya period.

It was performed by the royal maidens of the king's harem, and the performances could be viewed only by the king himself, his guests, and members of the court. It was not possible to use male actors in lakhon nai, as it was performed in the women's quarter of the palace. At the beginning of the Bangkok period the Thai kings still kept large harems, to which vassals "donated", mainly for political reasons, their beautiful daughters, who were taught classical dance in the palace.

In lakhon nai the plots are based on three story cycles: the Ramakien, the Unraut relating to the Hindu god Krishna, and the most popular one, the originally Javanese Inao, which was adopted in Thailand at an early stage. Inao is a Thai version of the extensive cycle of stories relating to the adventures of Prince Panji of East Java. It tells of the separation of Prince Panji, or Inao, from his beautiful bride, and the many adventures they experience in trying to find each other. The actresses recite their lines in gentle voices, but the demanding vocal sections are performed by a female chorus to the accompaniment of a traditional, percussion-dominated orchestra playing variations of stock melodies.

Lakhon nai employs the glittering standard costumes of Thai dance and the whole vocabulary of classical dance, of which the actresses must have full command. The dance style is approximately the same for both men and women, and there are thus no technical obstacles to women playing men's roles or vice versa. When women perform as male characters, the masculinity of the dance is toned down, and the all-female cast gives the lakhon nai its characteristically graceful style.

The early stage of the Bangkok period was the golden age of lakhon nai, but Rama III outlawed it as well as other forms of court theatre in the first half of the nineteenth century. The khon mask-drama recovered from this brief ban, but it was difficult for lakhon nai to survive, and it lost popularity in the late nineteenth century when realism came to the fore. At present, the College of Dramatic Arts in Bangkok and the National Theatre of Thailand maintain both traditions, although full lakhon nai performances are rarely staged.

Lakhon Nok

Lakhon nok is a popular form of dance-drama, which, unlike lakhon nai, was originally mainly a product of the common people, and it is closely linked to the Buddhist temple fairs, although the palace also had its own lakhon nok groups. It was originally restricted to male actors, usually professionals. Since the early nineteenth century women have been permitted to perform female parts. There are dozens of lakhon nok plays, usually dramatised versions of the Buddhist Jataka stories or folk-tales. Here, as in all genres of lakhon, the performances have a distinct fairy-tale quality. The plays depict the trials of noble princes, and adventures in demon-infested forests with Hindu deities and spirits taking part in the action.

A very popular lakhon nok play is a dramatization of Phra Law, an ancient story of tragic love, which is known to all Thais. It has been attributed to King Boromo Trailokanat (1448-1488) or King Narai (1657-1688). It is the tale of a young prince, Phra Law, who is handsome and loved by all. He is married to a princess equally perfect, but a mysterious restlessness erodes the prince's peace of mind. Driven by these feelings, he flees his palace, finally arriving in the kingdom of his father's enemy, where he meets two princesses. They fall passionately in love, and the princesses hide Phra Law in their chambers, where they enjoy complete and perfect happiness. The girls' grandmother finds out that the son of her archenemy is hiding in her palace, and orders her servants to kill Phra Law. In the ensuing fight, all three young people are tragically killed. During the cremation ceremonies, the two enemy kings, the fathers of the victims, become reconciled.

Phra Aphaimani is probably the most beloved of all the epics staged as lakhon nok. It was written by Thailand's foremost court poet of the early Bangkok period, Sunthorn Phu (1786-1855). He worked during the first five Chakri rulers, but temporary lost his position and favour. While imprisoned by King Rama II he wrote Phra Aphaimani, which is based on diverse sources including several Buddhist Jataka stories. The main theme involves the education of the Don Juan-like hero, the flute-playing Phra Aphaimani, in several fantastic places. His adventures include, among others, service in a foreign army, a meeting with a Western heroine, and a marriage to a sea monster.

Sang Thong, based on a widespread Asian legend, is another popular plot for lakhon nok. Its earliest Thai version dates from the Ayutthaya period in the seventeenth century, but the commonly used drama version is from the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Rama II and his court poets adapted the tale to court tastes.

Sang Thong, like other lakhon plots, is very complex, and the actual performances usually consist of only one or two acts, as the overall context is known to the audience. Lakhon nok has many features in common with lakhon nai, although its music has a faster tempo, and dance skills of a classical standard are not necessarily required. Sometimes it even includes parodic references to the classical court tradition. There are also differences in the vocal parts because this tradition permits the dancer-actors themselves to sing.

The costumes in lakhon nok are mainly based on classical dance attire, although some characters, such as Sang Thong in the black man's disguise, wear masks. At the peak of its popularity at the end of the nineteenth century, lakhon nok was being performed in almost a hundred casino-theatres around Bangkok. It was naturally affected by the tastes of the common people, with a stress on the comic aspects and a free interpretation of the theme. The sets make full use of illusionistic effects with painted backdrops and modern lighting. The National Theatre of Thailand and theatre groups in the universities still perform lakhon nok from time to time.

Variations of Lakhon

The age of Western theatre and cinema led lakhon to develop in a more realistic direction, creating lakhon phud or spoken lakhon. There was also an operatic, completely sung, form of lakhon. During the reign of Rama V (1868-1910) Thai classical dance was revived, although it received strong foreign influences at the same time. This led to lakhon phantang, where foreign influences such as "ethnic" costume and Chinese martial arts were adapted to basically Thai-style dance-drama.

A well-known example of the lakhon phantang style is a play called Saming Phra Ram Asa. It is part of a larger work called Rajathirai, describing the many conflicts between the Burmese and the Chinese in the fifteenth century. The various nationalities wear their own costumes; for example, a Chinese general, displaying his martial arts in the fighting scenes, is dressed in Chinese opera costume. Thus, one branch of lakhon developed as a historical play with its requirements of naturalism and "local flavour" in somewhat the same way as Western theatre did in the nineteenth century.

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Lakhon, Forms of Dance-Drama | | Asian Traditional Theatre & Dance

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Lakhon is an overall term referring to many forms of dance-drama in Thailand. It may derive from Java, where the plot of a performance is called lakon. The most archaic genre of lakhon is lakhon nora or nora from the Thai part of the Malay Peninsula, which will be discussed later.

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The ancient Maya dance drama, the Rabinal Achí, is one of the best examples of surviving pre Columbian culture in Mesoamerica.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in late January when I set out from Guatemala City with an adventurous group of friends for the remote Mayan town of Rabinal in Baja Verapaz. One of the oldest municipalities in the country, Rabinal is located in the western highlands about 125 kilometers north of Guatemala City.

Our comfy van made its way easily through dry, desert-like terrain before beginning its ascent into the lush forested hillsides of Baja Verapaz, which is almost entirely surrounded by the Chuacús Mountains.

We were on our way to witness the ancient Maya dance-drama, the Rabinal Achí, whose written text dates back to the 16th century. This colorful and performative work is considered to be a rare and one of the best examples of surviving pre-Columbian culture in Mesoamerica.

The Rabinal Achí is performed every year on Jan. 25, the feast day of St. Paul, the patron saint of Rabinal, and it is depicted through music and dance by characters wearing elaborate costumes and wooden masks.

The central plaza in Rabinal was bustling with activity when we arrived. Beginning early in the morning, actors and locals spill out onto the main square dressed up in stunning costume or wearing their finest traje in preparation for the day's activities, including a desfile or procession.

In the distance, the haunting sound of the "tun" drum and a trumpet usher in the dancing characters who will participate in the four acts of this complex ethno-drama that develops over the course of two days.

The sheer beauty of the indigenous dress as well as the devotion of the entire community to its pageantry is simply breathtaking. It is clearly an intrinsic part of the residents' culture, just like the air that they breathe.

The town of Rabinal is predominantly Achí with most of its population speaking Achí, a dialect of the Maya Quiche language. The name Rabinal literally means "Place of the Lord's Daughter" in Q'eqchi'.

As with most historical drama, there is a conflict involved, and the main characters are two captains and political rivals, the Rabinal Achí and the K'iche Achí. Other characters include the king of Rabinaleb', Lord Ojob'Toj; Achíj Mun Achíj Mun Ixoq Mun, who has both male and female characteristics; the green-feathered mother, Uchuch Q'uq' Uchuch Raxon who is also a nuptial princess; as well as 12 eagles and 12 jaguars, representing the elite warriors of the fortress of Kajyub'.

K'iche'Achí is ultimately captured and put on trial for attempting to kidnap Rabinaleb's children, and in the fourth and final act, he is executed by being shot with arrows.

According to anthropologist and ethno-historian Ruud van Akkeren, the drama's historical and cultural significance goes well beyond a mere political conflict in which the execution of K'iche Achí and the victory of Rabinal Achí are depicted.

"For some 20 years now, I have been trying to help the Guatemalan audience understand that the political conflict between Rabinal and K'iche is only 25 percent of the original text," said van Akkeren.

He went on to explain that it was not uncommon for the ancient Maya to conflate politics with cosmovision as rulers often sought out the supernatural to enhance or legitimize their position and power. Cosmovision is a specific way of understanding the world, particularly as it pertains to time and space and its ritualized representation by people in Mesoamerica.

So much of the Rabinal Achí text is esoteric language that clearly suggests an underlying drama within a drama, which van Akkeren refers to as the Maize Hero. In his book, Place of the Lord's Daughter, van Akkeren points out that the victim-Ki'che Achí, who is sacrificed at the end of the performance-dies as the Maize Hero, tied to the Iximche' or maize tree.

"Essential aspects of the Maya world view, such as the culmination of a calendar cycle of 52 years, the creation of the sun and the moon, and the myth of the Maize God, are all intricately connected in the Rabinal Achí," he emphasized.

Van Akkeren-whose passion for theater and anthropology inspired him to write his doctoral dissertation on the subject of the Rabinal Achí-lived in Rabinal for several years. In so doing, he came to realize that many of its spectators and inhabitants didn't fully comprehend the historical context or what was actually happening inside the drama.

Multiple factors, including lack of interest on a national level and inadequate educational programs, have slowly contributed to the Maya becoming disconnected from their own history and culture. This "disconnect," as he refers to it, among present-day Maya motivated him to make it his life's work to revive Maya history together with the Maya people.

Working closely with Maya communities, NGO officials, university students and local educators, van Akkeren has for more than 20 years now conducted seminars and field trips and authored written materials on ancient Maya culture, including eight books and multiple articles.

He also participated on a committee together with the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and UNESCO, which resulted in the Rabinal Achí being declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO on Nov. 25, 2005.

Even after 500 years of the Rabinal Achí, the actors who participate still believe that the spirits of the warriors who lost their lives in the battle described in the dance-drama, live on in the surrounding mountains and are present in each dance. For the Achís of modern-day Rabinal, it is not merely about preserving their cultural heritage but about bridging the gap between past and future

The people of Rabinal are very welcoming of visitors. In addition to the annual performance of the Rabinal Achí, the town is known for its exquisite ceramics and for its production of sweet oranges.

REVUE ARTICLE text and photos by Kerstin Sabene

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The ancient Maya dance drama, the Rabinal Achí, is one of the best examples of surviving pre Columbian culture in Mesoamerica. It was a beautiful Sunday morning in late January when I set out from Guatemala City with an adventurous group of friends for the remote Mayan town of Rabinal in Baja Verapaz.

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Many people across the globe, Egyptians included, believe that it was the Greeks that invented the art of theater. However, ancient records and documents reveal that long before the Greeks, Ancient Egyptians were the first civilization to ever perform shows publicly.

With no special venues built for plays, ancient Egyptians performed shows for the general public on the streets. According to centuries old sources, dating sometime during the Middle Kingdom, the Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus accurately documents the diversity of ceremonial theatrical performances, which included religious rituals and story-telling dramatic performances.

The Dramatic Ramesseum Papyrus, which is the oldest surviving illustrated papyrus roll, is a scripted play created to celebrate Pharaoh Senusret I of the 12th Dynasty 's rise to the throne.

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From religious rituals to drama, Ancient Egyptians pioneered theater

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Many people across the globe, Egyptians included, believe that it was the Greeks that invented the art of theater. However, ancient records and documents reveal that long before the Greeks, Ancient Egyptians were the first civilization to ever perform shows publicly. With no special venues built for plays, ancient Egyptians performed shows for the general public on the streets.

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The history of performance and theatre in Mexico dates back to the Aztecs.

Although there is no written works or translations of the Aztecs, early missionaries have documented seeing the Aztecs, dance, sing and perform.

Early Mexican theatre developed from Spain from just after the Spanish invasion and Spain continued to influence theatre in Mexico until the Mexican revolution in the early part of the 20th century.

War led to the decline in Mexico's theatre traditions in the first part of the 19th century. Spanish classicism, European romanticism and then nationalistic pieces all took their turn as the main feature reflected in Mexican theatre.

The Theatre Boom

The early 1900's were a boom time for the Mexico theatre. The Gran Teatro de Ópera was built at a time when Mexico city and surrounding provinces saw dramatic companies thriving. With plenty of training available, there was a constant supply of talent available to maintain increased demand for theatrical performances.

Carpas (tent shows) where humourous plays were acted out provided the perfect opportunity for new thespians, rather than working in the old theatres which had been left in a state of disrepair.

The 20th century notably saw Mexican nationalism reinforced in the theatre as Mexican Spanish became the language used for writing plays. Experimental theatre developed and then realism, leading to dominant pieces written by Mexican playwrights.

The new century has seen further development to dramatical works in Mexico. Theatre has evolved to reflect the different voices, cultures and identities found within the country. Previous writers tried to discover Mexico's voice and writers of the last decades are acknowledging the melting pot that is the modern day country.

Folklore and violence which had been the bread and butter for Mexico for so long as it finally competed with international theatre, has been left behind as the country has found its unique voice is a culmination of voices.

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The history of performance and theatre in Mexico dates back to the Aztecs. Although there is no written works or translations of the Aztecs, early missionaries have documented seeing the Aztecs, dance, sing and perform.

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Religious plays and satires in ancient Egypt

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We have to spill the tea, but this time, there's no shade. Drag is enjoying one of its most popular periods in herstory.

Thanks largely to the success of RuPaul's Drag Race, the art form is now seen regularly on mainstream TV channels, magazine covers and is the subject of multiple vlogs and podcasts.

But the story of drag goes back far further than the time the competition has been on the air and made RuPaul Charles a global superstar at the same time. As his fellow Drag Race judge Michelle Visage may even be persuaded to say: 'Honey, it goes back centuries'.

Beginning with the Bard

Drag began out of necessity, although that's not to say its participants didn't enjoy it. When Shakespearean theatre was shiny and new in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the stage wasn't just a place of entertainment. It had strong links to the church and with that came rules that only men could tread the boards. If that play you were in featured a few female roles, then it was up to a couple of the men in the cast to dress as members of the opposite sex so the story didn't suffer.

The word 'drag' is believed to have theatrical origins too. The dresses men wore to play female characters would drag along the floor.

Actors playing female parts because there were no actresses around isn't exactly in the spirit of what we call drag today - but it was a start. It soon became a way for men (often gay men, although plenty of heterosexual men wear drag as well) to express a different side of themselves, over-exaggerating feminine looks, style and body language to create a persona. As RuPaul himself says, there is more to drag than impersonating a woman: "I don't dress like a woman; I dress like a drag queen!"

Drag kings, where female performers adopt an exaggerated male persona, are also popular. Christian Adore is an act that challenges gender norms and stereotypes through comedy, and appears regularly on the London circuit.

Princess Seraphina rocks

While the fight for LGBT equality continues (it is still illegal to be LGBT in more than 70 countries), someone who seemed to enlighten all around him in 18th-century England was Princess Seraphina.

Otherwise known as gentleman's servant John Cooper, Seraphina was seen as the country's first drag queen, in that she was part of John's daily life rather than an acting role.

She was a regular sight in molly houses, the equivalent of a gay bar. Even though men could be hung at the time if found participating in homosexual acts (three were in 1726, following a raid on a molly house), there are no reports of Seraphina ever being arrested or treated with mistrust. The only scandal she was embroiled in involved the theft of her clothes in 1732 - and even then Seraphina appeared in court as the victim.

The category is vaudeville

As time went on, drag became more about the individual and the queens built up their own fanbases. One of the biggest stars of the earliest 20th century was Julian Eltinge. Whereas many drag queens played on the fact they were men in women's clothing, Eltinge (as she was often known) had many fans convinced she was not a character, but a genuine actress.

Eltinge emerged from the world of vaudeville, known as variety theatre in the UK, where cross-dressing was very popular. At the end of performances, he would remove his wig and reveal his gender to the crowd, often to cries of disbelief. Hugely popular, for more than 20 years, Eltinge's career was very much on an upward trajectory, until variety acts fell out of favour in the 1930s. While there was a tolerance, even celebration of drag and LGBT people in the USA during the 1920s and early '30s (known as the 'pansy craze'), American society became more reactionary in the mid-1930s, amid fears surrounding sex crime, which had a negative impact on the way drag was perceived.

After the Second World War, although homosexuality was still frowned upon by society as a whole - even illegal in some cases - there were still drag acts who broke through the negativity and had successful careers. These including Danny La Rue in the UK, who made his name in the 1950s, and Dame Edna Everage, the flamboyant creation of comedian Barry Humphries, who first appeared in the 1960s.

This runway is burning

Anyone who gobbled up the US series Pose in one thirsty gulp will be aware of the drag balls which originated in parts of New York in the 1970s. These events involved owning the runway in the finest drag around in order to wow the judges and go home with a clutch of trophies.

This was where the concept of the drag mother took hold. Seasoned queens would take up-and-coming drag artists under their wing, to show them how to work a stage as well as their look. They often provided a home to youngsters who may be going through a difficult time in their lives, and not just those intending to enter the drag world.

This led to drag mothers becoming known as the head of their House, making them responsible for an entire drag family. Whatever the mother's surname, their drag protégés were allowed to adopt it, or even have their stage name chosen for them by their mother.

Drag families feature heavily in the 1990 drag ball documentary Paris is Burning (which inspired Madonna's Vogue), with the House of Xtravaganza and the House of LaBeija among those featured.

Elegant tip-toes into the mainstream

The Stonewall Riot of 1969 saw drag queens, most notably Marsha P Johnson, protest against police raids on gay bars in New York City and led to the creation of the Gay Liberation Front.

The fight for acceptance and equality grew in profile over the 1970s and 1980s, with Harvey Milk becoming the first openly gay man to be voted in to public office in San Francisco in 1977.

That positive representation gradually bled through into the mainstream. The famed Divine, who died in 1988, appeared in many movies by the director John Waters, which had crossover success (Divine played Edna Turnblad in the original version of Hairspray). And by the early 1990s, RuPaul was on the cusp of global fame, combining a drag persona with a recording career that included a duet with Elton John.

In 2009, the first series of Drag Race aired. Its mix of challenges, costume creation, skits and impersonations has made it appointment television for a surprisingly diverse audience (Dame Judi Dench is a big fan) and has even influenced the language itself. Here is just some of the drag slang that has sashayed into our lives after featuring in the show.

Shade: An insult, either spoken or expressed through body language. To 'throw' shade is to openly disparage someone, whether or not they are in your presence.

Read: Drag queens will often meet in a metaphorical arena known as the library to openly exchange insults with each other. This is the act of reading, a playful sport where the aim is to throw the cleverest, most ingenious piece of verbal takedown at your opponent. It's important to note that reads usually finish with all involved on good terms.

Realness: When a drag queen is given a theme to meet, outfit-wise, the intention is to blend into the genre as though born into it. Manage that successfully and they are 'serving realness'. For example, if a runway theme on RuPaul's Drag Race is The Western and a contestant executes a perfect combo of boots, gingham, Stetson and pigtails, they are 'serving up cowgirl realness'.

Sickening: Get your catwalk look just right and you'll be one sickening queen. Basically, you're just so fabulous, your fellow queens are sick with envy after just one look at you. Remember, it's good to be sickening.

T: Is it tea? Is it tee? There's no official agreement but there's no argument over the definition; 'T' is the truth, it's the talk. Basically, it's the gossip. So if you're serving up some quality T over lunch (or even tea), rest assured it will be lapped up by those present.

Drag is a fascinating, complex world packed with surprises and social history. In 2017, Time magazine named RuPaul as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. If that's not serving up sickening realness, we really don't know what is.
This article was published in May 2019

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The history of drag and historical drag queens

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Learn about the fabulous history of drag and some famous historical drag queens including Princess Seraphina and Julian Eltinge.

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But, the performances we see today are mere products of the cultures that have influenced the country through the years. Let's take a look at how the history of Philippine theatre has evolved.

Pre-colonial Time

During the pre-historic times, theater in the Philippines was in the form of indigenous rituals, verbal jousts or games, or songs and dances to praise gods. According to early chronicles, pre-historic dramas consisted of three elements - myth, mimesis, and spectacle.

These mimetic performances mostly dramatized primitive rituals and epic poetry about deities and mythical legends, where the spirit of the deities would seemingly possess a catalonan (priest) or babaylan (priestess).

During this entranced state, the priest or priestess would consume the sacrificial offering, which could be in the form of a pig, chicken, rice, wine, or nuts.
"...seemed to shoot flames from her eyes; her hair stood on end, a fearful sight to those beholding, and she uttered words of arrogance and superiority." - Juan de Plasencia, 1590

Spanish Regime

When the Spaniards reached our shores, they used dramas such as as a pedagogical tool to influence the pagan tribes and teach them about Christianity and religion.

Another important form of theater popularized during the Spanish colonization is the , also known as moro-moro, linambay, or arakyo. It's a play in verse that portrays the lives, loves, and wars of moors and Christians.

