episode 3 - Arcata (MySpace 4/15/2008)

Subject	Where's the kef? - episode 3 - Arcata
DateCreated	4/15/2008 1:18:00 AM
PostedDate	4/15/2008 1:43:00 AM
Body	Several Saturdays ago, Brass Menazeri came to Arcata - the last stop homeward on a tour up north. Two very adept middle-eastern style dance ladies performed with them, and were giving a class the following day. This "Evening of Balkan Dance" was hosted by Shoshanna, in her new studio - though some local folk dance musicians provided housing. Turnout was o.k., though there was comfortably room for three times the number. At most, one third of the crowd was folk dancers - but according to the band, more than they'd seen earlier in the tour. As you would expect, and especially considering the venue, there was a heavy presence of bellydance people. Overall, far more women than men. As for dancing - with Brass Menazeri, anything goes. If there are enough folk dancers, then there will be some Balkan-style line dancing. If there are bellydancers in the crowd, great.  If some of them know "Roman" solo improv., so much the better. Otherwise - people do whatever they want, provided the joint is not packed too tight to move (like in Amnesia, the bar). So what happened? All of the above, except for the Roman - or maybe I didn't spot it. One guy - a MySpace friend, let's call him "C" - put a lot of effort into trying to make sure that a dance line was available for as many tunes as possible - because most folk dancers don't feel comfortable doing solo improv. I can truly sympathize, but the irony is that solo has a prominent role in the culture of most, if not all, of the Balkan countries from which these line dances are drawn. I figured I'd join the line dancing - since, yes, I still feel shy and awkward about solo - though I'll try it in a large enough crowd. But, wouldn't you know, I found myself facing the situation described in "episode 2" - only worse. Doesn't anybody here know how to really cocek? - or so it felt. Looking around the room, most people are having a whale of a time with solo improv. - some people's movements apparently informed by Mid-east dance experience, but others just plain free-form blissing it out - either in time with the music or not. The ones who seem the least enthused, are the mostly blank-faced folks in the dance line. Who are they? Dedicated practitioners of the tradition from which this music comes - or outsiders, participating in the party in the only way they know how? But as I wrote in the last episode - while this controlled, oddly out-of-touch-with-the-music behavior is all too common among folk dancers at live music events - it does not define what their "folk dance" is really about. Case in point: Near the end of the evening, the band started to play a berance - not necessarily a difficult dance, yet notorious.  The seemingly irregular step timing is virtually guaranteed to confuse those not paying attention to the music. "C" immediately formed a line with me and "L" - most of the people behind us looking like they didn't have a clue about what they were in for. And for once that evening, "C" did it his way. He cut loose. Stunts, yells, speed-ups, slow-downs, one crazy guy! And on the music every inch of the way. He did very well, indeed - I could barely keep up! Some people in the room were cheering - for sure, non- folk dancers.  I'm really glad they got to see that. O.k., so every folk dance can't or shouldn't be athletic or "crazy" - but if it doesn't have an aspect of "heart" participation, if it doesn't honor the human spirit, if it doesn't even seem to honor the music - then something crucial is missing. Better to just make up your own moves, hippie style. Next: episode 4 - stay or go Previous: episode 2 - the following day in Santa Rosa Start: episode 1 - the Peninsula