Dancing in New Ways and Spaces

NINTH WEEK


04.24.2012


What an adventure! This week was the first time we all got the chance to meet the owners of Zamani Gallery and practice the dance in the space they were kind enough to provide. We also had the chance to practice with one of the owners who is a phenomenal tabla player and instructor. Following our rehearsal at the Gallery on Tuesday, we had the opportunity to sit for a while and learn more about Afghan culture and music from both owners. They shared three songs from Kabul, Afghanistan with us and explained that there was once a street in the city renowned for its plentitude of musicians that would have practiced all day long and competed for customers that would go searching for music for weddings and other celebrations to that same street. We also learned a lot more about the attan dance, about the importance of its rhythm, and about its origins. Where we understood that it had originally been a war dance, even before it became a war dance, it was practiced in Athens, Greece (hence the name "attan" or "Athens" in Farsi - آتن). It was a delight to learn so much more about different elements of Afghan culture. Thank you to those who made it possible to learn more!


04.28.2012


Our usual Saturday rehearsal took place today. Today was particularly exhilarating as we discussed ideas that had been brought up on Tuesday, as we rehearsed for different spaces, and we played with new movements. We enjoyed thinking about the potentials of the dance and how it could grow and change to fit new venues and purposes. The two videos below detail both parts of the dance, the composite dance of the Punjabi, Indian, North American, South American, Pakistani, Afghan, and German movements that stemmed from discussion about "American dance" we held several weeks ago, and the attan section we experimented and explored further this week. Both are in rough form but act as helpful tools to understand the structure and movements of the dance. Enjoy!

Section I of the dance (composite section).

Section II of the dance (attan section).

Feel free to share you're thoughts with us! We always welcome your perspectives and we thank you for your continued interest!