Moro-Moro is a secular comedy that dramatizes the war between Christians and Muslims through the forbidden love between the prince and the princess. The comedy is resolved with the non-Christian being converted to Christianity, or through his or her death, immediately followed by his or her resurrection.

Comedias were normally performed in the pueblos or village centers to attract more people to the foundation of its regime. The comedia can last anywhere from 3 to 15 hours through a series of performances. The first Filipino comedia was performed in Latin and Spanish by Fr. Vicente Puche in Cebu in 1598.

On the other hand, a zarzuela is a form of musical theater that combines spoken word and song that celebrates various Catholic liturgical feasts. Jugar Con Fuego by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri was the first zarzuela introduced in the country in late 1878 or early 1879.

By August 17, 1893, Teatro Zorilla, the home of zarzuela, was inaugurated.
Throughout the 333 years of the Spanish regime, the Philippines was widely influenced by their culture, tradition, and religion. Today, zarzuelas and comedias are still being performed, albeit with other cultural influences and contemporary touches.

American Colonization

When American colonial rule was established, the United States introduced the American way of life through education, media, and language. Their influence on Philippine theatre is most apparent through the bodabil (vaudeville) and the plays and dramas staged or translated into English.

In 1898, the first bodabil was produced by the Manila Dramatic Guild for the sole purpose of entertaining American soldiers and other Americans residing in Manila. It was also the first theatrical performance since the revolution.

The is not a straight-up play. The theatrical performance is, in fact, a mix of songs, dances, comedy skits, and even magical performances. Local audiences bought-in and productions soon found themselves becoming entertainment spectacles that can be transported from one town to the next. Not long after, the bodabil was interjected into comedias and zarzuelas, as intermission numbers known as jamborees.

In the 1930s, the country was introduced to Broadway theatre or stage plays through the westernized education that was provided in most private schools for privileged children. Shakespearean tragedies and comedies, as well as western classics, were performed in the original English or English adaptation.

The Japanese Occupation

By the 1940s, when the Japanese took over the Philippines from the Americans, movie actors and actresses could no longer appear in films, as the Japanese confiscated all film equipment. However, the comedia, zarzuela, and bodabil remained in the country as forms of entertainment and expression.

Eventually, the bodabil evolved to become stage shows or variety shows with a short melodrama at the end to accommodate the actors and actresses who moved their craft to bodabil and theatre. Venues such as the Manila Grand Opera House and the Savoy Theatre became homes of bodabil.

After the war, movies returned to popularity, and the bodabil era slowly lost its luster. Stage shows became small, cheap performances held in open-air stages in the provinces. Sadly, the bodabil deteriorated decades later to become burlesque and strip shows held in cheap theatres around American military bases.

Philippine Theatre as We Know It Today

After the Japanese occupation, the Philippine theatre has evolved to become an amalgamation of the various influences such that of the zarzuela, comedia, bodabil, and western classics. Theatre was largely performed in English during the time, as it became a large part of classroom education. Meanwhile, zarzuelas such as " Ang Kiri," " Dalagang Bukid," and " Paglipis ng Dilim " became well-known beyond their regions.

By the 1950s, theatre had moved out of classrooms and the concept of paying for a ticket to see a theatrical performance emerged. This "legitimate" theatre was held in closed theaters - these became events in themselves, not just mere parts of a celebration or religious ritual.

During this time, playwrights such as Severino Montano, Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, and Alberto S. Florentino honed their crafts and contributed to the development of performing arts in the Philippines.

Through the years, Philippine theatre groups have staged numerous plays in both English and Filipino, be it written by a Western or local playwright. Spanish culture and traditions largely influence performing arts in the Philippines, but the contemporary style is borrowed from the Americans. Classic shows such as The Westside Story and Sound of Music made waves in recent years when it took the local stage. This year, The Theatre at Solaire presents The Lion King, an internationally renown production set to wow Philippine audiences.

When it comes to theatre and performing arts, Filipinos are never far behind. Catch the best of Philippine theatre at The Theatre at Solaire.

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The Evolution of Philippine Theatre | Solaire Resort & Casino

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But, the performances we see today are mere products of the cultures that have influenced the country through the years. Let's take a look at how the history of Philippine theatre has evolved. Pre-colonial Time During the pre-historic times, theater in the Philippines was in the form of indigenous rituals, verbal jousts or games, or songs and dances to praise gods.

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Since the time of the Tang Dynasty's Emperor Xuanzong from 712 to 755-who created the first national opera troupe called the "Pear Garden"-Chinese opera has been one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the country, but it actually started nearly a millennium before in the Yellow River Valley during the Qin Dynasty.

Now, more than a millennium after Xuanzong's death, it is enjoyed by political leaders and commoners alike in many fascinating and innovative ways, and Chinese opera performers are still referred to as "Disciples of the Pear Garden," continuing to perform an astonishing 368 different forms of Chinese opera.

Many of the features that characterize modern Chinese opera developed in northern China, particularly in the Shanxi and Gansu Provinces, including the use of certain set characters like Sheng (the man), Dan (the woman), Hua (the painted face) and Chou (the clown). In Yuan Dynasty times-from 1279 to 1368-opera performers began to use the vernacular language of the common people rather than Classical Chinese.

During the Ming Dynasty-from 1368 to 1644-and the Qing Dynasty-from 1644 to 1911-the northern traditional singing and drama style from Shanxi was combined with melodies from a southern form of Chinese opera called "Kunqu." This form was created in the Wu region, along the Yangtze River. Kunqu Opera revolves around the Kunshan melody, created in the coastal city of Kunshan.

Many of the most famous operas that are still performed today are from the Kunqu repertoire, including "The Peony Pavilion," "The Peach Blossom Fan," and adaptations of the older "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Journey to the West." However, the stories have been rendered into various local dialects, including Mandarin for audiences in Beijing and other northern cities. The acting and singing techniques, as well as costumes and makeup conventions, also owe much to the northern Qinqiang or Shanxi tradition.

This rich operatic heritage was almost lost during China's dark days in the mid-twentieth century. The Communist regime of the People's Republic of China-from 1949 to present-initially encouraged the production and performance of operas old and new. During the "Hundred Flowers Campaign" in 1956 and '57-in which the authorities under Mao encouraged intellectualism, the arts and even criticism of the government-Chinese opera blossomed anew.

However, the Hundred Flowers Campaign may have been a trap. Beginning in July of 1957, the intellectuals and artists who had put themselves forward during Hundred Flowers period were purged. By December of that same year, a stunning 300,000 people had been labeled "rightists" and were subjected to punishments from informal criticism to internment in labor camps or even execution.

This was a preview of the horrors of the Cultural Revolution of 1966 through 1976, which would imperil the very existence of Chinese opera and other traditional arts.

The Cultural Revolution was the regime's attempt to destroy "old ways of thinking" by outlawing such traditions as fortune telling, paper-making, traditional Chinese dress and the study of classic literature and arts. An attack on one Beijing opera piece and its composer signaled the start of the Cultural Revolution.

In 1960, Mao's government had commissioned Professor Wu Han to write an opera about Hai Rui, a minister of the Ming Dynasty who was fired for criticizing the Emperor to his face. Audiences saw the play as a critique of the Emperor-and thus Mao-rather than of Hai Rui representing disgraced Minister of Defense Peng Dehuai. In reaction, Mao performed an about-face in 1965, publishing harsh criticism of the opera and of composer Wu Han, who was eventually fired. This was the opening salvo of the Cultural Revolution.

For the next decade, opera troupes were disbanded, other composers and scriptwriters were purged and performances were banned. Until the fall of the "Gang of Four" in 1976, only eight "model operas" were allowed. These model operas were personally vetted by Madame Jiang Qing and were entirely politically innocuous. In essence, Chinese opera was dead.

After 1976, Beijing opera and the other forms were revived, and once more placed within the national repertoire. Older performers who had survived the purges were allowed to pass on their knowledge to new students again. Traditional operas have been freely performed since 1976, though some newer works have been censored and new composers criticized as the political winds have shifted over the intervening decades.

Chinese opera makeup is particularly fascinating and rich in meaning. A character with mostly red makeup or a red mask is brave and loyal. Black symbolizes boldness and impartiality. Yellow denotes ambition, while pink stands for sophistication and cool-headedness. Characters with primarily blue faces are fierce and far-seeing, while green faces show wild and impulsive behaviors. Those with white faces are treacherous and cunning-the villains of the show. Finally, an actor with only a small section of makeup in the center of the face, connecting the eyes and nose, is a clown. This is called "xiaohualian," or the " little painted face."

Today, more than thirty forms of Chinese opera continue to be performed regularly throughout the country. Some of the most prominent of which are the Peking opera of Beijing, Huju opera of Shanghai, the Qinqiang of Shanxi, and Cantonese opera.

The dramatic art form known as Beijing opera-or Peking opera-has been a staple of Chinese entertainment for more than two centuries. It was founded in 1790 when the "Four Great Anhui Troupes" went to Beijing to perform for the Imperial Court.

Some 40 years later, well-known opera troupes from Hubei joined the Anhui performers, melding their regional styles. Both the Hubei and Anhui opera troupes used two primary melodies adapted from the Shanxi musical tradition: "Xipi" and "Erhuang." From this amalgam of local styles, the new Peking or Beijing opera developed. Today, Beijing Opera is considered China's national art form.

Beijing Opera is famous for convoluted plots, vivid makeup, beautiful costumes and sets and the unique vocal style used by performers. Many of the 1,000 plots-perhaps not surprisingly-revolve around political and military strife, rather than romance. The basic stories are often hundreds or even thousands of years old involving historic and even supernatural beings.

Many fans of Beijing Opera are worried about the fate of this art form. The traditional plays make reference to many facts of pre- Cultural Revolution life and history that are unfamiliar to young people. Furthermore, many of the stylized movements have particular meanings that can be lost on uninitiated audiences.

Most troubling of all, operas must now compete with films, TV shows, computer games, and the internet for attention. The Chinese government is using grants and contests to encourage young artists to participate in Beijing Opera.

Shanghai opera (Huju) originated at about the same time as Beijing opera, around 200 years ago. However, the Shanghai version of opera is based on local folk-songs of the Huangpu River region rather than deriving from Anhui and Shanxi. Huju is performed in the Shanghainese dialect of Wu Chinese, which is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin. In other words, a person from Beijing would not understand the lyrics of a Huju piece.

Due to the relatively recent nature of the stories and songs that make up Huju, the costumes and makeup are comparatively simple and modern. Shanghai opera performers wear costumes that resemble the street clothing of ordinary people from the pre-communist era. Their makeup is not much more elaborate than that worn by western stage actors, in stark contrast to the heavy and significant grease-paint used in the other Chinese Opera forms.

Huju had its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of the stories and songs of the Shanghai region show a definite western influence. This is not surprising, given that the major European powers maintained trading concessions and consular offices in the thriving port city, prior to World War II.

Like many of the other regional opera styles, Huju is in danger of disappearing forever. Few young actors take up the art form since there is much greater fame and fortune to be had in movies, TV, or even Beijing Opera. Unlike Beijing Opera, which is now considered a national art form, Shanghai Opera is performed in a local dialect and thus does not translate well to other provinces.

Nevertheless, the city of Shanghai has millions of residents, with tens of millions more in the near vicinity. If a concerted effort is made to introduce younger audiences to this interesting art form, Huju may survive to delight theater-goers for centuries to come.

Most forms of Chinese opera owe their singing and acting styles, some of their melodies, and their plot-lines to the musically fertile Shanxi province, with its thousand-year-old Qinqiang or Luantan folk melodies. This ancient form of art first appeared in the Yellow River Valley during the Qin Dynasty from B.C. 221 to 206 and was popularized at the Imperial Court at modern-day Xian during the Tang Era, which spanned from 618 to 907 A.D.

The repertoire and symbolic movements continued to develop in Shanxi Province throughout the Yuan Era (1271-1368) and the Ming Era (1368-1644). During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Shanxi Opera was introduced to the court at Beijing. The Imperial audiences so enjoyed Shanxi singing that the form was incorporated into Beijing Opera, which is now a national artistic style.

At one time, the repertoire of Qinqiang included over 10,000 operas; today, only about 4,700 of them are remembered. The arias in Qinqiang Opera are divided into two types: huan yin, or "joyous tune," and ku yin, or "sorrowful tune." Plots in Shanxi Opera often deal with fighting oppression, wars against the northern barbarians, and issues of loyalty. Some Shanxi Opera productions include special effects such as fire-breathing or acrobatic twirling, in addition to the standard operatic acting and singing.

Cantonese Opera, based in southern China and overseas ethnic Chinese communities, is a very formalized operatic form that emphasizes gymnastic and martial arts skills. This form of Chinese Opera predominates in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and in Chinese-influenced areas in western countries.

Cantonese Opera was first performed during the reign of the Ming Dynasty Jiajing Emperor from 152 to 1567. Originally based on the older forms of Chinese Opera, Cantonese Opera began to add local folk melodies, Cantonese instrumentation, and eventually even Western popular tunes. In addition to traditional Chinese instruments such as the pipa, erhu, and percussion, modern Cantonese Opera productions may include such Western instruments as the violin, cello, or even saxophone.

Two different types of plays make up the Cantonese Opera repertoire-Mo, meaning "martial arts," and Mun, or "intellectual"-wherein the melodies are entirely secondary to the lyrics. Mo performances are fast-paced, involving stories of warfare, bravery and betrayal. The actors often carry weapons as props, and the elaborate costumes may be as heavy as actual armor. Mun, on the other hand, tends to be a slower, more polite art form. The actors use their vocal tones, facial expressions, and long flowing "water sleeves" to express complex emotions. Most of the Mun stories are romances, morality tales, ghost stories, or famous Chinese classic tales or myths.

One notable feature of Cantonese Opera is the makeup. It is among the most elaborate makeup systems in all of Chinese Opera, with different shades of color and shapes, particularly on the forehead, indicating the mental state, trustworthiness, and physical health of the characters. For example, sickly characters have a thin red line drawn between the eyebrows, while comic or clownish characters have a large white spot on the bridge of the nose. Some Cantonese Operas also involve actors in "open face" makeup, which is so intricate and complicated that it resembles a painted mask more than a living face.

Today, Hong Kong is at the center of efforts to keep Cantonese Opera alive and thriving. The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts offers two-year degrees in Cantonese Opera performance, and the Arts Development Council sponsors opera classes for the city's children. Through such concerted effort, this unique and intricate form of Chinese Opera may continue to find an audience for decades to come.

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Since the time of the Tang Dynasty's Emperor Xuanzong from 712 to 755-who created the first national opera troupe called the "Pear Garden"-Chinese opera has been one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the country, but it actually started nearly a millennium before in the Yellow River Valley during the Qin Dynasty.

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1. Bunraku has a long history

Traditional Japanese puppet theatre, known as bunraku, emerged more than 300 years ago during the Edo period, where it flourished in Osaka. This stage art form was recognised by UNESCO as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003. Bunraku and its sister art form, kabuki - traditional musical theatre known for its pageantry and elaborate costumes - rose to prominence around the same time in the 17th century and liberally borrowed techniques and concepts from each other. Centuries later, it remains a well-loved artistic practice that's garnered much appreciation outside of Japan - the first complete bunraku performance in Singapore was staged on October 22 and 23 at the Drama Centre Theatre to mark the 10th anniversary of the Japan Creative Centre, a cultural hub run by the Embassy of Japan in Singapore.

2. It is a sophisticated, intricate art form

Bunraku puppets are typically half life-size, and each figurine is operated by three puppeteers - a lead puppeteer who manipulates the puppet's head, face and right hand, and two assistants who manoeuvre its left hand and legs. While you can see the face of the lead puppeteer - who is the star of the show and is often colourfully dressed - the other two are cloaked in black with their faces covered, to reflect their status as "invisible" actors. All three have to collaborate closely to ensure they are in sync and that the puppet's movements are smooth and cohesive. The secret lies in the non-verbal cues the lead puppeteer provides the other two performers - usually by using the puppet's neck or the whole body to give directions on the next move.

3. Other talented artists are involved too

The puppets' movements are accompanied by a narrator, also known as tayū. The tayū requires a wide vocal range as he voices all the characters; he does this by altering his pitch to express different genders and ages. He also needs to be able to project his voice across the theatre, as no microphones are used during the performance. Another key member of the theatre is the shamisen player, who is responsible for conveying the mood and setting the pace of the narration. He plays a futozao shamisen, a three-stringed traditional musical instrument with a broad neck and large body that creates a loud and resonating tone. The result is artistry at its finest: a fascinating symbiosis of puppetry, storytelling and music.

4. It is the product of a lifetime of training

The performance on stage might seem seamless and natural, and this is a result of the puppeteers, narrators and musicians who have dedicated their lives to this art form - training begins when they are children. For the puppeteers, they attend a bunraku training school for two years. Then they embark on a 10-year-long apprenticeship, learning to operate a puppet's legs, before another 10 to 15 years spent learning how to manoeuvre its left arm. Only after this extended period of training can they can begin the process of becoming a lead puppeteer.

5. The puppets are carefully crafted for a lifelike performance

All the puppets sport skilfully carved wooden heads and intricately painted faces. Some have movable fingers, eyes, eyebrows and mouths. The heads are attached to a rod, which is how the main puppeteers operate them. If a puppet has movable parts in its face, strings are added to the rod to enable manipulation of the facial features. The rod is then attached to a shoulder board from which the puppet's costume hangs. Fun fact: Female puppets are not made with legs. Puppeteers use their fists under the figurine's kimono to imply leg movement instead.

6. Many bunraku plays are historical

The stories told on stage are usually based on historical events, folktales about heroes, feudal wars or the love stories between commoners in the Edo period. Most of the plays are tragedies, which is why many performances are only intended for an adult audience. For example, an iconic bunraku play is Chikamatsu Monzaemon's Love Suicides at Sonezaki, which was first performed in 1703 and was based on the real-life case of two lovers who committed suicide together in the Sonezaki forest in Osaka during the same year.

7. You can watch an authentic performance in Japan

One of the best places to see this traditional art form is at the National Bunraku Theatre, which was established in 1984 in Osaka's Nipponbashi district. The performing arts complex serves as a base to preserve, develop and promote the traditional art form in the Osaka-Kyoto area. English programs are available, and some performances provide headsets with English commentary. Another option is the National Theatre in Tokyo's Hayabusacho district, which opened in 1966 and stages performances several times a year.
Singapore Airlines flies to Osaka and Tokyo daily. To book a flight, visit singaporeair.com
SEE ALSO: Art on a plate: 5 places to enjoy kaiseki in Tokyo
About
the
Writer

Joy is the digital editor of SilverKris. A born and bred Singaporean editor and writer with more than 10 years of experience, her work has appeared in My Paper, Today newspaper and titles under SPH Magazines. She specialises in lifestyle and travel, and has a particular soft spot for good food.

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7 things to know about bunraku, the traditional Japanese puppet theatre - SilverKris

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Traditional Japanese puppet theatre, known as bunraku, emerged more than 300 years ago during the Edo period, where it flourished in Osaka. This stage art form was recognised by UNESCO as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003.

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The Japanese art of Noh is the oldest surviving theater tradition in practice. Dating back to the 14th century, the classical musical drama is derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent." When combined with the theater art of kyogen, Noh is known as nogaku. It was named an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

In Noh theater, there is little plot. Many performances are allegorical and metaphorical; historically, spectators were educated, thus they were familiar with the stories being represented and were able to appreciate the subtle references within the words and movements. Noh actors wear intricately carved masks to which they have a deep spiritual connection; some are handed down through generations and believed to contain energies from past performers. Many masks are deliberately asymmetrical so that they evoke different emotions when viewed from the right side, left side, top, and bottom.

Michishige Udaka is the only living Noh theater actor who also crafts his masks. He has dedicated his life to the practice of Noh and believes in its cultural significance. In Edwin Lee's short documentary The Spirit of Noh (produced with the support of Japan Curator), Udaka describes his practice.

"The actor wearing the Noh mask is not acting as a modern-day person, but as a spirit or wraith," he explains. "When you can perform without thinking and it just surfaces naturally, then you will be able to experience a shining instance of serendipity ... that is the beauty of Noh."

"When I saw a Noh demon mask for the first time, I was immediately fascinated by it," Lee told The Atlantic. "Noh theatre is so esoteric, even to most Japanese people. For me, it was like watching opera without the pomp and cacophony of an orchestra ... but in slow motion."

Describing Noh as an "austere and meditative experience," Lee said that the singing reminded him of Buddhist prayers he'd seen a monastery. In fact, many themes of Noh plays are rooted in spirits and reincarnation.

"The fact that Noh has lasted for so long means that there must be a purpose to it," Udaka says in the film. "That's why I feel responsible to pass it on."

The actor feels strongly that Japan should place an emphasis on protecting traditions-or else, he says, it will "become a robotic country driven solely by pure economics."

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The Japanese art of Noh is the oldest surviving theater tradition in practice. Dating back to the 14th century, the classical musical drama is derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent." When combined with the theater art of kyogen, Noh is known as nogaku.

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Friday in New York, four legends of Dominican bachata music will take the stage as part of the Chase Latino Cultural Festival.

The musicians, all in their 60s, play a type of bachata little known outside of the Dominican Republic. It's a musical style pioneered by poor or rural Dominicans and heard most often in bars, bordellos or beachfront card parties.

The music has experienced a small revival, thanks to a CD released last year called Bachata Roja: Acoustic Bachata from the Cabaret Era. This summer, bachata legends have played festivals across the country.

