Title: The Eightsome Reel
Performer: Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, John Mason, MBE, conductor
Origin: Scotland
Orchestration: String orchestra
I am reminded of my friends who teach physical education telling stories of kids adventures (and complaints) during the social dance units in their classes. There were always tales of girls not wanting to dance with that one boy with poor hygiene (or who hadn't yet discovered good hygienic practices), not a balance between the sexes, thus two boys or two girls had to dance together, and kids disliking the musical selections (usually during line dance).
Although social dance in the more traditional sense is much less a part of Midwestern culture (those things that kids go to after the Homecoming game aren't really social dances in the way that we see above), social dance has been in the past. Line dances, reels, balls, and so forth existed for courtship, for socialization, and for community and community building. Today, our kids get gussied up for Prom, and perhaps the Homecoming Dance, but there is no longer the barn raising dance, or the town social, events where people get together and dance socially and together. Even though people do dance at the Wausau Wednesday night summer concerts on the 400 Block, they don't do so in organized fashion.
In some ways, the role of role play and socialization involving musics is to provide a way for these traditions to remain in the cultural consciousness, whether we engage students in social dance as above in PE or music classes, one of the very positives that can come of the role player is the continuance of these traditions.
When discussing roles and socialization in music, what better synthesis for instruction than dance? That's a serious thought. I was at Midwest back in 2007, and the medal went to Weston Noble for his tireless accomplishments for honor bands and ensembles around the world. He spoke to the audience and said "I have the most critical need to perform. I want music to dance. ALL music dances. There are many ways to dance, and it is up to you to find the dance that fits the music." I have since tried to find the pulse in every work that meets a specific body motion, and not only does it help my bands find the character of the work style, but I find I conduct better and use less words to convey musical output. Dancing just makes music make more sense to us. Dancing is not just a role, but like music it is our societies and our attempts to better know ourselves and each other. Every time I dance, not only do I learn more about myself and what I do/am, I learn more about my dance partners and their emotions/desires/expressive quality.
ReplyDeleteImagine if we could get a dance social in the Gaza Strip with youth from both Israel and Gaza -- would they both learn more about each other?
I really enjoyed this post!! The information that you have provided his very strong and supports your opinions of socialization. The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra is actually a group that I have heard before and have always enjoyed their rhythms and dance incorporated music. The ideas behind socialization are ones that have been involved and incorporated with sever genres of music as well as other arts. Do you feel that music is the strongest art for socialization? Does it have to be dance rhythms? Several individual posted about dance rhythms - Just Curious. Really enjoyed your posts during this class!
ReplyDelete