i haven't posted in over a month now, something which i'm not too proud of. there's a number of updates which i intend to share as the blog gets back up and running, which i will share at a later date. first, here's a copy of an email that i sent to my former west african dance teacher in college.
it is the product of a conversation with funnyface after my west african dance class the other night and also my own thoughts on what it means to be a white person taking west african dance (funnyface's landlord refers to it as "minority dance.") here it is:
Thank you for returning my email Marylin! As of this past Tuesday night (1/13) I've started taking Senegalese dance at the Bangs Community Center with Talla. (don't know if you know him?) My goal is to be dancing 2-3 times a week (since I really don't think I'll get back in shape with just one class) and Talla mentioned that the Amherst Athletic Club Friday night one with Kabisko is still going on (which is good because when I called them last week after we "spoke" the guy that picked up the phone had no idea if there was a class or not and was not very much help in finding one). Also, Talla teaches one above Fitzwilly's in NoHo (assuming it's the same studio where the Afro-Cuban one is being held?) on Monday nights.It's $15 a pop but I might go every now and then. I just wanted to let you know that I'm making progress as far as finding some classes and I wanted to share the ones that I found out about since your students this semester might be interested (or need to go to them to make up classes haha).
And if I've never stated this clearly -- thank you for the gift you give your students. I know many personally that now will continue (or at least plan to) study African for the rest of their lives. How wonderful that you can inspire such a love for such an important art form that I fear would otherwise die out due to globalization and the ever-spreading of Western Capitalism throughout the world. I felt amazing leaving Talla's class on Tuesday and I realized that it was not just the "exercise high" that runners sometimes talk about. It was the first time in awhile (probably since the last time I was in an African dance class) that I felt like I had been involved in a ritual, or in something that was actually...filling.
The problem with capitalist cultures (sorry soapbox time) is that our culture was stunted before it was ever actually formed. We were tricked and pimped out into thinking that material goods, and chasing the Green could make us happy. We are the richest nation in the world, but our GNH - our Gross National Happiness is one of the lowest. Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, reports one of the highest numbers of people who feel that they are "happy." So-called "Old World" cultures value relationships, traditions, and art. This is what I love about African dance and African culture. It is about the individual, but also the community, it is about you and me and our ancestors (no matter who they are or where they were or what they looked like...) and it is about sharing. Sharing something that, for once, cannot be bought or sold, (or bailed-out for that matter).
Thank you for being a part of this transaction. I think it's important for us Americans to be reminded of all of these things. I hope this all makes sense.
Be Well,
Maridath
may the new year increase your own GNH.