Tufts professor Deborah Pacini Hernandez wrote the liner notes to the album. She recently spoke with Michele Norris about old-school bachata.

"It was all guitar-based," she says. "That's one of the things that distinguishes it from other music. And it's a particular style of playing the guitar - it's sort of arpeggiated picking rather than strumming."

Bachata, Hernandez says, is also a lyrical music. Usually, the subject has to do with love lost or love desired - similar to its U.S. equivalent, the blues.

"It's been compared to the blues in the past," Hernandez says. "It absolutely has. I think in terms of, structurally, the kind of folks who were making it, people on the margins of society - this was the blues in some way. It's a little more cheerful, though, than the blues. Even songs where they're singing about the treachery of a woman ... if you just listen to them musically, they still sound kind of sweet."

Early bachata came with a social stigma, as well. According to Hernandez, dictator Rafael Trujillo despised bachata. He wanted all music played publicly to reflect a modern society, and bachata players - often poor, rural or uneducated - did not reflect his image of a modern regime.

The connotation lingered after Trujillo's death in 1961.

"People with middle-class aspirations just ignored it, stayed away from it," Hernandez says. "And, worse than that, gave it names - you know, called it names. Because it initially - the word 'bachata' - meant just a backyard party. But in the 1970s, they started using it as an insult."

Today, bachata is not only the term of art; it is one of the most popular styles of Latin dance music worldwide. Today's bachateros have updated the sound with electric instrumentation and contemporary urban dress. But Hernandez says the genre's acoustic roots live on.

"Now, back in the Dominican Republic, you probably would find that more contemporary bachata, the well-produced bachata," she says. "But I'll bet that in the countryside, you have the little trios - neighborhood trios playing their music on weekends in a little country store or a little bar. ... [T]hat sort of more grassroots bachata I'm pretty sure is still going on."

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Before it took over Latin dance halls worldwide, bachata arose from Dominican shantytowns as a kind of lower-class party music. Now, a recent CD and a series of concerts are bringing the genre's early acoustic tradition back into the spotlight.

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Koodiyattam | The Ancient Form Of Theatre, Art and Drama of Kerala

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Up till recently Arja, a sung dance drama (Dibia and Ballinger 2004: 84-85) integrating different elements of Balinese arts and cultures has remained an inaccessible art form for both non-Balinese and Western audiences. Partly this is because Arja traditionally enacts old stories mainly based on the Panji Romances (11-14th. centuries) and uses dialogue that is understood only by Balinese-speaking audiences. As a result, non-Balinese audiences may find this dramatic form difficult to enjoy. In my experience, with creative modifications, Arja dance drama can be staged anywhere and this dramatic form has an exciting potential to be enjoyed by audiences worldwide.

This paper considers innovative changes in the presentation of Arja dance drama during the last two decades. By examining modernized Arja performances which enact modern Indonesian stories like Katemu Ring Tampaksiring (Meeting in Tampaksiring), first performed on 22nd. December 2004 in Singapadu, Gianyar, the paper aims to explain how Balinese performing artists have modified their Arja in order to make this dramatic form enjoyable to non-Balinese audiences, to turn Arja into a transnational theatrical form, and most importantly to keep this dramatic form alive in the changing world of Bali .

Arja is frequently referred to as operatic in nature (de Zoete and Spies 1972: 196) and is a form of total theatre, which holistically integrates elements of music, dance, and drama. To enact a story, Arja performers incorporate intricate vocal forms, stylized dance movements and elaborate spoken dialogue, in response to the elaborate, melodic, and dynamic gamelan music played on a chamber-like ensemble known as Gamelan Gaguntangan featuring two bamboo zithers called guntang (McPhee 1966).

Most audiences in Bali consider Arja identical to vocal forms using traditional meters known as tembang . This is because this dramatic form is almost entirely sung and tembang is Arja's most essential element. Therefore one can say that Arja cannot exist without tembang . This also means that, to perform Arja, one must be able to sing tembang . In fact a crucial aspect of the skill of any Arja performer lies in their ability to sing tembang .

Like the classical Gambuh dance drama, Arja has always been associated with the Panji dance drama. This is mainly because Malat or Panji Romances (from eleventh-century East Java) has been Arja's most important source of dramatic inspiration. This does not mean however that Arja confines its stories only to Panji. Since the early decades of the twentieth century, Arja began to enact stories derived from Balinese tales, Chinese and Arabic, and from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. During the last ten years, several times Arja performances have enacted Western and contemporary Indonesian stories. It is important to mention that, whatever the stories to be enacted, the episodes always revolve around a plot involving romantic intrigue and comic scenes.

The dance movements utilized in Arja are based on, or are the simplification of, the dance vocabularies of the classical Gambuh and Lègong dances. When they appear on stage for the first time, each principal character performs a unique choreography set to a distinctive tembang. After the first entrance, during monologue and dialogue, the dance is improvised and simplified enough to underline the content as well as to convey the meanings of the tembang .

The costumes for Arja are also based on those of the classical Gambuh and Lègong dances. All male characters wear a long split robe known as saput , and the females wear a wrap-around skirt with a long trail known as kamen makancut. The dominant colour of the costumes indicates the character type of each role who uses it: the refined or manis (sweet) characters have more green or blue, unlike their adversaries, the coarse and strong characters, collectively known as buduh (crazy), who have more red in their costumes. The headdresses also indicate both the social status and dramatic role of the character in the play. Broadly speaking, the characters wearing crown-like headdresses represent the people of higher status, the principals, and the characters with simpler headdress or headclothes represent the people of lower status, the maidservants and the buffoons.

The foregoing indicates that Arja is a complex theatrical form. Integrating gamelan music, vocal form, story telling, dance and acting, Arja feeds the ears, eyes, and above all the minds of the onlookers. Moreover, when one watches Arja performance seriously, one may gain some understanding of the uniqueness and true complexity of Balinese performing arts.

Innovation and Modification of Arja

Arja, first of all, is a flexible dramatic form, in the sense that it can be adjusted and modified to meet the changing tastes and needs of audiences. This dramatic form allowsa certain amount of flexibility to the performers to introduce new ideas creatively into the performance in response to the requirements of the audience, without sacrificing the aesthetic principles of this dramatic form.

In order to make Arja more accessible to, and understandable by, non-Balinese audiences, and to turn Arja into a transnational theatrical form, during the last twenty years Balinese artists, especially Arja performers, have creatively innovated and modified their art form. There are three main kinds of innovation among others: introducing contemporary stories, shortening the duration of the performance by condensing the play, and utilizing non-Balinese dialogue in the play.

The historical development of Arja clearly shows that it is capable of presenting a remarkably wide range of stories from both classical and contemporary literature. As mentioned above, since the early decades of the twentieth century, Arja has enacted Chinese and Arabic stories. In the 1970s, Arja was also used to enact stories from the Ramayana. Since the early 1990s, some Arja performers have experimented with Greek plays (Phaedra by Euripides) and lately with contemporary Indonesian stories (for example Katemu Ring Tampaksiring). This strongly suggests that Arja can perform stories which originate from a diverse range of cultural traditions. It will not be too surprising therefore, if sometimes Arja is used to enact a play by Shakespeare. Besides appealing to a story whose dramatic theme is widely known to Western audiences, using Western play may in fact provide a new source of energy, life and inspiration to Arja.

Four main scenes characterize the dramatic structure of an Arja performance. The first and the third scenes, usually serious in nature, are dedicated to the refined or alus characters (the heroine and the hero). In contrast, the second and the fourth scenes, usually full of humour and jokes, are for the strong and coarse or keras characters. These scenes indicate the importance of balance in Balinese culture.

With its present-day performance structure, dominated by the introduction of individual characters, Arja performances may take four to five hours to complete. In this modern era, a performance of this length, which requires serious attention from the audience, can be very tiring - even for Balinese. In order to suit the needs of modern audiences therefore, Arja performance must be condensed by shortening its duration, by minimizing the repetitions of the choreographic structure, and by cutting the long solo entrances, especially of the non-leading roles.

Perhaps the most important, but difficult, task for Balinese actors to undertake in order to make their traditional art forms accessible transnationally is to use non-Balinese dialogue - for example Bahasa Indonesia or even English - in the play. The best place to utilize languages which are immediately accessible to the audience would be in the dialogue of the maidservants and the buffoons, especially when they narrate the play and translate the High Balinese or Old Javanese (or Kawi ) language of their masters and mistresses, which is inaccessible even to many Balinese. In Balinese tradition, these characters are given great freedom to use whatever language they wish in their dialogue to explain what the play is about to the audience. So, in principle it is not problematic for these characters to utilize languages other than Balinese, including English to communicate with the audience.

In conclusion, Arja is musically, theatrically and visually a very exciting art form. During the last twenty years, Arja performers have carefully innovated and modified their art form without losing or sacrificing its aesthetic strengths. This has been part of an attempt to make Arja enjoyable to audiences worldwide. With such innovations, perhaps it is now possible to stage Arja in such a way as to reach out to Western audiences. Because of its special place in the repertoire of Balinese performing arts, by seeing Arja in an accessible form, audiences worldwide may gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the subtlety of the artistry and, most importantly, the unique quality and complexity of Balinese performing arts.

Bibliography

Bandem, Madé and deBoer, Frederik. 1981. Kaja and Kelod: Balinese Dance in Transition. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, republished in a second edition as Balinese Dance in Transition: Kaja and Kelod, 1995.

- 1983. Ensiklopedi Tari Bali . Denpasar: Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia ( ASTI ).

Coast , John . 1953. Dancers of Bali . New York : G.P. Putnam; reissued as Dancing Out of Bali, Periplus Editions, 2004.

Covarrubias, Miguel. 1937. Island of Bali . New York: Knopf; reprinted Periplus Editions, 2000.

Dibia, I Wayan. 1992. Arja: A Sung Dance Drama of Bali: A Study of Change and Transformation. PhD dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles .

Dibia, I Wayan and Rucina Ballinger. 2004. Balinese Dance, Drama, and Music. Singapore: Periplus.

Hanna, Willard A. 1975. Bali Profile: People, Events, Circumstances 1001-1975. Lebanon, New Hampshire : Whitman Press, Inc.

McPhee, Colin. 1966. Music in Bali. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

Zoete, Beryl de & Spies, Walter. 1973. Dance and Drama in Bali. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.

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Up till recently Arja, a sung dance drama (Dibia and Ballinger 2004: 84-85) integrating different elements of Balinese arts and cultures has remained an inaccessible art form for both non-Balinese and Western audiences. Partly this is because Arja traditionally enacts old stories mainly based on the Panji Romances (11-14th.

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Interested in some more of the history of social dance in the black community? This article has some great references and video clips showing the dances described and discussed in this lesson: From juba to jitterbug to jookin: Black dance in America.

The educator of this lesson has a wonderful site that will further inspire you to learn more about social dance. Take a look here.
History does really connect with culture through social dance. Here are two amazing references from Camille A. Brown that illustrate those connections. Black Girl: Linguistic Play and Mr. TOL E. RANCE. Both guides were created by Heather McCartney.

Interested in seeing a video clip from Mr. TOL E RANCE? Watch: Camille A. Brown's Mr. TOL E. RAncE "reel talk." There is also A TEDx Talk featuring Camille A. Brown that discusses Black Girl: Linguistic Play. Watch it here.

Photo credit for Camille A. Brown headshot: Whitney Browne.

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The history of African-American social dance - Camille A. Brown

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Why do we dance? African-American social dances started as a way for enslaved Africans to keep cultural traditions alive and retain a sense of inner freedom. They remain an affirmation of identity and independence. In this electric demonstration, packed with live performances, choreographer, educator and TED Fellow Camille A.

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The Origins of Theatre - The First Actor

Statue in the Theatre from The Greeks documentary

The earliest origins of drama are to be found in Athens where ancient hymns, called dithyrambs, were sung in honor of the god Dionysus. These hymns were later adapted for choral processions in which participants would dress up in costumes and masks. Eventually, certain members of the chorus evolved to take special roles within the procession, but they were not yet actors in the way we would understand it.

That development came later in the 6th century BC, when the tyrant Pisistratus, who then ruled the city, established a series of new public festivals. One of these, the 'City Dionysia', a festival of entertainment held in honor of the god Dionysus, featured competitions in music, singing, dance and poetry. And most remarkable of all the winners was said to be a wandering bard called Thespis.

According to tradition, in 534 or 535 BC, Thespis astounded audiences by leaping on to the back of a wooden cart and reciting poetry as if he was the characters whose lines he was reading. In doing so he became the world's first actor, and it is from him that we get the world thespian.

Drama / Theatre
56K - ISDN - T1

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The Origins of Theatre - The First Actor Statue in the Theatre from The Greeks documentary The earliest origins of drama are to be found in Athens where ancient hymns, called dithyrambs, were sung in honor of the god Dionysus. These hymns were later adapted for choral processions in which participants would dress up in costumes and masks.

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Cataloging a Mystery: A Yoruba Egungun

by Molly Greenfield

The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection has in its holdings a wide variety of African textiles including woven, Berber pillow covers from Morocco, pounded, metal shawls from Egypt, kasai velvet made by the Kuba of Zaire, and lengths of brightly colored kente strip cloth from Ghana. Here, I explore the life of one object from these holdings, an agba Egungun masquerade costume made by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, West Africa, its past, present and future.

This recently acquired costume, its cultural importance and meanings within the Yoruba culture will be the vehicle through which I will explore the role of cloth by the Yoruba people. By examining the egungun tradition I will ultimately situate the masquerade and the materials used to construct it in a wider circle of practice and understanding involving the use of cloth in various Yoruba cultural practices. Firstly, I will provide a brief introduction into the egungun tradition and the spiritual cosmology of the Yoruba. I will then discuss other cultural traditions which feature cloth as central figure including dance and dress traditions. Once I have placed the egungun tradition within the Yoruba's culture of cloth, I proceed by discussing the specificities of the particular Egungunin the HLATC including its materials, provenance and history. In essence, this paper hopes to serve as not only a curatorial record, but as a story of detective work which work documenting a journey of discovery about an object.
Yoruba Cosmology and the Egungun Tradition
In order to understand the importance of this object, one must first place egungun within the larger cultural and religious practices of the Yoruba people. As discussed by Henry Drewal et. al in Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, the Yoruba believe in a cosmos that is divided into two portions which are distinct in nature but inevitably connected. The aye is considered "the world of the living." This world is characterized by visibility and the tangible. This world is often visited by elements of orun, or the "otherworld." Olodumare is thought to be the "creator" who inhabits this world along with other forces such as orisa (gods), ara orun (ancestors) and oro, iwin, ajogun and egbe (various spirits). The synthesis and relationship between these two worlds and the human and supernatural forces that inhabit each can be understood in the Yoruba saying "The world is the marketplace [we visit], the otherworld is home."

I will focus my discussion of the Yoruba cosmos on the role of the ancestors (ara orun) and gods (orisa) and their connection to the egungun masquerades. Before proceeding, it is important to examine the terminology I use to discuss this masking tradition thereby clarifying the relationship of the masking tradition to the ancestors and gods of the Yoruba cosmology. The words "egungun" and "Egungun" have often been used interchangeably in literature relating to this tradition. In Drewal's "The Arts of Egungun among the Yoruba People," the author describes the difference between the two terms. While the term "egungun" refers to any masquerade or masking practice, "Egungun" denotes the specific masking tradition among the Oyo Yoruba where it is believed that the practice originated. According to Drewal, the term "egungun," the broader of the two, it thought to refer to the concept of the "powers concealed" and can relate to practices which work to both honor ancestors and gods, both of which are considered "beings from beyond." "Egungun" has been more explicitly associated with the honoring of the ancestors in particular, the Egungun society and "a descendant's commitment to continuing the traditions of his predecessors and maintaining the reputation of his lineage."

In this way, the egungun tradition can be understood as masking tradition which works to both honor ancestors and gods whereas the Egungun among the Oyo has been specifically linked to ancestor honoring in particular. I will use the term "Egungun" to refer to the object in the HLATC (Accession number 2004.1.1) as I believe it comes from the city of Ibadan which Drewal classifies within the category of masquerades found among Oyo sub-ethnic groups in Oyo, Ibadan, and Osun provinces. I will elaborate on how I arrived at the provenience in a later section.

Within this geographical region, many types of Egungun exist. Marilyn Houlberg identifies the following categories: 1) onidan "owner of miracles" Egungun which Thompson categorizes as "trickster" or satirical masquerades and 2) paka Egungun that can be recognized by their "horizontal superstructure consisting of a piece of wood about 1.2 to 1.5 meters in length from which colorful appliquéd panels are suspended." For the purposes of this study, I will refer to the object (HLATC 2004.1.1) as an "agba Egungun." The word "agba" meaning "senior" or "big" Other types of egungun predominate in regions outside of Oyo, but in the interest of limiting the study to the geographically relevant area, I will discuss these types, discussed thoroughly by Drewal in The Fabrics of Culture.

Agba Egungun, not unlike paaka Egungun, are characterized by their multi-layered, brightly colored lappets or strips of cloth with saw-toothed edging attached to a sculptural headdress made of wood and cloth but lacking the horizontal superstructure which characterizes the paaka Egungun. The headpiece can vary greatly even within the Oyo region and can include figural carvings, such as human or animal forms as well as more abstract carved forms. Attached to the headpiece is a body suit which completely covers the performer and is most often made of aso oke or strip woven indigo cloth locally produced and usually hand woven. The cloth comprising the lappets is commonly a mix of imported cloths from Europe, America and sometimes even Southeast Asia imported to and sometimes produced for the African textile market. Common fabrics include velvet thought in Yorubaland to be "the epitome of good taste" (aran tii pari aso) and damask considered "the royal, gold-threaded cloth that has a strong metallic sheen in sunlight" (mosaaji aso oba tii tanna yanranyanran), as related in Abiodu , Beier and Pemberton. Other physical characteristics include a white and black knotted mesh face panel through which the performer can see, the use of medals, cowry shells and buttons to adorn particularly the area surrounding the knotted mesh, and the use of medicinal packets or amulets attached to the costume.

As Pemberton discusses inYoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, the masquerades' construction, like the worshipping of the ancestor itself, is made possible through a wide network of family and community involvement. While the ensemble is meant to honor the ancestor, it also speaks about the patron and family who finance the construction of the masquerade: "For the Yoruba the ancestral ensembles are designed to disclose the presence and power of the living dead and also the status and filial piety of the 'owner' of an egungun." In this way, the ensemble reflects the wealth, status and alliances of a particular family telling us as much about the living as the dead it is meant to honor.

An egungun is often created through a divination process whereby an individual learns that a deceased relative requires that an egungun is created. The individual will collaborate with a masquerade maker to decide on the appropriate type which may or may not be outlined through divination or meditation. Every detail must be decided upon including the types of fabric to be used, the amulets and medicinal packets to be included on the masquerade, and whether a carver needs to be commissioned to make a headpiece. Once the appropriate individuals have been commissioned including the carver and herbalist, the masquerade will be constructed. Once constructed, the masquerade is taken to the Egungun society where the necessary rites will be performed and where it will be decided who dances in that particular ensemble. Finally, the egungun is named.

One important aspect of the costume which manifests in its design and construction is the role that the cloth plays in concealing the performer. The masquerader is completely concealed throughout the dance including their face, hands and legs. In fact, word "egungun" means "powers concealed." Concealment of the performer has deep rooted meanings which are bound up in commonly held notions of the relationship between secrecy and power among the Yoruba people:

It is significant that cloth is the material that literally covers the whole body and metaphorically prevents the masker's 'secrets' and mortality from being revealed in public. Even if someone knows the identity of the masker, as a few in the crowd inevitably would, it is forbidden to reveal it in public.

In this way, the role of concealment, both literally of the performer and metaphorically of the spirit, ancestors and the secrets that contribute to their powers, are central to what egungun is at its core. This, along with other objects such as beaded, veiled crowns worn by royalty, highlight the important relationship between concealment, secrecy and power that the Yoruba hold central in their belief system.

Odun Egungun festivals are held annually or biennially throughout the Oyo Yoruba area or as needed on important family occasions including a death, familial conflict or sickness. The festival involves not only the costume itself but dancing, drumming and singing or chanting of particular verses. Just as many members of the community are involved in its initial production, the community participates in the Egungun festival where one or more Egungun will perform. Masqueraders and drummers are exclusively men although women actively participate in the singing or chanting of verses.

As Aremu states, when not used, Egungun are stored in safe places, both in terms of their physical preservation as well as in an effort to safeguard their spiritual properties: "It is a sign of honor to keep these costumes safe from all external negative tendencies. Rituals are also performed; these vary according to the accepted norms governing the well-being of the costumes." The storage of costumes can relate explicitly to the materials used to construct the costumes themselves showing a sensitivity to and awareness of materials, their properties and their storage solutions: "Sometimes, the costume is hung after the festivity on a stand made of the ahun tree. This is known as langanga since, in most cases, ahun wood is used for mask carving."

The Yoruba have a rich material culture landscape and history. They have produced and continue to make some of the most widely appreciated art in the world. Among their renowned skills, is their ability to produce varied and intricately designed cloth such as adire (cassava paste and indigo print and dye method) and aso oke (strip woven indigo cloth). In this section, I will discuss the way in which textiles are used in Yoruba dress and dance and relate these practices to that of the egungun masquerade traditions.

A common saying in Yorubaland is "Asp la riki ki a to ki eniyan" or "It is the cloth we should greet before greeting the wearer." This saying illustrates that in some contexts the cloth that the person wears is more important than the physical attractiveness of the person themselves. It also indicates that one's importance or status is tangibly linked the garments they wear and cloth they possess.

Clothing such as the agbada and the dandogo are excellent examples of the importance of cloth and its use in clothing in Yoruba culture. An "agbada," is a large, voluminous garment made from strip woven cloth worn by men. It is made from many strips of cloth sewn together with armholes extending past the natural length of the arm which are then folded up onto the shoulders, allowing the excess to flow down on the sides (See Figure 1). HLATC has two agbada in its holdings.

The dandogo is a larger version of the agbada. The term "dandogo" derives from the Hausa word "dogo" meaning to "grow larger." The theme of becoming larger through clothing is what Beverly Gordon describes as the "big cloth equals big man" phenomenon whereby clothing is used to not only enhance physical stature but also personal and social status of a given man. Drewal discusses this idea by noting that clothing is said to add (buyi kun) to the person and, in Yoruba fashions, it literally does.

A garment in which the use of cloth closely mirrors that of the egungun masquerade is the gbariye dandogo, the cloth "with pleats" worn by traditional dancers in Yorubaland: The gold and indigo strips are cut and sewn together (pleated and tapered) so that the skirt flares, extending into the surrounding space, forming almost a full circle, revealing the dancer's feet and trousered legs. The dancer whirls, bending forward at times so that the skirt undulated, revealing the contrasting colors of the cloth's lining. It is the cloth, not the dancer, that is the center of attention; and those standing nearby invariably feel the movement of the air as the dancer whirls before them and the cloth comes alive.

When one compares this image and description with that of the egungun, the similarities are striking (Figure 2): The senior bata drum sounds the phrase, titiketike, which the junior drum repeats, and suddenly the Egungun image is whirling with all his might, the cloths about his body blowing in the wind...The other Egungun uses all his power in performance. As soon as the drums start, he begins to dance, all his cloths swirling like a violent breeze. One can see how the use of cloth and the cultural sensitivity to its spiritual and physical properties is echoed again and again in Yoruba ritual settings.

What is central in both dances incorporating gbariye dandogo and egungun masquerade is not only the abundance and use of cloth but the swirling motions and the resulting wind created in both performances. As Thompson suggests, the creation of wind through the movement of cloth, particularly in the egungun tradition is related the myth surrounding Oya, the goddess of whirlwinds and her role as the wife of Shango, the Thundergod. What is exhibited in both gbariye dandogo and egungun are the "essential elements: cloth, wind and power."

The importance placed on cloth, particularly in its use in Egungun masquerades, draws from myths and beliefs surrounding the practice. Folklore suggests that cloth, particularly red cloth, has apotropaic qualities and that it was once used to ward off disease and epidemics. Even the saw-tooth borders known as igbala, which edge the lappets has ties to this myth. It is believed that Shango, the Thundergod, was spared from the epidemic because his followers used red cloth with saw-tooth edging to ward off the sickness: "The word, igbala, means: 'something that saves a person." In this way, cloth is believed to have immortal and powerful properties that when combined with song, dance and ceremony, can affect the lives of the Yoruba people.

The immortal properties associated with Egungun inevitably have ties to the fact that the Egungun performer and their costume acts as a bridge between the worlds of the living and the dead, both by invoking ancestral spirits as well as through the use of cloth closely associated with funeral rites and shrouds. The Yoruba believe that "we were born wearing cloth." Furthermore, the close link between cloth and immortality can be found expressed in divination poetry explicitly connecting cloth with the creator, Olodumare:

Young ones never hear the death of cloth,
Cloth only wears to shreds.

Old ones never hear the death of cloth,
Cloth only wears to shreds.

Young ones never hear the death of Olodumare,
Cloth only wears to shreds.

Old ones never hear the death of Olodumare
Cloth only wears to shreds.

Through these links, one can see the explicit connection the Yoruba make between cloth and lifecycle, their cosmos and power. Understanding these connections is fundamental in terms of examining Egungun and their meaning.

The HLATC Egungun 2004.1.1 is one of two such masquerades in the collection's holdings. The egungun ensemble acquired in 1992 (HLATC 1992.9.1) has been researched and exhibited (Figure 3). I chose to look closely at Egungun 2004.1.1 as it had not been catalogued or researched. The object came to the collection via donation with no information other than that it had been purchased by the donor in 1992 from Alajen Jawarn of Nigeria. I approached the study of this object through the act of cataloging according to HLATC procedure.

The object is 74 inches long and weighs approximately 40-45 pounds. The materials used in the construction of the object include cloth, string, thread, wood, plant materials, rubber, and aluminum. The object's base is comprised of a body suit with arms and mittens as well as legs and feet (Figure 4).

This construction completely conceals the appendages of the masquerader. This body suit is made of aso oke (strip woven indigo cloth made locally) and red cotton flannel (most likely imported and of European origin.) The arms and mittens are constructed using aso oke and are adorned with strips of imported cotton cloth sew onto the base at various points. The legs and feet are constructed from imported velvet, polyester knit and woven cotton with bicycle or inner tube rubber used as soles.

The second layer of the costume is comprised of 46 large lappets originating from the shoulder area. 87 smaller lappets encircle the headpiece which is round with sixteen ribs or ridges emanating from a wooden projection at the center (Figure 8). Both the large lappets and the small lappets are multilayered in that they are sewn on top of one another at various points and are sometimes three or four lappets deep. Both sizes of lappets feature saw-tooth edging around their perimeters. Below the headpiece is a rectangular area comprised of black and white knotted, cotton mesh through which the masker would see around them. Two strings of cowry shells hang on either side of the mesh area. Adorning the striped fabric which flanks the mesh are white, glass buttons. Discs of aluminum are attached to lappets surrounding mesh area through a puncture mark in the top portion of the disc.

The costume is constructed using both hand and machine stitching with the more recently added lappets showing evidence of machine stitching and the older lappets showing evidence of hand stitching. There are over 300 different types of cloth used to construct the lappets, body suit and saw-tooth edging including printed cottons (commemorative prints, wax prints, calicos) velvets, brocades, cotton flannel, canvas, faux velvet, velveteen, upholstery fabric (naugahyde), polyester blend prints, crochet samples and aso oke. The lappets are backed with a variety of fabrics including commemorative prints, wax prints, calicos and aso oke. Judging by the ages of these fabrics, I determined that the costume was most likely constructed in the early 1930's and in use with lappets continually added to the ensemble throughout the mid to late 1970's.
Cataloging the Mystery
The next step and some would argue, the most crucial, is determining provenance of an object. This is a particular challenge with an object like the Egungun because of the use of imported cloth in its construction and the continual refreshing of the cloth layers creating an object which has multiple time and place trajectories. The gap in literature about imported cloth and industrially produced cloth in Africa further contributes to the problem of determining provenance making it nearly impossible to trace the histories of individual types of cloth used on an Egungun.

The search for provenance took me on a winding journey where I learned more about the object than I ever thought I would. My first step was to research Egungun in other collections and contact experts in the field regarding these objects. My first and obvious contact was to consult with Henry Drewal about the object. During the meeting, I learned the symbolism behind construction details including the medicinal roll or bar attached below the knotted mesh panel, the projection from the top of the headpiece thought to represent a "cock's comb" and the significance of the sixteen ribs or ridges representing "the sixteen Odun of Ifa." Henry Drewal also noted that the ensemble had a "warrior's feel" with the encrustation of headpiece, the use of the medicinal bar and the "cock's comb" representation. He felt it might be from Oyo or somewhere in Northern Yorubaland but thought it would be difficult to determine a city or exact location of origin.

While grateful for his help and expertise, he being the foremost expert in the field, I have to admit I felt the slightly desperate after this initial consultation. I had envisioned an "aha moment" where we would instantly discover the origin of this piece. Little did I know, the proverbial "eureka" would be so faraway. At this point, I thought it best to take a visual inventory of all the Egungun I could. I began with Google Image Search. Through this, I located a number of images, some museum objects, some not, that I began to research in a vain attempt to know more about the very object I was sitting in the same room with six hours a day.

My image search, while not yielding the hoped for results - the provenance, did help me to understand the visual lexicon of the Egungun. I pursued three masquerades that I found through my search. These include Egungun in the following collections: Brighton Museum (UK), The North Carolina Museum of Art, and the de Young Museum. Each of these objects interested me in their similarity to the HLATC Egungun especially in terms of their use of color, fabric, patchwork, lappet placement, adornment. The fact that the two Egungun from North Carolina Museum of Art and the de Young Museum both fell within the same date range as the HLATC Egungun and were both from the Oyo region, helped to confirm my hypothesis about the date and Henry Drewal's opinion that the masquerade was possibly from Oyo.
I found one final image that I thought held the key to this object's secrets. It came from an online tutorial at the University of Manitoba. It is especially compelling because not only does it have similar fabrics used, as well as lappet and cowry placement as the HLATC Egungun but it also has a strikingly similar headpiece. Up until this point, I had not seen another headpiece in print or on the web which was similar to the headpiece of the HLATC Egungun. I contacted the necessary parties at the various collections. While it was wonderful to make contacts in the field, they unfortunately they did not yield the results I had hoped for - my beloved provenance.

I had reached a point where I realized that no one was going to tell me the information I needed to know. I decided instead that I should look closely at the object again and that maybe, it would tell me what I hoped to learn. First, I uncovered the Egungun. When not in storage, the Egungun resides on a large work table in the collection, lappets splayed and covered with a large piece of muslin to protect it from the harmful properties of the light. I then began to move the lappets, looking at each one closely. I cannot explain why I did this. It simply seemed like the natural thing to do. It was this act that gave the Egungun its voice, which up to this point had seemed mute, unwilling to share its past with me.

I found three key samples of fabrics used in the lappets that not only told me the provenance of the object but also spoke about the object's purpose and the spiritual and cultural values of the people that produced it. On the underside of one of the lappets, I located a wax print fabric that had the word "Ibadandun" incorporated in the Indonesian patterned design motif (Figure 9). In a conversation with Yomi Ola, the word opened up. Ibadan is a large city located in the Oyo region of Yorubaland. The suffix "dun" means "nice," "happy," or "pleasant." The combination forms a word that refers to Ibadan is a nice, happy place. The fact that this fabric was used on the Egungun coupled with the stylistic similarities exhibited between the HLATC Egungun and the other Egungun from the Oyo region convinced me that it was constructed and used in Ibadan.

A common adire pattern from Ibadan, the center of adire production and sale in Yorubaland, is titled "Ibadandun." The wax print fabric on the Egungun, while very different, employs the blues used in adire eleko. The use of the printed word "Ibadandun" not only invokes the meaning of the word in relationship to the cloth used on the Egungun, but also refers, whether intentionally or not, to the long legacy and tradition of adire within the region. Perhaps the ancestor the Egungun masquerade was constructed to honor was connected with adire trade or production.

Another significant fabric sample featured on the HLATC Egungun is a machine woven cloth sample which incorporates a child figure and the words "omo molere" (Figure 10). This saying, "children are benefits or rewards" is common in Yorubaland and shows how highly valued children are in their culture. Other examples of adire features a similar phrases such as, "A child is our reward in this world" (omo molere aiye). The use of such fabric on the HLATC Egungun could indicate that it was constructed recently after a child was born who was thought to be the reincarnation of the particular ancestor ensemble is honoring. It not only speaks to the value of children in Yoruba society but also their "place" in terms of young children's connection to Odun and the participation of children in adult life and activities.
Finally, and perhaps the most striking cloth found on the HLATC Egungun, is a machine woven cloth with the words "asiri a bo" meaning "may your secrets be concealed" machine embroidered on the surface (Figure 11). As discussed earlier, the importance of concealment is central in the egungun tradition. Concealment is a theme expressed in many Yoruba works of art and cultural traditions, not only that of the Egungun. The fact that this fabric is on the HLATC Egungun further emphasizes this point. This lappet is placed on the front center of the Egungun and is sew over other lappets. Both the words and meaning associated with this fabric, as well as the placement of the lappet featuring the fabric, point to its obvious importance in terms of this particular object as well as in the egungun tradition in general.
Cataloging with all the Senses
My true engagement with this object began only when I stopped looking for answers elsewhere and began to engage the object at a deeper level. Looking closely at an object with all of the senses of touch, sight and hearing, is a practice learned not only through material culture analysis research methods but also through years of museum work helped me to realize that an object, especially one as multilayered as the Egungun, is a way of revealing valuable insights about its former lives and history.

There are two layers of engagement which are important in understanding this object. Drawing from Suzanne Preston Blier's "Ways of Experiencing African Art: The Role of Patina," I will refer to these two layers as the "literal patina of engagement" and the "metaphorical patina of engagement." Whereby an object can acquire a literal patina referring to "a spectrum of traits that provide evidence of an object's history" it can also acquire metaphorical patina: The possible Latin root of patina, pati, "to suffer," suggests that the damage or marking associated with such use may carry metaphoric properties. As both a process and a metaphor, patina offers a provocative frame from which to address the myriad ways in which elements outside an original work of African art (and sometimes the intent of the artist) impact on how the object is experienced and what it comes to mean. I use this concept as a model to think about the great number of individuals who had or will have a relationship and sensate engagement with our Egungun. The literal patina of engagement is comprised of the object's maker (both of the individual cloth and fabric samples as well as the maker of the actual masquerade ensemble), the owner or patron, the priest of divination, the herbalist, the performers (singers, masquerader, drummers), the spectators from the community and of course, the ancestor who the masquerade is meant to honor. The metaphoric patina of engagement includes the dealer or seller, the buyer or donor, the researcher, the museum and collections staff and finally the visitor who views the object.

Thinking about all those who engaged and will engage with the object along its life journey helps me to understand not only the life of the object but the individuals, each of whom connects with it through his or her own cultures and beliefs. This engagement, both at the literal and metaphoric levels, forms a picture of the object in terms of its affiliations, associations and experiences that helps us to understand the life it has led and the new life it is beginning by entering a public museum or collection.

After completing this project, I view my position as a researcher and museum professional in a new and ultimately more meaningful light. As a producer of knowledge about and interpreter for the object, it is my responsibility to present its lives as accurately and wholly as possible for both those who created it and those who hope to learn about its many layers.
Sources:
Abiodun, Rowland, Ulli Beier and John Pemberton III. Cloth Only Wears to Shred:Yoruba Textiles and Photographs from the Beier Collection. Amherst: Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, 2004.

Aremu, P.S.O. "Between Myth and Reality: Yoruba Egungun Costumes as Commemorative Clothes," Journal of Black Studies 22:1 1991, 10.

Berzock, Kathleen Bickford, Personal communication, April 27, 2005.

Blier, Suzanne Preston. "Ways of Experiencing African Art: The Role of Patina," in Art of the Senses: African Art Masterpieces from the Teel Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2004.

Drewal, Henry John, "Pagentry and Power in Yoruba Costuming," in The Fabrics of Culture. New York: Mouton, 1979.

Drewal, Henry John, "The Arts of Egungun among Yoruba People," African Arts 11:3 1978, 18-19.

Drewal, Henry John, John Pemberton III and Rowland Abiodun, Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. New York: The Center for African Art and Harry N.Abrams, 1989.

Houlberg, Marily Hammersley, "Notes on Egungun Masquerades among the Oyo Yoruba," African Arts 11:3 1978, 56-61.

Ola, Yomi, Personal communication April 21, 2005.

Picton, John. African Textiles. London: British Museum Publications, 1989.

Thompson, Robert Farris. African Art in Motion. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1974.

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by Molly Greenfield The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection has in its holdings a wide variety of African textiles including woven, Berber pillow covers from Morocco, pounded, metal shawls from Egypt, kasai velvet made by the Kuba of Zaire, and lengths of brightly colored kente strip cloth from Ghana.

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Another article here:
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120619384

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La Cueca: Chile's National Dance

Historians believe that la cueca originates from a regional dance, the zamacueca, which has roots in Spanish, indigenous, and African traditions, and was originally danced in Peru. As the dance evolved during colonial times, it made its way throughout the region to countries like Bolivia and Chile. In the 19th century, la cueca became a popular activity in local taverns throughout Chile. In the 20th century, the dance was especially common in rural areas or in the working class neighborhoods of Santiago.

La cueca is all about romantic conquest. Funny enough, the way la cueca is danced resembles the mating ritual of a hen and a rooster. The use of the handkerchief is a key element of the cueca dance, as partners will raise it above their heads or behind their backs as they stomp their feet and circle one other.Throughout the dance, it's important that cueca dancers maintain strong eye contact throughout the different steps and movements.

La Cueca Under a Dictator

Everything changed in Chile after the 1973 coup d'état when General Augosto Pinochet and the Chilean army violently ousted the democratically-elected government of President Salvador Allende. Chile's famed folklorist Victor Jara was tortured and executed in Chile Stadium and thousands of left-wing politicians, activists, intellectuals, and artists were killed, kidnapped, or exiled. Effects of the dictatorship were widespread, and the Chilean pueblo wasn't able to gather or celebrate like the were before. As with many aspects of Chilean culture, la cueca did not escape Pinochet's grip.

Besides establishing strict societal rules, like curfews, as part of his authoritarian regime, Pinochet incorporated la cueca into his military parades, taking it from the working class and establishing it as a symbol of the dictatorship's oppressive hand. Under Pinochet, la cueca was also declared Chile's official national dance in 1979.

They Dance Alone

In response to the horrendous human rights violations under Pinochet, la cueca then took the form of political protest. Mothers, wives, and family members of kidnapped and disappeared Chileans would dance la cueca alone. Without their partners present, their dance would illustrate the loss of their loved one, drawing public attention to the human rights violations occurring in Chile. The striking visual of the solo dancer externalizes the absence of these lost lives. These solo dancers became recognized worldwide when Sting released his song "They Dance Alone."
Why are these women here dancing on their own?
Why is there this sadness in their eyes?
Why are the soldiers here
Their faces fixed like stone?
La Cueca Today

Since Chile's return to democracy nearly 30 years ago, la cueca has lost much of the stigma that it had during the dictatorship. It's been reclaimed by Chileans as a celebration of working class and "huaso," or countryside culture. During the celebratory Fiestas Patrias holidays, for example, Chileans of all ages enjoy getting out their hankies and stomping the day away.

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The Complicated Past of Chile's National Dance: La Cueca

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La Cueca: Chile's National Dance Historians believe that la cueca originates from a regional dance, the zamacueca, which has roots in Spanish, indigenous, and African traditions, and was originally danced in Peru. As the dance evolved during colonial times, it made its way throughout the region to countries like Bolivia and Chile.

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Inside the History and Techniques of Folklórico

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Picture a group of dancers with brightly colored skirts, embroidered jackets and hats, and fleet feet that tap out a syncopated beat as lively music plays. The women fan out their skirts, rippling them like waves as they twirl and stamp.This is folklórico, a dance style with as much complexity, vari...

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In the Argentine theater history, different periods are described: Creating the first theatre, La Ranchería Theatre; El Coliseo Provisional; period, theater in times of Rosas; the theater of 1860-1880 and the Generation of '80 covering the period of 1880-1910. To learn more about the history of theater from 1910 on, we suggest to see The Argentine theater from 1910

Article of the guest columnist, Osvaldo Calatayud for surdelsur.com

The Ranchería Theatre

In 1783 the first House of Comedy was created; the promoter of this enterprise was the Viceroy of Lights, as Viceroy Vértiz was called. The La Ranchería Theater was burnt down in a fire in 1792. Three years before, Siripo, by Manuel José de Lavardén had been premiered there. It is regarded as the first play by a local playwright.

The Coliseo Provisional

Four years after the fire of La Ranchería, a new theater was inaugurated, the Coliseo Provisional, which was considered the theater of the revolution, due perhaps to the closeness of the coming revolution of May, 1810. In that theater, El detalle de la acción de Maipú (The detail of the battle of Maipú) was premiered. The author of this play, which skillfully depicted popular customs, remains unknown.
In 1804 Viceroy Antonio Olaguer Feliú inaugurate a new theater, the Coliseo Provisional , in Cangallo and Reconquista, which then called the Teatro Argentino.

Later on, El hipócrita político (The Hypocritical Politician) was on stage, only the initial letters of its author being known: P.V.A.; it was an urban comedy, which reflected the Buenos Aires home of the period. In the same theater was premiered also, Túpac Amaru (or The revolution of Túpac Amaru), a tragedy written in verse which is an account of the Indian revolution which took place in 1780 in Tungasuka, Peru.

The traditional salon porteño of the colonial period, diminish its importance to the theaters arise, specific spaces for artistic activity.
Antonina Montes de Oca (1778-1834) was one of the first actresses of the Colosseum, acted as a young lady before 1810 and their daughter Dominga Montes de Oca performed from 6 , was a disciple of dances of the Cañete and Cato , and acted until 1833.
Trinidad Guevara is the interpreter that dominates the stage in the 1820s to 1830. In 1830 another star Juan Jose de los Santos Casacuberta appears. All of them, along with other figures of the time, come together on stage in 1832 offering the most brilliant show that until then had taken place in the Rio de la Plata, after which the theater activity turned in favor of the mimodramas, picaresque, cockfights and the circus.

The theater at the time of Rosas

The history of Argentine theater during the period 1829-1852, is characterized in that theatrical activity was influenced by political pressures, as testify the posters of the time. The theater became more popular, he excelled as a leisure activity for the rural masses and the suburbs.

Circus was the favorite spectacle of mazorquero federalism. The circus was developed under the influence of European and Latin American examples in this genre, especially those that included touring Argentina.

In 1827 the first amusement park was inaugurated, El Parque Argentino or Vauxhall (The Argentine Park) that occupied the space of the current Plaza Libertad, where he had various facilities including a circus space for 1500 spectators.

The park closed in 1838, when a new theater was opened, Victoria Theater , which attracts the Rosist society, foreign representations, the English sailors, French and American; and above all, where shines Manuelita Rosas .

The repertoire was foreign, predominantly Spanish drama and comedy. There were great players, but the proscription had not influenced authors that could exhibit their works during the twenty years of tyranny.

Among them, Juan Bautista Alberdi , writes from his exile in Uruguay, the petite piece El Gigante Amapolas (The Giant Poppies, 1842) satire on the caudillo Rosist regime; this time Alberdi first used elements of the absurd and the grotesque in dramatic Argentina.

Argentine theater 1860-1880

Only extreme circumstances, such as war or yellow fever, were temporarily decline theatrical activity. The growing foreign communities across the country, of which depended on the theatrical and artistic activity. So there was no show or novelty in Europe, which would not influence the life Argentina. Several European companies visited the Rio de la Plata that continue and the City stages were considered artistic mecca for European shows.

The Generation of '80

In 1884, Juan Moreira, a gauchesco drama, appeared in the form of a pantomime within the circus. This feuilleton by Eduardo Gutiérrez, which was published in a Buenos Aires newspaper, was the basis of the first play of gauchesco drama. The play was later completed by José Podestá, with texts drawn from the novel (1886). In April 10, 1886 the theatrical play was premiered. José Podestá interprets both melodrama and the subsequent stage version.
This cycle was closed in 1896, with the premiere of Calandria by Martiniano Leguizamón.

As from the early 20th century the theatrical activity was intense. Of the thirteen theaters in Buenos Aires, ten were occupied by foreign companies. Different companies premiered a large number of plays giving rise to the Golden Age of the Argentine Theatre History.
The presentation by the Podesta, June 16, 1902, La Piedra del Escándalo (The Stone of Scandal) by Martin Coronado (1850-1919) marks a turning point in the history of Argentine theater, criollo performers and authors, giving rise to the national Theatre.

They stood out in this period: Florencio Sanchez (1875-1910) author pragmatic, with successive approximations to reality, author of M'hijo el doctor (My son, the Doctor), Los Derechos de la Salud (Rights Health) and Barranca abajo (Downhill); and Gregorio de Laferrere (1867-1913) painter of types and customs, stood out with Jettatore Locos de Verano (Crazy people in Summer) and Las de Barranco (The Barranco Women)

Robert J. Payró (1867-1928) came from journalism and literary circles, which had as its center Ruben Dario, who was a friend. Payró gives rise to the theater of ideas trying to express the reality of Argentina. He was the author of Canción Trágica (Tragic Song), released in the Apollo Theater in March 1902. Then followed Sobre las Ruinas (on the ruins), Marco Severi and El Casamiento de Laucha (Laucha's wedding) book of 1906. They gave the theater activity, an unusual creativity.

References:

All graphic material in this report is edited digitally. The customized version by surdelsur.com shown on this page is performed based on the following documents:

INET Instituto Nacional de Estudios de Teatro.[Photographs and ancient prints] kindly granted by the INET (National Institute for the Study of Theater)

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Argentine Theater History (1783-1910) - El Sur del Sur

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In the Argentine theater history, different periods are described: Creating the first theatre, La Ranchería Theatre; El Coliseo Provisional; period, theater in times of Rosas; the theater of 1860-1880 and the Generation of '80 covering the period of 1880-1910.

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Ramayana drama in Indonesia showing Ravana

Research paper written by London Swaminathan

Research article No.1463; Dated 6 th December 2014.

Where did dramas originate? Did the first play was enacted in Egypt or India? We have dialogue hymns in the Rig-Veda and several scholars believe those were the first theatrical plays. We have similar dialogues in Egypt. Greek dramas that became popular in the fifth century BCE belonged to different genre. Plays of Bhasa, Kalidasa, Asvagosha, Shudraka and many more playwrights became popular in India from third century BCE. We have discovered fragments of Asvagosha's plays beyond India.
Dramas in the Vedas
After long Yajnas (fire sacrifices) lasting for several days, Vedic Hindus had dance, music and drama to entertain the public or the attendants.

The Natyasastra of Bharata, claims a divine origin for itself. It styles itself as a fifth Veda, accessible to all, including those who were precluded from the study of four Vedas. In its present form it came after Kalidasa's plays. It is possible that the author of the Natyasastra sat down to compose his treatise with Kaliidasa's plays before him, says Chandra Rajan, translator of Kalidasa's works .

Mahabharata in Indonesia

She adds, "the origins of drama could be traced back to the Vedas. In the Rig Veda we find a number of poems with dramatic elements in them: dialogues such as the lively debate between Sarama, the Hound of Heaven and the Panis (traders or demons of darkness) over wealth or tribute; the dialogue between Urvasi, a celestial nymph and the mythic king Puruvas, which is the distance source of Kalidasa's play Vikrama Urvasiyam; monologues like the declamation of Vac proclaiming her role in the creation of the universe; soliloquies like Vasistha's".

"In some of the poems in this group, there are three or more voices speaking; and the few contain the germ of a story or a cryptic reference to an event, that could develop in to a plot in the hands of a great dramatist. Kalidasa used the Urvasi-Pururuvas dialogue and made a great play.

"The Vedic hymns were chanted and sung by several voices and the presence of refrain in some suggests a choral element. The rituals themselves of the great sacrifices have a dramatic character. The rituals are re-enactments of cosmic events. It is possible priests officiating played the roles of gods and seers in re-enacting the cosmic events.

"There is mention in Vedic literature of maidens beautifully dressed and jewelled, singing and dancing and circling the sacred altars with jars of holy water in their hands. A chariot race is mentioned, as well as a contest between a Vaisya and a Shudra for the possession of a white skin symbolising the Sun (light).

"It is suggested that Urvasi-Pururuvas poem was a staged dialogue, a dramatic substitute for what was originally the sacrifice of a male in a fertility rite after a sacred ritual wedding.

"The Mudras (hand gestures) used and the stances adopted during the performance of Vedic rituals were incorporated later into classical drama. Often the stage directions in a play indicate miming, and call for a specific Mudra, as for instance, in Sakuntala 6-3 Kapota Hastaka- the dove shaped hand gesture that conveys adoration or supplication.

"The Binding of Bali and Kamsa's Slaying are two plays referred to in the literature of Second century BCE.

"Bharata's Natyasatra assumes the close association of Siva with the performing arts. Bharata, in his dialogue with Brahma, the creator, speaks of having witnessed the Dance of Siva 'full of feeling' and expressive of the sentiments of Srngara (love) conveyed through graceful sequences of movement and gesture.

Cambodia

"And Siva, highly pleased with the performance of two plays, The Churning of the Ocean and The Burning of the Triple City, composed by Brahma and performed by Bharata and his troupe, instructs his disciple Tandu to teach Bharata certain dance sequences.

"Bharata is obviously an assumed name. The Bharatas were originally the rhapsodies or the bards of the powerful Bharata tribe celebrated in the Rig Veda. Dancing figure discovered in Mohenjo-Daro point to the antiquity of dance as an art form in India".

--From Introduction in the book " Kalidasa The Loom of Time" by Chandra Rajan.

Indonesian Ramayana
Drama in Egypt and Sumer
In all the ancient civilisations dance and drama were inseparable. We see such things in Sumer, Egypt and South India. Silappadikaram, Tamil epic, describes scores of dances based on stories in Hindu mythology. In Sumer, all festivals had rituals involving kings and priests. Sacred marriages between Gods and Goddesses were enacted. Priests and Kings played their roles as Gods. In Madurai Minakashi Temple of Tamil Nadu, every year the sacred marriage between God and Goddess (Siva and Parvati) is enacted where priests and their children play the roles.

In the Rig Veda, we have Yama-Yami dialogue and Vasukra dialogue. These may be theatrical performances. We have such plays in Egypt as well. All the dance and dramas started as religious rituals. Later it took secular turns as we see in the Greek dramas of fifth century BCE.

Indonesian Mahabharata

Michael Rice, in his book the Egypt's Making says,

"Conflict of Horus and Set" is one of the great plays of ancient Egypt. This is the ritualized version of the mythical struggle between the opposing dualities which made up Egypt's historical personality. The very fact that this conflict is conventionalized into the form of a drama with carefully presented dialogue and action is very remarkable. Then there is the "Mystery play of Succession" known for its great antiquity, for it is known from First Dynasty. It included a mysterious group of characters called the Spirit Seekers who disappeared after the first Dynasty.

At his coronation, likewise, the king played through a complex and numerous series of rituals designed to signify his assumption of the sovereignty over Egypt.

( In Madurai in Tamil Nadu, the great Nayak king Tirumalai Nayak, used to receive the sceptre from Goddess Minakshi every year. This is renacted even today)

Scene from a Tamil drama
My comments
Horus of Egypt may represent in a Hindu context, positive forces or Shakti, or Vishnu or Kinetic Energy or Mitra of the Vedas.

Set may represent Siva or negative forces or Varuna or Potential energy.

Like the Deva and Asura participation in the Churning of the Milky Ocean, we need two sets of people representing opposites or dualities (like Light and darkness, Good and Bad, Hot and Cold).

If one reads all the dialogues and dramas of ancient Egypt and Sumer, then one will understand better the dialogues in the Rig Veda. I have come to the conclusion that most of them are theatrical plays staged during the sacrifices that lasted for days or weeks.

Following are some of the dialogues:

RV 10-51: Agni and Varuna

RV 10-10 Yama- Yami

RV 1-179 Agastya and Lopamudra

RV 10-95: Pururuvas and Urvasi

RV 10-86 Indra and Vrsakapi

We have such conversation hymns in RV 10-135; 10-124; 4-26; 10-108; 10-28 and many more.

So we may conclude that dramas originated in India provided one accepts the antiquity of the Vedas. B G Tilak and Jacobi dated them to 6000 BCE.

Contact swami_48@yahoo.com

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origin of drama in ancient india and egypt

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Origin of Drama in Ancient India and Egypt

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Ramayana drama in Indonesia showing Ravana Research paper written by London Swaminathan Research article No.1463; Dated 6 th December 2014. Where did dramas originate? Did the first play was enacted in Egypt or India? We have dialogue hymns in the Rig-Veda and several scholars believe those were the first theatrical plays.

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So, You Think It’s African Dance? (Published 2010)

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Africa is a big continent, and its dance encompasses a spectrum of movement. Many varieties can be seen at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s DanceAfrica festival.

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What was Shakespeare's family like?

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?

Why is Shakespeare still important today?

William Shakespeare, Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere, byname Bard of Avon or Swan of Avon, (baptized April 26, 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England-died April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon), English poet, dramatist, and actor often called the English national poet and considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time.

Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world literature. Other poets, such as Homer and Dante, and novelists, such as Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens, have transcended national barriers, but no writer's living reputation can compare to that of Shakespeare, whose plays, written in the late 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theatre, are now performed and read more often and in more countries than ever before. The prophecy of his great contemporary, the poet and dramatist Ben Jonson, that Shakespeare "was not of an age, but for all time," has been fulfilled.

It may be audacious even to attempt a definition of his greatness, but it is not so difficult to describe the gifts that enabled him to create imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that, whether read or witnessed in the theatre, fill the mind and linger there. He is a writer of great intellectual rapidity, perceptiveness, and poetic power. Other writers have had these qualities, but with Shakespeare the keenness of mind was applied not to abstruse or remote subjects but to human beings and their complete range of emotions and conflicts. Other writers have applied their keenness of mind in this way, but Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with words and images, so that his mental energy, when applied to intelligible human situations, finds full and memorable expression, convincing and imaginatively stimulating. As if this were not enough, the art form into which his creative energies went was not remote and bookish but involved the vivid stage impersonation of human beings, commanding sympathy and inviting vicarious participation. Thus, Shakespeare's merits can survive translation into other languages and into cultures remote from that of Elizabethan England.

Shakespeare the man

Life

Although the amount of factual knowledge available about Shakespeare is surprisingly large for one of his station in life, many find it a little disappointing, for it is mostly gleaned from documents of an official character. Dates of baptisms, marriages, deaths, and burials; wills, conveyances, legal processes, and payments by the court-these are the dusty details. There are, however, many contemporary allusions to him as a writer, and these add a reasonable amount of flesh and blood to the biographical skeleton.

Animals in Shakespeare Quiz

Early life in Stratford

The parish register of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, shows that he was baptized there on April 26, 1564; his birthday is traditionally celebrated on April 23. His father, John Shakespeare, was a burgess of the borough, who in 1565 was chosen an alderman and in 1568 bailiff (the position corresponding to mayor, before the grant of a further charter to Stratford in 1664). He was engaged in various kinds of trade and appears to have suffered some fluctuations in prosperity. His wife, Mary Arden, of Wilmcote, Warwickshire, came from an ancient family and was the heiress to some land. (Given the somewhat rigid social distinctions of the 16th century, this marriage must have been a step up the social scale for John Shakespeare.)

Stratford enjoyed a grammar school of good quality, and the education there was free, the schoolmaster's salary being paid by the borough. No lists of the pupils who were at the school in the 16th century have survived, but it would be absurd to suppose the bailiff of the town did not send his son there. The boy's education would consist mostly of Latin studies-learning to read, write, and speak the language fairly well and studying some of the Classical historians, moralists, and poets. Shakespeare did not go on to the university, and indeed it is unlikely that the scholarly round of logic, rhetoric, and other studies then followed there would have interested him.

Instead, at age 18 he married. Where and exactly when are not known, but the episcopal registry at Worcester preserves a bond dated November 28, 1582, and executed by two yeomen of Stratford, named Sandells and Richardson, as a security to the bishop for the issue of a license for the marriage of William Shakespeare and " Anne Hathaway of Stratford," upon the consent of her friends and upon once asking of the banns. (Anne died in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare. There is good evidence to associate her with a family of Hathaways who inhabited a beautiful farmhouse, now much visited, 2 miles [3.2 km] from Stratford.) The next date of interest is found in the records of the Stratford church, where a daughter, named Susanna, born to William Shakespeare, was baptized on May 26, 1583. On February 2, 1585, twins were baptized, Hamnet and Judith. (Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son, died 11 years later.)

How Shakespeare spent the next eight years or so, until his name begins to appear in London theatre records, is not known. There are stories-given currency long after his death-of stealing deer and getting into trouble with a local magnate, Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote, near Stratford; of earning his living as a schoolmaster in the country; of going to London and gaining entry to the world of theatre by minding the horses of theatregoers. It has also been conjectured that Shakespeare spent some time as a member of a great household and that he was a soldier, perhaps in the Low Countries. In lieu of external evidence, such extrapolations about Shakespeare's life have often been made from the internal "evidence" of his writings. But this method is unsatisfactory: one cannot conclude, for example, from his allusions to the law that Shakespeare was a lawyer, for he was clearly a writer who without difficulty could get whatever knowledge he needed for the composition of his plays.

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William Shakespeare | Plays, Poems, Biography, Quotes, & Facts

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William Shakespeare, the renowned English playwright and poet, crafted timeless works that continue to entertain audiences worldwide with their profound insights into human nature and enduring literary brilliance.

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During the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, an advertisement for the Bates textile company in the Pavilion of Spain's official guide book featured a fetchingly posed young woman, rose in mouth, with a ruby red bedspread draped over her body to form the likeness of a flamenco dress. The text beckons us to "fall in love with Spain-and Bates' 'Flamenca!'" and encourages us to discover "fashion's new passion in bedspreads ... each bedspread smoldering with two tones of a hot-blooded color."

In the U.S. and elsewhere, flamenco is a pervasive marker of Spanish national identity. For proof of its currency in pop culture, look no further than Toy Story 3: Buzz Lightyear is mistakenly reset in "Spanish mode," and becomes a passionate Spanish flamenco dancer. Indeed, the world outside Spain often stereotypes the nation as inhabited by flamenco dancers, singers, and guitar players who are so "passionate," they have little time to engage in the day-to-day world of the mundane.

Inside Spain, however, the relationship between the flamenco art form and Spanish national identity has been fraught for more than a century. Indeed, the world's love of flamenco has long created problems within Spain, where the performance was once considered a vulgar and pornographic spectacle. Over the years, many Spaniards considered flamenco a scourge of their nation, deploring it as an entertainment that lulled the masses into stupefaction and hampered Spain's progress toward modernity. Flamenco's shifting fortunes show how Spain's complex national identity continues to evolve to this day.

Flamenco, which UNESCO recently recognized as part of the World's Intangible Cultural Heritage, is a complex art form incorporating poetry, singing (cante), guitar playing (toque), dance (baile), polyrhythmic hand-clapping (palmas), and finger snapping (pitos). It often features the call and response known as jaleo, a form of "hell raising," involving hand clapping, foot stomping, and audiences' encouraging shouts. Nobody really knows where the term "flamenco" originated, but all agree that the art form began in southern Spain-Andalusia and Murcia-but was also shaped by musicians and performers in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe.

Moreover, from the mid-nineteenth century on, flamenco entertainment spread quickly from southern Spain to the capital (Madrid) and onward to other Spanish urban centers, flourishing there as a consequence of the rise of a mass urban culture and increased foreign tourism.

The reason for flamenco's horrible reputation among Spanish elites during the 19th and 20th centuries was that historically, performances were associated with the ostracized Gypsy (Roma) population in Spain, and they took place in seedy urban areas.

Spanish elites particularly despised how foreigners linked Spain with flamenco. Spain's national identity had previously been defined by outsiders who tied the country to Inquisitors, beggars, bandits, bullfighters, Gypsies, and flamenco dancers. Usually foreigners imposed the flamenco identity onto Spain as a backhanded compliment to highlight Spain's steadfast authenticity. The nation had not fallen prey to the soul-sucking effects of industrialization. But with very few exceptions, Spanish elites and social reformers never liked-nor wanted-this art form to represent themselves or their nation, and they fought flamenco fever with all the resources they could muster. But flamencomania proved much more difficult to eradicate than the so-called Black Legend: the negative propaganda, spread by Spain's French and British rivals, that characterized Spain as the land of cruel Inquisitors, sadistic colonial rulers, repressive politicians, and intellectual and artistic yokels.

Flamenco came to encapsulate Spanish elites' feelings of shame about the country's declining status as a great power in the modern era. Flamenco's critics were divided into three main groups: the Catholic Church and its conservative allies, left-leaning intellectuals and politicians, and leaders from revolutionary workers' movements. During the convulsive period between the Restoration and the beginning of the civil war, from 1875 to 1936, these groups used flamenco to critique what they saw as Spain's political, economic, and cultural ills.

The Catholic Church perceived flamenco as an offshoot of the sort of mass cultural entertainments that led to immodesty, the breakdown of the family, and the weakening of the Patria. But for many progressive intellectuals, by contrast, flamenco-along with its twin scourge, bullfighting-was thought to keep Spaniards in a stranglehold of backwardness. They saw the entertainment as a distraction that prevented Spaniards from solving the nation's numerous ills, including a corrupt political system, a wildly inadequate and unequal educational system, a lack of infrastructure and technological know-how, and vast inequalities of wealth. Meanwhile, for working-class reformers and revolutionaries, flamenco and its concomitant lifestyle exploited people's poverty and diverted workers away from becoming full actors in seeking revolution to end social, political, and economic inequality.

In reality, all of these groups used flamenco as a vessel to contain their dissatisfaction with the ideological and structural changes that emerged out of the French and Industrial Revolutions. They railed in newspaper diatribes against this form of entertainment, with some critics seeing flamenco as the perverted outcome of increased secularization, while others thought it showed resistance to progress and modernization. What they were really complaining about, however, was the permeation of modern mass culture into the daily lives of everyday citizens.

The many World's Fairs of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries gave flamenco a boost, making Spanish Gypsy performers all the rage, especially in Paris. Flamenco "deep song" (cante jondo) received the blessings of European avant-garde artists such as Sergei Diaghilev and Claude Debussy, who had attended flamenco performances at the Paris World's Fairs of 1889 and 1900, and found it primal and authentic. That led Spanish intellectuals and artists such as Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca to elevate this form of flamenco to "high culture." Thus, the support of Europeans outside Spain transformed the cultural meaning of flamenco for Spanish artists and intellectuals in much the same way that 20th-century European support for African-American jazz and blues aided their popularity in the United States.

But after the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War, from 1936 to 1939, flamenco performances in Spain diminished considerably. The Catholic Church and leaders of the Sección Femenina (the female wing of Spain's Fascist Party) disavowed flamenco. To counteract its perceived evils, they promoted folk dancing and singing, encouraging a new kind of national identity predicated on Spanish regional diversity and cleansed of flamenco's torrid reputation.

But by the 1950s, after years of international isolation, the Franco regime needed money. This led the regime to change course, promoting flamenco in order to jump-start Spain's tourist industry. A tourism promoter named Carlos González Cuesta wrote, "We have to resign ourselves touristically to be a country of [Spanish stereotypes], because the day we lose the [Spanish stereotypes], we will have lost 90 percent of our attraction for tourists."

So the Franco regime pandered to tourists' love of flamenco, increasing the number of clubs that specialized in it, advertising female flamenco dancers on tourism and airline brochures, encouraging professional flamenco performers to star in Hollywood films, and featuring performers in traveling exhibitions like the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair. These strategies worked; the regime was able to bring in millions of tourists and their money to help fund Spain's economic boom of the 1960s.

After Franco's death in 1975, the role of flamenco once again changed dramatically. The nearly simultaneous movements for regional autonomy within Spain and the growth of a world music culture complicated flamenco's relationship to Spanish national identity. The foreign depiction of Spain as the land of flamenco, the not-quite European country with the Oriental-Gypsy soul, has been exploited by entrepreneurial spirits within Spain. That is not to say that flamenco flourishes today only to serve the interests of commerce. Artists, scholars, and historical preservationists have chosen to undertake serious study of the art form and to promote its historical and artistic significance for both Spain and Andalusia. In fact, one could say that flamenco today has undergone both extreme commercialization and renewed artistic and academic respect, once again demonstrating its complex relationship to Spanish national identity.
Sandie Holguín is a professor of history at the University of Oklahoma. Her most recent book is Flamenco Nation: The Construction of Spanish National Identity.

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The Complicated History of Flamenco in Spain

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The music, born of gypsies in the country's southern regions, was embraced by foreigners long before it became a national symbol

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Black History and Dance in America, a story

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This date is dedicated to African American Dance. Africans brought their dances to North and South America, and the Caribbean Islands as slave labor starting in the 1500s. The dance styles of hundreds of African ethnic groups merged with European dances, forming the extension of the African aesthetic in the Americas.

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Among the many forms of art that have been inspired by Native American people, dance is, hands-down, one of the most spectacular and aw-inspiring of all. To the untrained eye, Native American dances may seem like simple steps, hops, and jumps, that keep time with the beat of the drum. Native dances are so much more than that! These dances are expressions, they tell stories, and they are used as a medium for prayer; with each dance holding its own significant meaning.

Historically, dancing was a way to promote community interaction and meditation. Round dances were a way of introducing guests, tribes, and clans. Other types of dances were done to celebrate events such as harvest or seasonal changes, marriages, and representatives from other tribes or nations. Celebrations would last for up to four days, with dance, feasts, story telling, and teaching of social etiquette.

We dance for many reasons. Some dancers feel called or compelled to dance. Others are encouraged to dance by others. We dance for those who cannot dance; elders who do not have the strength or stamina to dance, those who are sick and weak, others who may be having a bad day - we dance and pray for them. It does not matter, why you dance, if you are good and people enjoy watching you, dance! Dancing is a good thing, because it shows honor and respect to our ancestors, our elders, our community, and most of all to our Creator.

Oh life is like a sacred circle, when we walk the good Red Road. We dance to pray, we pray to heal, we heal to live, we live to dance. ~ Sacred Circle written by Reverend Catherine Nelson, Keepers of the Word

Regalia is an expression of each individual dancer, and takes time to build. Adornments are often hand made, by the dancer, or passed down from family members or another dancer. Regalia is built upon over the years, as a dancers life evolves and new pieces are added. Dancers must show care and respect to their regalia. For anyone visiting a pow wow, please remember - do not touch a dancers regalia without first asking, as these "outfits" are often worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars and have very deep spiritual and familial meaning and attachment.

Men's Grass Dance

One of the oldest dances known today, is the Native American grass dance. The dance is intended to mimic the swaying movements of the grass as it blows in the wind. The headdresses, typically a Porcupine hair roach, fringes, and ribbons on the dancers regalia intensify this mimicking of the swaying grass. The grass dance is preformed prior to the start of any ceremony, in an effort to flatten the grass and prepare the ground. Also, as part of the dance, honor is shown to hunters and warriors, to pray for and symbolize victory in a hunt or over an enemy.

Men's Traditional Dance

Men's traditional dancers preserve the "old way" of dancing. Through a combination of graceful and dramatic movements, the dancer tells the stories of hunting and war expeditions. Regalia can be simple or elaborate, and is made of beautifully detailed bead work, feathers, and other adornments that represent the dancers clan or nation.

Men's Fancy Dance

A very dazzling and elaborate dance, men's fancy dancers wear brightly colored, multi-bustled regalia. The fancy footwork, high jumps, and twirling require a dancer to be athletic and train for stamina. The regalia is said to represent the rainbow spirits, with its bright colors, flying feathers, and ribbons. Dancers also carry coup sticks, that are adorned with feathers and ribbons. A coup stick is a small stick that was often carried into battle by warriors. It is considered a sign of great bravery if a warrior was able to touch an enemy with this coup stick.

Women's Traditional Dance

Women are considered the backbone of tribal nations. Women's traditional is a very graceful dance that requires concentration and stamina. With movements that are very focused, it can seem as though dancers are floating along the ground as they dip and sway to the rhythm of the drum. The dancers stay connected to our Mother Earth at all times, by always keeping one foot attached to her, as they move in time with the drum. During "honor beats", women will raise their fans in honor of the drum and their male relatives.

Women's Jingle Dress Dance

This dance originates from the Ojibwe people. It is based on a young Ojibwe woman's dream, and it is a healing dance. Jingle dress dancers are often called upon to dance for the sick or injured. In order to be a jingle dress dancer, one must dream of becoming one. This dress is adorned with 365 cones, one to represent each day of the year, and each cone contains a prayer. When drummers play "honor beats", jingle dress dancers raise their fans to spread the prayers to the four directions, and the prayers are released from the cones of the dress.

Women's Fancy Shawl Dance

The women's fancy shawl dance is a "fairly new" dance. The regalia worn is bright, colorful, well adorned with bead work or applique. It is said that the fancy shawl dance is an adaptation of the ceremonial butterfly dance. Legend says that this dance and its regalia represents a young lady / butterfly, transitioning and emerging from her cocoon as a beautiful butterfly.

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Among the many forms of art that have been inspired by Native American people, dance is, hands-down, one of the most spectacular and aw-inspiring of all. To the untrained eye, Native American dances may seem like simple steps, hops, and jumps, that keep time with the beat of the drum.

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1. BUENOS AIRES - Theatre Capital of the World 2. Theatre eisted before the conquistadores
In any given week in spring or autumn, there are up to 700 different theatre shows in the city of Buenos Aires. It's an incredible number. How is it possible? Most of these shows perform only once or twice a week, as oppossed to all week like they do in London and different companies share the same theatre space. On a Friday night, you might get one show that starts at 8pm, another a 9.30pm and another at 11pm. Is it all quantity and no quality? Not really. Argentine theatre is renowned for it's excellent writing, great performances and a strong socio-political agenda. Avenida Corrientes is Buenos Aires Broadway or West End.
3. How Theatre became the tool of the the enemy
Theatre existed In Latin America before the Europeans came to the continent. Many of the indigenous tribes of Latin America had their own rituals, festivals, and ceremonies that involved dance, singing of poetry, song, theatrical skits, mime and acrobatics. The performers were trained and they wore costumes, masks, makeup and wigs. Moreover, platforms were erected to enhance visibility and there were sets adorned with branches from trees and other natural objects.
4. "It's forbidden to walk on grass, but not to fly over it."
Because of Latin America's pre-columbine theatre traditon, for the first fifty years after the Conquest, the Missionaries used theatre widely to spread the Christian doctrine. The indigenous performance practice remained but the content changed. And it proved a highly efficient form of brain-washing. However, it's maybe more shocking to discover just how far the Spanish were prepared to go. In 1599, the Jesuits used cadavers of Indigenous Natives to portray the dead in the staging of the final judgment.
5. Sor Juana
Influenced by the work of Paulo Freire and Bertold Brecht (who visited Latin America in the 1930s), Augusto Boal developed The Theatre of the Oppressed, which was designed to fight injustice and promote social and political change. The Theatre of the Oppressed invites the audience to become active "spect-actors" who can stop, analyse and change what is happening in the plays they are watching. The most famous branches of the Theatre of the Oppressed are Image Theatre, Forum Theatre and Invisible Theatre and these are now used by companies all over the world. If you're interested in Theatre of the Oppressed and you live in the UK, check out Cardboard Citizens.
6. The powerful journey of Death and the Maiden
One of the first Latin American playwrights was not only a nun but also a proto-feminist. Though she apparently never left her convent, this didn't stop Sor Juana writing The House of Desires, a brilliant Golden Age farce that ridiculed the honour code of the time and proposed that women and men were equals. It was one of three masterpieces performed by the RSC in their acclaimed Golden Age season in 2005.
7. Santiago a Mil
Death and the Maiden, one of Latin America's most successfully exported plays by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman, had one reading and one workshop production prior to its world premiere at the Royal Court THetare in 1991. A year later, the play, about a woman who meets her torturer years after he had raped her under the military dictatorship, opened on Broadway with Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss and Gene Hackman. Both productions went on to win major awards. In 1994, Roman Polanski made it into a film starring Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, and Stuart Wilson. Last year the play returned to London's Harold Pinter Thetare starring Thandie Newton. A particular version of this play was held in 2010 in the Arab Theatre in Haifa, Israel, directed by Juliano Mer Khamis the arab-Israeli filmmaker and activist, who was assassinated a few months later.

Santiago biggest theatre festival is called Santiago a Mil because when it started you used to be able to buy every ticket for just Chilean mil pesos. Now that's a good deal!

8. Gael Garcia Bernal - Mexican born, London trained
9. The phenomona of Circo para Todos
Before he became a worldwide movie star, Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. Clearly a fan of London, he later appeared in Blood Wedding at the Almeida Theatre.
10. And, finally, a First for Latino theatre in the UK
Founded in 1997, Circo Para Todos (Circus for all) took its inspiration from the El Sistema, the phenomenally successful Venezuelan music programme that works with talented but impoverished children and has produced the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra and it's conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Like El Sistema, Circo Para Todos was set up to offer poor children from the city of Cali the chance to develop circus skills. Now the very best become part of Circolombia, a youth circus troupe that has already wowed audiences across the world. If you want to catch them, they perform regularly at the Roundhouse, Edinburgh Fringe and across Europe.

In the US, we are used to seeing Latin arts and culture rewarded n the mainstream. But not so in the UK. So, it was a big deal when this year 'Juana in a Million" one a First at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show, written by Mexican actress Vicky Araico Casas and Nir Paldi (who also directs), was a complete sell out. Described by critics as a beautiful piece of physical theatre, featuring a remarkable performance from Araico Casas, it tells the story of Juana, a young woman who leaves her native Mexico following a terrible tragedy at the hands of warring drug cartels; she arrives in London with nothing but a ready smile and the address of a relative. There, in our apparently civilised and democratic capital, she is repeatedly exploited, deceived and abused. "This is a story we really want to tell so we are delighted with the recognition, as it means we'll be able to tell it to more people." We can't wait for the London debut!

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1. BUENOS AIRES - Theatre Capital of the World 2. Theatre eisted before the conquistadores In any given week in spring or autumn, there are up to 700 different theatre shows in the city of Buenos Aires. It's an incredible number. How is it possible?

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Dance is an ancient and celebrated cultural tradition in India. Folk dances abound all across the country, and huge crowds of people can be found dancing at festivals and weddings. Dance and song features heavily in Indian cinema (so-called "Bollywood" films), too. But where does Indian dance draw its roots from? Here are six of the most important classical dance forms of India.

Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam dancer f9photos-iStock/Thinkstock

Bharatanatyam is a dance of Tamil Nadu in southern India. It traces its origins back to the Natyashastra, an ancient treatise on theatre written by the mythic priest Bharata. Originally a temple dance for women, bharatanatyam often is used to express Hindu religious stories and devotions. It was not commonly seen on the public stage until the 20th century. The dance movements are characterized by bent legs, while feet keep rhythm. Hands may be used in a series of mudras, or symbolic hand gestures, to tell a story.

Kathakali

Kathakali comes from southwestern India, around the state of Kerala. Like bharatanatyam, kathakali is a religious dance. It draws inspiration from the Ramayana and stories from Shaiva traditions. Kathakali is traditionally performed by boys and men, even for female roles. The costumes and makeup are especially elaborate, with faces made to look like painted masks and enormous headdresses.

Kathak

A dance of northern India, Kathak is often a dance of love. It is performed by both men and women. The movements include intricate footwork accented by bells worn around the ankles and stylized gestures adapted from normal body language. It was originated by Kathakas, professional storytellers who used a mixture of dance, song, and drama. Like other Indian dances it began as a temple dance, but soon moved into the courts of ruling houses.

Manipuri

Manipuri comes from Manipur in northeastern India. It has its roots in that state's folk traditions and rituals, and often depicts scenes from the life of the god Krishna. Unlike some of the other, more rhythmic dances, Manipuri is characterized by smooth and graceful movements. Female roles are especially fluid in the arms and hands, while male roles tend to have more forceful movements. The dance may be accompanied by narrative chanting and choral singing.

Kuchipudi

Unlike the other styles mentioned, kuchipudi requires talent in both dancing and singing. This dance, from the state of Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India, is highly ritualized, with a formalized song-and-dance introduction, sprinkling of holy water, and burning of incense, along with invocations of goddesses. Traditionally the dance was performed by men, even the female roles, although now it is predominantly performed by women.

Odissi

Odissi is indigenous to Orissa in eastern India. It is predominantly a dance for women, with postures that replicate those found in temple sculptures. Based on archaeological findings, odissi is belived to be the oldest of the surviving Indian classical dances. Odissi is a very complex and expressive dance, with over fifty mudras (symbolic hand gestures) commonly used.

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Dance is an ancient and celebrated cultural tradition in India. Folk dances abound all across the country, and huge crowds of people can be found dancing at festivals and weddings. Dance and song features heavily in Indian cinema (so-called "Bollywood" films), too. But where does Indian dance draw its roots from?

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DANCE IN INDIA

Dance has traditionally been an important part of religion and culture in India. According to Indian legend, the gods invented dance. Dancing is one of the most revered Hindu arts because it incorporates melody, drama, form and line. Gestures, body positions and head movements are emphasized in Indian dance. The use of the hands, fingers and eyes are of primary importance. There are almost a thousand specific hand movements and signs ( mudras). Often bells are worn around the ankles.

The four abhinovas are essential to understanding Indian dance. They are 1) the technique of movement, which includes facial expressions, head movements and body movements; 2) all types of vocal and instrumental sounds linked with dance; 3) involuntary actions such as perspiration, trembling and blushing; and 4) make-up, costumes and sets. Some dancers are capable of changing their skin color voluntarily by consciously pumping blood into the capillaries on the face.

Gestures play an important role in India dance. Some dances feature more 600 gestures, each with a specific meanings. They often have a codified meaning that are known to the audiences that watch the dances. It have been suggested the codified developed as way convey a single message by dance troupes traveling through areas where different languages are spoken or they developed out mnemonic devises used by storytellers to convey and remember their stories. Colors are also rich in symbolism and meaning. Heavy eye make up is often worn to highlight the expressive of the eyes.

Importance of Dance in India

Nataraja (a depiction of Shiva) is the divine, cosmic dancer and a classic image in Indian art. He is often depicted in old bronze statues with four arms and one legged raised and the other crushing Apasmara, a dwarf-demon associated with confusion and ignorance. One hand assumes the gesture of protection, one points to a raised foot, one hold the drum that keeps the beat of the rhythm of creation. The forth holds the fire of dissolution.

The ancient treatise on sculpture, the Silpashastra, offers a telling story about dance and art. In the old days a devout king from Vajra asked a the sage Markandeya to teach him the art of sculpture. The sage handed the king a lump of metal and asked him, "Do you know how to paint? The king said he didn't but he was ready to learn. The sage then said, "Do you know how to dance?" The king said he didn't but he had a basic knowledge of instrumental music. The sage then told him to learn more about music and use that to understand dance better and with that knowledge advance up the scale to painting and the sculpture. It is no wonder also that dancers and gods associated with dancing are the subjects of some of India's greatest works, the Chola sculptures.

Dancers have traditionally been members of certain entertainer castes. They ranked low in the caste system and purity scale and supported themselves by working in traveling troupes or working for specific temples. It was not unusual for female temple dancers and troupe dancers to work as prostitutes. When the girls started leaving the temples to please local landlords a law was passed prohibiting the practice of dedicating girls to temples. To this day no mother in India wants her daughter to be dancer, because of its association with promiscuity.

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy of Helsinki wrote: " The man who is regarded as being the first dancer to introduce the West to the "real" Indian dance tradition was Ram Gopal (1917-2003). In fact, his creations were only based on real Indian dance techniques, such as kathakali, bharatanatyam, and kathak, while the dance numbers themselves were mostly his own creations. Nonetheless, Ram Gopal was a remarkable dancer. He toured the world with his own company, for which he created short spectacular pieces. While they were based on Indian techniques he stripped them, at the same time, of their original costuming and make-up and gave them the fashionable "orientalistic" outlook, so popular in the West and by that time in India too. [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen,Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theatre Academy Helsinki /=/]

History of Indian Dance

Dances performed in India are said to have their origins in dances and rituals of the period of the Vedas, which date back to around 1000 B.C. The earliest Indian religious texts describe creation in terms of dance. In Hindu mythology, a dance by Shiva creates and destroys the universe. Caves in the Vindhya Hill region of Mardya Pradesh are filled with images made by hunter-gatherers of dancers in a rich array of positions, many of them sexual.

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy of Helsinki wrote: "The earliest known permanent settlements in India appeared approximately 9 000 years ago. They gradually developed into one of the earliest pre-urban civilisations in the world, the so-called Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished in approx. 2700-1800 B.C. Its centres were Harappa and Mohenjodaro in the Indus River Valley, in present-day Pakistan. The Indus Culture had its own writing system, which has not yet been deciphered. Two small sculptures give some information about dance of the period. [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen, Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theatre Academy Helsinki /=/]

The oldest hard evidence of Indian dance are bas-relief depictions of dance found in Barhut, Sanhi and Amaravati, which date from the 2nd century B.C. to A.D. third century, and Natyasastra of Bharata, a treatise on drama and dance written between the A.D. 2nd and 4th century and sometimes referred to as the fifth Veda. Dance in India is guided by the elaborate codes in the Natya Shastra and by mythology, legend and classical literature.

Sculptures from all over India and from many different historical periods, many before A.D. 1000, illustrates the importance of dance in Indian cultural history and the richness of its traditions. Many classical forms of dancers are based on ancient sculptures. Dance is believed to have evolved from religious rituals and shamanist practices. Even today religious rituals often have drama and dance as elements in them. They are often associated with a particular Hindu god or a story or episode from the Ramayana and Mahabharata and are done n conjunction with music and art.

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy of Helsinki wrote: " The man who is regarded as being the first dancer to introduce the West to the "real" Indian dance tradition was Ram Gopal (1917-2003). In fact, his creations were only based on real Indian dance techniques, such as kathakali, bharatanatyam, and kathak, while the dance numbers themselves were mostly his own creations. Nonetheless, Ram Gopal was a remarkable dancer. He toured the world with his own company, for which he created short spectacular pieces. While they were based on Indian techniques he stripped them, at the same time, of their original costuming and make-up and gave them the fashionable "orientalistic" outlook, so popular in the West and by that time in India too. [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen,Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theatre Academy Helsinki /=/]

Dance, Sculpture and Art in India

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy of Helsinki wrote: " Besides the early literature, the visual arts, such as early sculptures, reliefs, and later paintings, also give extremely valuable information about theatre and dance. In India the whole phenomenon of the interrelation of dance and the visual arts, and indeed of other art forms as well, is a most crucial one. The question is not merely of borrowing and exchanging materials and ideas from one art form to another. In Indian thought, dance, and all art, is basically a religious sacrifice (yajna). Art is also regarded as a form of yoga and a discipline (sadhana). Through the creation of a work of art the artist/craftsman strives to evoke a state of pure joy or bliss (ananda). [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen, Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theatre Academy Helsinki /=/]

"The human body was seen as a vehicle of worship and thus performances become acts of invoking the divine. By 200 AD at the latest, as stated above, the complicated techniques of dance-like acting, as well as the rasa system, were codified in the Natyashastra. It is significant that in the Indian tradition it is dance, a temporal and corporal form of art, which is regarded as the ascendant art form. It set the measure for other forms of art, since they adopted the theory rasa from the tradition of the Natyashastra. /=/

"Dance has been so predominant in its position that some textual sources stress that sculptors and painters cannot succeed in their work without a basic knowledge of it. The Natyashastra sets the physical and dramatic tools for evoking the rasa or the emotional state appropriate to worship. On the other hand, the Silpashastras, manuals of iconography and sculpture, were intended to help in producing the corresponding figurative representations. /=/

"Consequently, the principles of movement, however complicated they may be, are the same for both a dancer and a sculptor. The final goal of this intricate science of movements, measurements, poses, gestures etc. is to create the rasa, the actual object of presentation and, finally, to reach even further in evoking the state in which transcendental bliss can be experienced. /=/

Shiva, Religion and Dancing Gods in India

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy of Helsinki wrote: "All the three Indian religions, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, share the same theoretical basis for dance and the visual arts. And so most of the margi or "classical" dance techniques, in spite of their local stylistic variations, bear strong similarities in all of these three traditions. Consequently, their imagery shares common aesthetic norms and iconographic features. As early as from the Vedic period (1600-550 B.C.) onwards, Indian literature and mythological narrative created characters which were depicted in the visual arts as dancing or in easily recognisable dance-derived poses, reflecting the prevalent dance techniques. [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen, Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theatre Academy Helsinki /=/]

"During the classical Gupta age from the fourth to the sixth century AD the repertoire of the dance images expanded further, while the Puranas or mythological stories of the early centuries AD provided more dance-related imagery. Along with dancing human beings and semi-gods of older periods appeared dancing gods, the first of them being the dancing Shiva. /=/

"The sculpture-type called Shiva Nataraja can be regarded as one of the trademarks of Indian art. The iconography of the Shiva Nataraja, literally meaning the King of Dance, developed over the centuries and reached its crystallised form in Tamil Nadu during the Chola period in approximately the 10th-12th centuries AD. It was the very period when the art of bronze casting reached its apogee. The Chola sculptors were able to reproduce, in metal, the exact proportions laid down by the Silpashastras and even the tiniest details of the gestures and movements dictated by the Natyashastra. /=/

"The Shiva Nataraja represents Shiva as the destroyer/creator as described by devotional poetry dedicated to him. In the Hindu cyclical view of time Shiva's role is to destroy one era in order to create the next one, and this is what Shiva Nataraja statues portray. When he executes his cosmic tandava dance of destruction and creation he is surrounded by an arch of glory fringed by flames. /=/

"The flame that he is holding in his upper left hand hints at the aspect of destruction, while the drum, symbol of the pulse of life, which Shiva holds in his upper right hand, refers to the aspect of creation. The lower left hand points to his lifted foot, while the lower right hand is shown in pataka mudra. Multi-handedness, a feature typical of many nrttamurtis, is a practical way to manifest the deity's different aspects simultaneously. It also enables the sculptor to capture several frozen moments of a movement sequence in a static sculpture. /=/

"The main characteristic of Shiva's dance in the Chola iconography is the uplifted leg. His right leg is firmly planted on a dwarfish creature, which personifies one of the six enemies of enlightenment. The sculpture is full of symbolism. Shiva's braided hair is often decorated with his attributes: a laughing skull, a crescent moon and a cobra, and also often Ganga, the personification of the Ganges. The rasa, which Shiva's dance always evokes, is raudra, the Furious. /=/

Dance Images in Indian Temples

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy of Helsinki wrote: " Many of the early Buddhist reliefs with their dance-related images and the early dance images of Hindu cave temples are still in their original architectural contexts. The earliest surviving free-standing stone temples were built in the Gupta period. Gradually their plain outer walls were decorated with narrative panels as well as dancing divinities. This was the beginning of a development that was to lead to the flourishing of dance images in Hindu temple architecture during the so-called "medieval" period, approximately from the 7th to the 16th century. [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen, Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theatre Academy Helsinki /=/]

"The most abundant representations of dance images can be seen in the Hindu temples of South India, in the Bhubaneshwar temples in East India, and in the temples of Khajuraho in Central India. The West Indian Jain temples of Mt. Abu are also famous for their dance imagery. The styles of sculpture differ and local schools can easily be recognised, but the fundamental portrayal of the movement is mostly rooted in the tradition of the Natyashastra. /=/

"Series of dance reliefs directly related to the Natyashastra can be found in some medieval temple complexes in South India. The most famous of them are those carved on the towering 9th century gateways of the Shiva temple in Chidambaram. They include ninety-three of the 108 karanas described in the Natyashastra. These small relief panels, together with other similar series and contemporaneous murals depicting dancers, constitute an important source material when one is trying to reconstruct the karana movement cadences of the Natyashastra. What makes these Chidambaram karana reliefs so particular is that they are accompanied by inscriptions of Sanskrit verses from the Natyashastra. Thus they form a kind of an illustrated dance manual carved in stone. /=/

"Since the karanas have practically disappeared from the present Indian dance styles it is understandable that the academic study focusing on these reliefs has already had a long tradition. By means of these reliefs and their inscriptions scholars and dancers have tried to reconstruct the ancient karanas since the early 20th century. Each panel shows one dancer in one frozen moment of a movement pattern. This led the early scholars to believe that karanas were actually static poses, an assumption which later research has renounced. The debate focusing on these panels has been very lively and has led to several attempts to reconstruct the karanas." /=/

Balasarasawati and the Guru Institution

Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen of the Theatre Academy of Helsinki wrote: " Before the founding of dance and theatre institutions and schools in the early 20th century, the classical music, acting and dance traditions were taught by masters or gurus. The so-called guru-sishya system of education indicates a close personal contact between a master and his pupil. During daily contact the master guides and initiates his student into the secrets of the art according to his pupil's abilities and spiritual development. [Source: Dr. Jukka O. Miettinen, Asian Traditional Theater and Dance website, Theatre Academy Helsinki /=/]

"When revivalists around India, such as Rukmini Devi, Rabindranth Tagore and others, started the revival of the traditional performing arts it was the old guru families and lineages they turned to. The level of dance performances may have declined in some parts of India, but the skills and knowledge of these traditions were still preserved by the guru families. Thus the revivalists invited prominent gurus to teach new generations of artists at their modern institutes. This is, in fact, still often the case in modern art universities as well. Even today most of the serious actors and dancers working in the traditional fields of the performing arts privately continue their studies, throughout their careers, with their chosen gurus." /=/

"Some dancers themselves were also bearers of age-old traditions. One of them was Balasaraswati (1918-84), a remarkable exponent of bharatanatyam in the seventh generation. She belonged to a family of dancers based in Tanjavur and made her debut in 1925. She was invited to work at Rukmini Devi's Kalakshetra institution and she thus deeply influenced the revival of bharatanatyam. She was renowned particularly because of her deep and nuanced abhinaya mime acting and she has been regarded as "the greatest single repository of the performing arts of southern India". /=/

Mujra Dancing and Ladies Clubs

Ladies bars are a unique Bombay institution, with women singing and dancing for wealthy men in what has been described as a "Bollywood fantasy in a South Asia palace." Women dance, often after saying a prayer, and men off throw cash from their seats. It is forbidden for men to solicit the women but it is regarded as acceptable for them to try to get a woman's phone number and meet her outside the club.

Somini Sengpata wrote in the New York Times: " A dozen women in shimmering chiffon skirts swayed their hips, lip-synched and gazed a themselves in the mirrored walls...In one corner of the bar, a man kept his attention and his money focused on a languid young woman in yellow. She moved to the music, threw back her hair, admired herself in the mirror and responded to his invitations to move closer, each time fattening the stack of bills in her hand." In 2005, conservative Bombay officials with connection the Hindu nationalist group Shin Shiva threatened to close the bars down on the grounds that they promoted prostitution, corrupted young people and threatened family life.

Prostitution in South Asia has traditionally been associated with mujra dancers found at carefully hidden bars advertised by word of mouth. Mujra, or courtesan clubs, have traditionally been associated with men's nights our during the Eid festival that marks the end of Ramadan. The custom is most alive in Lahore, which has a reputation of being more open and liberal than other places in Pakistan.

Mujra is derived from Kathhak classical dancing. Kathhak dancers enjoyed high status in the Mughal era and often entertained members of the court. There were so many of them at that time they formed their owned caste. The remnants of this caste, many of them illegitimate children born to mujra, are linked with an alternative community of artists and poets that hang around the Diamond Market in Lahore.

Mujra dancers do not perform a strip tease act or anything like; they simply dance, often shaking their bottoms and breasts and wearing bells around their ankles. Maureen Paton wrote in the Times of London: women "wearing leather ankle straps hung with bells below their traditional costumes of tunic and leggings, will simply mime to film music...As a signal to show his appreciation, a man will toss a £5 or £10 note in the direction of his chosen girl. And after the performance is over, sexual services are bought and sold in an adjoining room. Nothing needs to be spelled out: it is understood that sex, if the client wishes, is part of the equation."

Whittaker Khan, a British-Pakistani woman who wrote a play about mujra dancers, told the Times of London, "They never take off their clothes during the performance because the culture is so repressed. But dancing is so associated now in Pakistan with prostitution that it is difficult to practice it purely as an art form; and men from respectable families don't marry such girls."

Types of Dance

Both classical and folk forms of dances are performed in India. Dances forms vary, especially between the north and south. Indian dances are divided into three types: 1) nrtta (rhythmic dancing without a story); 2) nrtya (dramatic dancing with a narrative or descriptive theme); 3) natya (acting).

All forms have traditionally been structured around the nine rasa (emotions): 1) hasaya (happiness); 2) shoka (sorrow); 3) krodha (anger); 4) karuna (compassion); 5) bhibatsa (disgust); 6) adhbhuta (wonder); 7) bhaya (fear); 8) viram (courage); and 9) shanta (serenity).

The are four main schools of Indian dance: 1) Bharata natyam (a southern dance form which features women dancers doing a wide variety of dance movements accompanied by the rhythm of her stamping feet); 2) Kathakali (a southern dance from Kerala area featuring men doing martial arts like movements to the rhythm of drums); 3) Kathak (a northern dance done by women and men to the rhythm of feet slapping on the ground); 4) Manipuri (a dance from the Assam area of the northeast India with graceful swaying movements).

Classical dance forms have rigid rules for presentations. Classical dancers are known for angular posture, strange hand positions and strange facial expressions, tinkling ankle bells, feet smacking the floor, cocked heads, and hands bent upwards in awkward positions. Among the leading forms of classical dance are Bharata, Natyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi, Kuchipudi and Mohini Attam.

Image Sources:

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Compton's Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.

&copy 2008 Jeffrey Hays

Last updated June 2015

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Dance has traditionally been an important part of religion and culture in India. According to Indian legend, the gods invented dance. Dancing is one of the most revered Hindu arts because it incorporates melody, drama, form and line. Gestures, body positions and head movements are emphasized in Indian dance.

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Dance is a form of expression of oneself through rhythmic movement.

Dance is an integral part of Filipino culture that dates to the period before Ferdinand Magellan stepped foot in the Philippines. The traditional dances of the Filipinos are vibrant and colorful, capturing the history of the archipelago.

Before the Spanish Various tribes were scattered across the more than 7,000 islands, each with its own unique traditions and dances. The Igorot tribes lived in the mountains of Luzon; a handful of these tribes still reside in the mountains, having successfully resisted Spanish colonization. Many of the dances have been handed down through the generations. Dance expresses this tribe's love of nature and gratitude to the gods. To imitate the wonders of nature, dancers often swoop their arms like birds and stomp their feet to represent the rumbling of the Earth. However, many other tribes in other regions are disappearing, and only a few of their dances survive. Thanksgiving, worship and prayers for a bountiful harvest mark the style of these dances.

List of Philippine Folk Dance

The history of Philippine folk dancing incorporates influences from immigrants and conquerors while at the same time maintaining distinctly Filipino roots. Philippine folk dancing is a true reflection of daily life in past centuries while enchanting modern audiences at the same time.

Tinikling

History:
One of the oldest traditional Filipino dances, the Tinikling dance, or bamboo dance, is performed using long bamboo poles. Originating on the island of Leyte in the central Philippines, the Tinikling dance takes its name from the tikling bird. The movements of the dance are meant to imitate the bird as it steps through its marshy habitat.
Starting with the Bird
The inspiration for the Tinikling dance is the tikling bird, a native of the Philippines. Also known as barred rails (Gallirallus torquatus), tikling birds are found in wetlands and grasslands. The birds' distinctive movements as they meander through grass and around tree branches are imitated in the dance. Dancers hop over and around the clapping bamboo poles that substitute for branches, their quick feet keeping them from being hit by the rhythmically moving bamboo.
Creating the Dance
Developed around the time the Spanish occupation of the Philippines began in 1565, the Tinikling dance traces its origins to the island of Leyte. The wet climate of the island made it highly suitable for growing crops such as rice. Farmers and field hands working in the rice paddies had ample opportunity to observe the behavior of the tikling birds that lived in the area as they searched for food along the field edge. Imitating the hopping movements at home proved to be an entertaining pastime.
Evolving the Dance
Originally more of a playful activity similar to that of jumping rope, the Tinikling dance eventually became a more formal traditional dance. Although still retaining the fun element, modern performers have a specific order of steps to perform. The barefoot dancing couples, male and female, wear traditional Filipino costumes. The male dancer wears a barong-tagalog, a loose, long-sleeved embroidered tunic. His female counterpart wears a balintawak, consisting of a dress with butterfly sleeves and a scarf worn over the left shoulder.
Continuing the Legend

While the origin of the dance is attributed to the tikling bird, there is another origin legend that persists. It has its roots in the Spanish occupation, when the Spanish seized farms and forced the former owners to work them. According to this legend, as a punishment for working too slowly, workers were forced to stand while their feet were beaten with freshly cut bamboo poles. To avoid bruised and bloodied feet, the workers practiced dodging the bamboo poles, creating the movements that eventually became the Tinikling dance.

2. Carinosa N
HISTORY:
The cariñosa is a much-loved folk dance in the Philippines. Spanish in origin, it is regarded as a national dance by scholars, and the characteristic shy behavior of the female dancer is said to represent the mannerisms of Philippina women. The cariñosa is a popular folk dance that was introduced to the country by the Spaniards when they arrived in the 16th century. It belongs to the Maria Clara suite of Philippine folk dances. These are so named in honour of Maria Clara, who was the main character in Jose Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere, ('Don't Touch Me'), about the colonisation of the Philippines by the Spanish. In it, Maria Clara is portrayed as a noble and loyal woman, who after the publication of the novel in the 19th century became the female symbol of virtue for Philippina women.
Geography
It is believed that Panay Island, located in the Visayan Islands group was the original home of the cariñosa. The Spanish first arrived on the island in 1569. The dance soon spread around the Philippines, giving rise to different versions in different regions, such as in Bicol, where both dancers carry handkerchiefs.
Features
It was traditional for a Spanish 'Maria Clara' costume to be worn, which consisted of a long dress and a long-sleeved short embroidered dress made from pineapple fibers. Now more traditional Philippine dress is usual. Men wear white shirts and colored trousers, while the women wear native dresses.

The music is Spanish-influenced, with three-quarter rhythms that resemble a bolero or a waltz in both speed and style. Ensemble orchestras comprising banjos, mandolins, strings and drums are typical. The orchestras were once mainly composed of men, however more and more women are starting to take part.
The dance
To dance the cariñosa, a man and a woman dance together, taking slow steps around the room, similar to those of a waltz. The female holds a fan or handkerchief, which she coyly hides behind. The dance itself is intended as a courtship dance, and is of a flirtatious nature. Cariñosa literally means "she that is loving" as the verb ending indicates it refers to a woman.
Misconceptions

During the Marcos regime, the cariñosa was named the national dance of the Philippines. To this day school text books still claim this; however, the Philippine government maintains it is another dance called "tinikling," which is a native dance. Today, the cariñosa is performed at social gatherings and festivities.

4. Sayaw sa Bangko
HISTORY:
Sayaw ed Tapew na Bangko (dance on top of a bench), is a dance which originates from Pangasinan and researched by Jovita Sison. It is performed by a couple on a narrow bench, inching and hopping from one end to another. Dancer show skill in staying up the bench as they exchange places by moving their way around or the girl thrown in the air while boy moves to the other end. They do not compete but rather complement each other so that no one falls. It is usually performed during town fiestas.

7. Maglalatik
HISTORY:
Maglalatik or Magbabao is a war dance representing in a picture a battle between the Moros and the Christian over the latik, the remainder left after the coconut milk has been boiled. At some time in the course of Spanish rule, with coconut shells as tools, the people of the barrios of Loma and Zapote in the town of Biñan in the province of Laguna danced the Maglalatik.

`

The Palipasan and the Baligtaran, the first two portions of Maglalatik, reveal the hot combat between the Moros and the Christians. The Paseo and the Sayaw Escaramusa display the reconciliation between the legends, the two groups. As stated by the legend, the Moros won and got enviously wished latik. The dissatisfied Christians sent a representative to the Moros to offer peace and baptism to them. During the town fiesta of Biñan, Laguna, the Maglalatik dancers are carrying out this dance from house to house for money or a gift in the daytime, and in the evening, they perform Maglalatik in the religious procession as it goes from one place to another along the streets as a sacrifice to San Isidro de Labrador, the patron saint of the farmers.

8. Kuratsa
HISTORY:
The Kuratsa is actually remarkably popular with this Visayan man and women specially this Waray man and women of the Western Visayas region in the Philippines and illustrates every critical special occasion inside Western Visayas residential areas.

The Kuratsa maybe the dancing of courtship from the Visayas region of the Philippines. At marriage ceremony and fiestas, this Kuratsa serves for the reason that standard income dancing whereby visitors carry turns pinning income on the woman and groom's clothes. That stands for friends' and families' wants once and for all chance and affluence inside couple's future.

The dancing is completed with several pieces, using several distinct tempos. The dance several begin this efficiency having a ballroom waltz. The actions resemble the mild waltz style. Kuratsa is normally done during festivals with Bohol as well as other Visayan areas, this dancing symbolizes a fun couple's make an effort to get each and every other's awareness.

Then the songs adjustments to your faster defeat with the "chasing" picture, that the woman dancer flees and also the guy pursues the woman's all across this dancing floorboards. The pace accumulates even more with the final aspect, that they run after coming to an end having a flabbergasted flirtatious picture. The female features received above, and also the guy imitates the showy chook in a very mating dancing.

Firmly talking, only one several dancing it at the same time. Thought to be the Philippine importance (supposedly through La Cucaracha dancing usual of the Monterrey region of Mexico) - this Kuratsa is actually even so, differences in the way of setup compared to a Philippine opposite number. Even this "basic" Kuratsa songs just isn't depending on Philippine as well as The Spanish language tunes.

Conclusion:

Nowadays there are many filipinos that depend on folk dance, they want to return the traditional heritage of our ancestor.

Folk dance is one of the most important thing in our traditional, because it help the traditional way to improve and promote the country, the development of Folk dance help a lot to enhance the characteristics of our culture and our difference from other countries since it project the true Filipino in us.

Bibliography

http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/ph/index.pl?read=1521

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/philippine-folk-dances-i-dance-glory-lord-forever-ronadel-magcalas-rn

https://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=613&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=qy1IW6ebE8SJoATMnpGIAg&q=conclusion+of+folk+dance+in+philippines&oq=conclusion+of+folk+dance+in+philippines&gs_l=img.3...85321.107661.0.108660.21.21.0.0.0.0.301.2074.16j4j0j1.21.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.2.203...0i24k1.0.niL9B-QtNW4#imgrc=VC774o-HzEztBM:

Dance is an integral part of Filipino culture that dates to the period before Ferdinand Magellan stepped foot in the Philippines. The traditional dances of the Filipinos are vibrant and colorful, capturing the history of the archipelago.

Before the Spanish Various tribes were scattered across the more than 7,000 islands, each with its own unique traditions and dances. The Igorot tribes lived in the mountains of Luzon; a handful of these tribes still reside in the mountains, having successfully resisted Spanish colonization. Many of the dances have been handed down through the generations. Dance expresses this tribe's love of nature and gratitude to the gods. To imitate the wonders of nature, dancers often swoop their arms like birds and stomp their feet to represent the rumbling of the Earth. However, many other tribes in other regions are disappearing, and only a few of their dances survive. Thanksgiving, worship and prayers for a bountiful harvest mark the style of these dances.

List of Philippine Folk Dance

The history of Philippine folk dancing incorporates influences from immigrants and conquerors while at the same time maintaining distinctly Filipino roots. Philippine folk dancing is a true reflection of daily life in past centuries while enchanting modern audiences at the same time.

Tinikling

History:
One of the oldest traditional Filipino dances, the Tinikling dance, or bamboo dance, is performed using long bamboo poles. Originating on the island of Leyte in the central Philippines, the Tinikling dance takes its name from the tikling bird. The movements of the dance are meant to imitate the bird as it steps through its marshy habitat.
Starting with the Bird
The inspiration for the Tinikling dance is the tikling bird, a native of the Philippines. Also known as barred rails (Gallirallus torquatus), tikling birds are found in wetlands and grasslands. The birds' distinctive movements as they meander through grass and around tree branches are imitated in the dance. Dancers hop over and around the clapping bamboo poles that substitute for branches, their quick feet keeping them from being hit by the rhythmically moving bamboo.
Creating the Dance
Developed around the time the Spanish occupation of the Philippines began in 1565, the Tinikling dance traces its origins to the island of Leyte. The wet climate of the island made it highly suitable for growing crops such as rice. Farmers and field hands working in the rice paddies had ample opportunity to observe the behavior of the tikling birds that lived in the area as they searched for food along the field edge. Imitating the hopping movements at home proved to be an entertaining pastime.
Evolving the Dance
Originally more of a playful activity similar to that of jumping rope, the Tinikling dance eventually became a more formal traditional dance. Although still retaining the fun element, modern performers have a specific order of steps to perform. The barefoot dancing couples, male and female, wear traditional Filipino costumes. The male dancer wears a barong-tagalog, a loose, long-sleeved embroidered tunic. His female counterpart wears a balintawak, consisting of a dress with butterfly sleeves and a scarf worn over the left shoulder.
Continuing the Legend

While the origin of the dance is attributed to the tikling bird, there is another origin legend that persists. It has its roots in the Spanish occupation, when the Spanish seized farms and forced the former owners to work them. According to this legend, as a punishment for working too slowly, workers were forced to stand while their feet were beaten with freshly cut bamboo poles. To avoid bruised and bloodied feet, the workers practiced dodging the bamboo poles, creating the movements that eventually became the Tinikling dance.

2. Carinosa N
HISTORY:
The cariñosa is a much-loved folk dance in the Philippines. Spanish in origin, it is regarded as a national dance by scholars, and the characteristic shy behavior of the female dancer is said to represent the mannerisms of Philippina women. The cariñosa is a popular folk dance that was introduced to the country by the Spaniards when they arrived in the 16th century. It belongs to the Maria Clara suite of Philippine folk dances. These are so named in honour of Maria Clara, who was the main character in Jose Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere, ('Don't Touch Me'), about the colonisation of the Philippines by the Spanish. In it, Maria Clara is portrayed as a noble and loyal woman, who after the publication of the novel in the 19th century became the female symbol of virtue for Philippina women.
Geography
It is believed that Panay Island, located in the Visayan Islands group was the original home of the cariñosa. The Spanish first arrived on the island in 1569. The dance soon spread around the Philippines, giving rise to different versions in different regions, such as in Bicol, where both dancers carry handkerchiefs.
Features
It was traditional for a Spanish 'Maria Clara' costume to be worn, which consisted of a long dress and a long-sleeved short embroidered dress made from pineapple fibers. Now more traditional Philippine dress is usual. Men wear white shirts and colored trousers, while the women wear native dresses.

The music is Spanish-influenced, with three-quarter rhythms that resemble a bolero or a waltz in both speed and style. Ensemble orchestras comprising banjos, mandolins, strings and drums are typical. The orchestras were once mainly composed of men, however more and more women are starting to take part.
The dance
To dance the cariñosa, a man and a woman dance together, taking slow steps around the room, similar to those of a waltz. The female holds a fan or handkerchief, which she coyly hides behind. The dance itself is intended as a courtship dance, and is of a flirtatious nature. Cariñosa literally means "she that is loving" as the verb ending indicates it refers to a woman.
Misconceptions

During the Marcos regime, the cariñosa was named the national dance of the Philippines. To this day school text books still claim this; however, the Philippine government maintains it is another dance called "tinikling," which is a native dance. Today, the cariñosa is performed at social gatherings and festivities.

4. Sayaw sa Bangko
HISTORY:
Sayaw ed Tapew na Bangko (dance on top of a bench), is a dance which originates from Pangasinan and researched by Jovita Sison. It is performed by a couple on a narrow bench, inching and hopping from one end to another. Dancer show skill in staying up the bench as they exchange places by moving their way around or the girl thrown in the air while boy moves to the other end. They do not compete but rather complement each other so that no one falls. It is usually performed during town fiestas.

7. Maglalatik
HISTORY:
Maglalatik or Magbabao is a war dance representing in a picture a battle between the Moros and the Christian over the latik, the remainder left after the coconut milk has been boiled. At some time in the course of Spanish rule, with coconut shells as tools, the people of the barrios of Loma and Zapote in the town of Biñan in the province of Laguna danced the Maglalatik.

`

The Palipasan and the Baligtaran, the first two portions of Maglalatik, reveal the hot combat between the Moros and the Christians. The Paseo and the Sayaw Escaramusa display the reconciliation between the legends, the two groups. As stated by the legend, the Moros won and got enviously wished latik. The dissatisfied Christians sent a representative to the Moros to offer peace and baptism to them. During the town fiesta of Biñan, Laguna, the Maglalatik dancers are carrying out this dance from house to house for money or a gift in the daytime, and in the evening, they perform Maglalatik in the religious procession as it goes from one place to another along the streets as a sacrifice to San Isidro de Labrador, the patron saint of the farmers.

8. Kuratsa
HISTORY:
The Kuratsa is actually remarkably popular with this Visayan man and women specially this Waray man and women of the Western Visayas region in the Philippines and illustrates every critical special occasion inside Western Visayas residential areas.

The Kuratsa maybe the dancing of courtship from the Visayas region of the Philippines. At marriage ceremony and fiestas, this Kuratsa serves for the reason that standard income dancing whereby visitors carry turns pinning income on the woman and groom's clothes. That stands for friends' and families' wants once and for all chance and affluence inside couple's future.

The dancing is completed with several pieces, using several distinct tempos. The dance several begin this efficiency having a ballroom waltz. The actions resemble the mild waltz style. Kuratsa is normally done during festivals with Bohol as well as other Visayan areas, this dancing symbolizes a fun couple's make an effort to get each and every other's awareness.

Then the songs adjustments to your faster defeat with the "chasing" picture, that the woman dancer flees and also the guy pursues the woman's all across this dancing floorboards. The pace accumulates even more with the final aspect, that they run after coming to an end having a flabbergasted flirtatious picture. The female features received above, and also the guy imitates the showy chook in a very mating dancing.

Firmly talking, only one several dancing it at the same time. Thought to be the Philippine importance (supposedly through La Cucaracha dancing usual of the Monterrey region of Mexico) - this Kuratsa is actually even so, differences in the way of setup compared to a Philippine opposite number. Even this "basic" Kuratsa songs just isn't depending on Philippine as well as The Spanish language tunes.

Conclusion:

Nowadays there are many filipinos that depend on folk dance, they want to return the traditional heritage of our ancestor.

Folk dance is one of the most important thing in our traditional, because it help the traditional way to improve and promote the country, the development of Folk dance help a lot to enhance the characteristics of our culture and our difference from other countries since it project the true Filipino in us.

Bibliography

http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/ph/index.pl?read=1521

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/philippine-folk-dances-i-dance-glory-lord-forever-ronadel-magcalas-rn

https://www.google.com.ph/search?hl=en&biw=1366&bih=613&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=qy1IW6ebE8SJoATMnpGIAg&q=conclusion+of+folk+dance+in+philippines&oq=conclusion+of+folk+dance+in+philippines&gs_l=img.3...85321.107661.0.108660.21.21.0.0.0.0.301.2074.16j4j0j1.21.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.2.203...0i24k1.0.niL9B-QtNW4#imgrc=VC774o-HzEztBM:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dance is a form of expression of oneself through rhythmic movement. Conclusion: Nowadays there are many filipinos that depend on folk dance, they want to return the traditional heritage of our ancestor.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Greek theatre began in the 6th century BCE in Athens with the performance of tragedy plays at religious festivals. These, in turn, inspired the genre of Greek comedy plays. The two types of Greek drama would be hugely popular and performances spread around the Mediterranean and influenced Hellenistic and Roman theatre.

As a consequence of their lasting popularity, the works of such great playwrights as Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes formed the foundation upon which all modern theatre is based. In a similar way, the architecture of the ancient Greek theatre has continued to inspire the design of theatres today.

The Origins of Tragedy

The exact origins of tragedy ( tragōida) are debated amongst scholars. Some have linked the rise of the genre to an earlier art form, the lyrical performance of epic poetry. Others suggest a strong link with the rituals performed in the worship of Dionysos such as the sacrifice of goats - a song ritual called trag-ōdia - and the wearing of masks. Indeed, Dionysos became known as the god of theatre and perhaps there is another connection - the drinking rites which resulted in the worshippers losing full control of their emotions and in effect becoming another person, much as actors ( hupokritai) hope to do when performing. The music and dance of Dionysiac ritual was most evident in the role of the chorus and the music provided by an aulos player, but rhythmic elements were also preserved in the use of first, trochaic tetrameter and then iambic trimeter in the delivery of the spoken words.

A Tragedy Play

Plays were performed in an open-air theatre ( theatron) with wonderful acoustics and seemingly open to all of the male populace (the presence of women is contested). From the mid-5th century BCE entrance was free. The plot of a tragedy was almost always inspired by episodes from Greek mythology, which we must remember were often a part of Greek religion. As a consequence of this serious subject matter, which often dealt with moral right and wrongs and tragic no-win dilemmas, violence was not permitted on the stage, and the death of a character had to be heard from offstage and not seen. Similarly, at least in the early stages of the genre, the poet could not make comments or political statements through his play.

Due to the restricted number of actors each performer had to take on multiple roles where the use of masks, costumes, voice & gesture became extremely important.

The early tragedies had only one actor who would perform in costume and wear a mask, allowing him to impersonate gods. Here we can see perhaps the link to earlier religious ritual where proceedings might have been carried out by a priest. Later, the actor would often speak to the leader of the chorus, a group of up to 15 actors (all male) who sang and danced but did not speak. This innovation is credited to Thespis c. 520 BCE (origin of the word thespian). The actor also changed costumes during the performance (using a small tent behind the stage, the skēne, which would later develop into a monumental façade) and so break the play into distinct episodes. Later, these would develop into musical interludes. Eventually, three actors were permitted on stage but no more - a limitation which allowed for equality between poets in competition. However, a play could have as many non-speaking performers as required, so that plays with greater financial backing could put on a more spectacular production. Due to the restricted number of actors then, each performer had to take on multiple roles where the use of masks, costumes, voice, and gesture became extremely important.

Competition & Celebrated Playwrights

The most famous competition for the performance of tragedy was as part of the spring festival of Dionysos Eleuthereus or the City Dionysia in Athens. The archon, a high-ranking official of the city, decided which plays would be performed in competition and which citizens would act as chorēgoi and have the honour of funding their production while the state paid the poet and lead actors. Each selected poet would submit three tragedies and one satyr play, a type of short parody performance on a theme from mythology with a chorus of satyrs, the wild followers of Dionysos. The plays were judged on the day by a panel, and the prize for the winner of such competitions, besides honour and prestige, was often a bronze tripod cauldron. From 449 BCE there were also prizes for the leading actors ( prōtagōnistēs).

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Playwrights who regularly wrote plays in competition became famous, and the three most successful were Aeschylus (c. 525 - c. 456 BCE), Sophocles (c. 496-406 BCE), and Euripides (c. 484-407 BCE). Aeschylus was known for his innovation, adding a second actor and more dialogue, and even creating sequels. He described his work as 'morsels from the feast of Homer' (Burn 206). Sophocles was extremely popular and added a third actor to the performance as wells as painted scenery. Euripides was celebrated for his clever dialogues, realism, and habit of posing awkward questions to the audience with his thought-provoking treatment of common themes. The plays of these three were re-performed and even copied into scripts for 'mass' publication and study as part of every child's education.

Greek Comedy - Origins

The precise origins of Greek comedy plays are lost in the mists of prehistory, but the activity of men dressing as and mimicking others must surely go back a long way before written records. The first indications of such activity in the Greek world come from pottery, where decoration in the 6th century BCE frequently represented actors dressed as horses, satyrs, and dancers in exaggerated costumes. Another early source of comedy is the poems of Archilochus (7th century BCE) and Hipponax (6th century BCE) which contain crude and explicit sexual humour. A third origin, and cited as such by Aristotle, lies in the phallic songs which were sung during Dionysiac festivals.

A Comedy Play

Although innovations occurred, a comedy play followed a conventional structure. The first part was the parados where the Chorus of as many as 24 performers entered and performed a number of song and dance routines. Dressed to impress, their outlandish costumes could represent anything from giant bees with huge stingers to knights riding another man in imitation of a horse or even a variety of kitchen utensils. In many cases the play was actually named after the Chorus, e.g., Aristophanes' .

The second phase of the show was the agon which was often a witty verbal contest or debate between the principal actors with fantastical plot elements and the fast changing of scenes which may have included some improvisation. The third part of the play was the parabasis, when the Chorus spoke directly to the audience and even directly spoke for the poet. The show-stopping finale of a comedy play was the exodos when the Chorus gave another rousing song and dance routine.

As in tragedy plays, all performers were male actors, singers, and dancers. One star performer and two other actors performed all of the speaking parts. On occasion, a fourth actor was permitted but only if non-instrumental to the plot. Comedy plays allowed the playwright to address more directly events of the moment than the formal genre of tragedy. The most famous comedy playwrights were Aristophanes (460 - 380 BCE) and Menander (c. 342-291 BCE) who won festival competitions just like the great tragedians. Their works frequently poked fun at politicians, philosophers, and fellow artists, some of whom were sometimes even in the audience. Menander was also credited with helping to create a different version of comedy plays known as New Comedy (so that previous plays became known as Old Comedy). He introduced a young romantic lead to plays, which became, along with several other stock types such as a cook and a cunning slave, a popular staple character. New Comedy also saw more plot twists, suspense, and treatment of common people and their daily problems.

Legacy

New plays were continuously being written and performed, and with the formation of actors' guilds in the 3rd century BCE and the mobility of professional troupes, Greek theatre continued to spread across the Mediterranean with theatres becoming a common feature of the urban landscape from Magna Graecia to Asia Minor. In the Roman world plays were translated and imitated in Latin, and the genre gave rise to a new art form from the 1st century BCE, pantomime, which drew inspiration from the presentation and subject matter of Greek tragedy. Theatre was now firmly established as a popular form of entertainment and it would endure right up to the present day. Even the original 5th-century BCE plays have continued to inspire modern theatre audiences with their timeless examination of universal themes as they are regularly re-performed around the world, sometimes, as at Epidaurus, in the original theatres of ancient Greece.

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Greek theatre began in the 6th century BCE in Athens with the performance of tragedy plays at religious festivals. These, in turn, inspired the genre of Greek comedy plays. The two types of Greek drama would be hugely popular and performances spread around the Mediterranean and influenced Hellenistic and Roman theatre.

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The strange doings in Virginia have brought blackface back in the news. Reaction to the unearthing of a photograph on the 1984 medical school yearbook page of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam attests to the peculiar place of the practice in American culture and the special outrage it provokes: Far more commentators condemned the blackface than even mentioned the figure in the white robe and hood of the Ku Klux Klan.
The controversy became more surreal when the governor denied he was in those photographs but admitted that he had donned blackface to impersonate Michael Jackson in a dance contest - and then a few days later, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring confessed that he too, while a 19-year-old student at the University of Virginia, had dressed in blackface, to impersonate the rapper Kurtis Blow.

"It's a sickness," Spike Lee tells the Washington Post, in an article on the history and persistence of blackface in America. Lee mentions the montage he put together in his 2000 film "Bamboozled" that featured a slew of beloved entertainers in blackface: "Judy Garland in blackface, Mickey Rooney, Bugs Bunny?"

It is probably not a coincidence that almost all these newly confessed incidents involved the impersonation of entertainers.

Consciously or not, they were plugging into an old tradition of blackface as one of the main features of what was for many decades the most popular form of stage entertainment in America: the minstrel show.

In his 2015 book "Black Broadway," a history of African-Americans on stage, Stewart F. Lane writes about the complicated history of the minstrel show: "A savage parody of African Americans, strangely, it attracted white and black audience members alike, and even provided work for many black performers at a time when legitimate theater was closed to them."

It is indisputable that the minstrel show was rooted in virulent racism. The first big minstrel star, in the 1820s, Thomas Darmouth Rice, used burnt cork and dressed in tattered garments to create an ugly caricature of a black man, whom he named Jim Crow - a name that eventually became synonymous with institutional segregation. T.D. "Big Daddy" Rice made his New York stage debut in 1828 and toured internationally. Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass denounced minstrel performers as "the filthy scum of white society, who have stolen from us a complexion denied to them by nature, in which to make money, and pander to the corrupt taste of their white fellow-citizens."

But the popularity of these shows, which combined musical performances, dancing, singing, comic skits and variety acts, can't be attributed entirely to bigotry. "Some of this came out of a genuine fascination with the music, the songs, the dances, the performance styles of black people," theater and culture critic Margo Jefferson has said. (See her comments in the following CBS Sunday Morning segment in October on blackface, put together after Megyn Kelley's defense of blackface during Halloween got her fired.)

As early as the 1840s, minstrel shows made stars out of such African-American entertainers as Thomas Dilward, and William Henry Lane, nicknamed Master Juba, who toured with the otherwise all-white Ethiopian Minstrels billed as the "Greatest Dancer in the World." Lane is considered the father of tap dance.
Yes, the black minstrel show performers were required to wear blackface themselves. Did they consider this degrading? A clue is that several of the biggest stars moved to England.

By the 1850s, New York City alone had ten theaters presenting nothing but minstrel shows. One of the most successful minstrel acts called themselves the Virginia Minstrels, but they were actually formed in New York, making their debut in a billiard parlor in the Bowery.

Wearing blackface, and using routines taken from minstrel shows, Bert Williams (1874-1922) became a major act on the vaudeville circuit, one of the first African-American recording artists, and a huge star on Broadway, a veteran of 18 shows on the Great White Way; he was even the first known African-American film actor. His songs have been featured in Broadway musical revues as recently as the 1980s. Blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were also both minstrel performers early in their careers.

For all its perpetuation of false and debilitating stereotypes, the minstrel show made concrete contributions to American popular arts. Although the minstrel show as popular stage entertainment virtually disappeared a century ago, it remains a part of our cultural DNA.

It was for minstrel shows that white composer Stephen Foster wrote some of his still-popular songs, such as "Camptown Races" and "Oh, Susanna," and black composer James Bland wrote hundreds of songs, including "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," which for more than half a century was the state song of - yes - Virginia.

As I said, a complicated history.

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Blackface on Stage: The Complicated History of Minstrel Shows

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The strange doings in Virginia have brought blackface back in the news. Reaction to the unearthing of a photograph on the 1984 medical school yearbook page of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam attests to the peculiar place of the practice in American culture and the special outrage it provokes: Far more commentators condemned the blackface than even...

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Ritual dramas in Egypt were usually performed at seasonal festivals, and honored the gods Osiris, Isis, Horus, and occasionally the Sun god Amun/Re. They were performed in temple sanctuaries and around sacred lakes adjacent to temples.[1] Egyptian festivals included reenactments of myths and role-playing of the gods. Usually these sanctuary rituals were performed and witnessed by only members of the priesthood. The rest of the Egyptian people would be able to participate in the festivals only when the deity's statue was removed from the sanctuary and displayed in an elaborate procession.[2]

One of the most important examples of Egyptian ritual drama was "The Triumph of Horus." It was performed during the Festival of Victory at Edfou. The ritual celebrated the beginning of Egyptian kingship and the triumph over all her enemies. Texts describing the ritual date from the New Kingdom circa 1300-1200 BCE.The text includes acting instructions and notes the name of the performer before the words to be spoken. There is both a prologue and an epilogue, and the plot shows conflict with the battle of Horus and Seth, the god of chaos who killed Osiris. The text also notes that the drama had musical accompaniment. The tambourine and sistrum, an ancient Egyptian rattling percussion instrument, were depicted in carvings on the temple walls.[3]

Dramatic rituals also took place as part of the Khoiak Festival. Descriptions of the rituals performed were discovered carved on the walls of the temple of Hathor at Dendera. Figurines of Osiris were made, decorated, and interred in funerary beds. Small deity statues were also floated on thirty-four papyrus boats in Dendera's Sacred Lake. The king and members of the priesthood participated in another ceremony where Osiris was presented with the pieces of his body that were hidden by his murderer, Seth.[4]

Also at Dendera, carvings depict a large procession of priests participating in another ritual during the Khoiak festival. Members of the priesthood traveled from all over Egypt to attend the festival and the carving of each priest noted their location of origin above their image. Three of the priests are not identified, however, and one is wearing a large mask of the god Anubis. Another priest in line behind him appears to be assisting him as if he can't see properly through the mask. Ceramic Anubis masks like the one depicted in the temple carving have been recovered and dated to 600-300 BCE.[5]

Rituals also took place at the lake by the temple of Thoth in Hermopolis during the New Year Festival. The King played the role of the sun god Amun/Re, and a cultic regatta was held on the lake.[6] Even though Egyptians had highly organized ritual performances, they do not quite qualify as a full dramatic theatrical performance. The rituals have spoken parts, but there is no true dialogue between characters. Also, most of the dramatic rituals were performed in temple sanctuaries and were only observed by the god's cult statue and members of the priesthood. The lack of a true audience shows that Egyptian cultic drama was not designed as a community activity, but only for the god and his priests.[7]

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FOOTNOTES:
[1] Inge Nelson, Cultic Theatres and Ritual Drama,(Oxford, Oakville, CT:Aarhus University Press, 2002), 23.
[2] Ronald J. Leprohon, "Ritual Drama in Ancient Egypt," The Origins of Theater in Ancient Greece and Beyond: From Ritual to Drama,edited by Eric Csapo and Margaret C. Miller, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 259-260.
[3] Inge Nelson, Cultic Theatres and Ritual Drama,(Oxford, Oakville, CT:Aarhus University Press, 2002), 29-31.
[4] Ronald J. Leprohon, "Ritual Drama in Ancient Egypt," The Origins of Theater in Ancient Greece and Beyond: From Ritual to Drama,edited by Eric Csapo and Margaret C. Miller, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 265-266.
[5] Leprohon, "Ritual Drama in Ancient Egypt," The Origins of Theater in Ancient Greece and Beyond: From Ritual to Drama,269-270.
[6] Inge Nelson, Cultic Theatres and Ritual Drama,(Oxford, Oakville, CT:Aarhus University Press, 2002), 35-36.
[7] Ronald J. Leprohon, "Ritual Drama in Ancient Egypt," The Origins of Theater in Ancient Greece and Beyond: From Ritual to Drama, edited by Eric Csapo and Margaret C. Miller, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 272, 285-286.

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From Ritual Drama to Ancient Theater - Egypt

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Ritual dramas in Egypt were usually performed at seasonal festivals, and honored the gods Osiris, Isis, Horus, and occasionally the Sun god Amun/Re. They were performed in temple sanctuaries and around sacred lakes adjacent to temples.[1] Egyptian festivals included reenactments of myths and role-playing of the gods.

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Kabuki Theater

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Amanda Mattes: Kabuki: The people's dramatic art

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The Japanese dance and theater art of kabuki, derived from the word kabuku, meaning "out of the ordinary," can be traced back to the streets of seventeenth-century Kyoto. Kabuki became a dramatic art for the common people, with its use of makeup and facial expressions rather than masks, as well as a playful take on current events.

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This vastly illustrated material is an introduction to Asian theatre and dance traditions. It can be used as a virtual textbook for university students as well as a handbook for general readers. With its search-by-word facility it also serves as an encyclopedia of names and terms related to the Asian performing arts.

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The Roots of African Theatre Ritual and Orality in the Pre-Colonial Period*

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Ousmane Diakhaté** and Hansel Ndumbe Eyoh*** Ousmane Diakhaté Hansel Ndumbe Eyoh Theatre is one of the cultural elements that best exemplifies Africa. It is at the crossroads of the sacred and the …

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The Roots of African Theatre Ritual and Orality in the Pre-Colonial Period*