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- A masked dance referred to as “The Devil Dance.” Masquerades and devil dancing are common during public holidays or celebrations
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- The audience frequently tossed money at performers during ritual dances
On December 10th, the United States Sierra Leoenan Association (USSLA) had their traditional arts variety show at the Gerard Carter Center in Stapleton. The program was well attended by members of Staten Island’s Sierra Leonean community and an assortment of youth groups from Stapleton. Coverage of the program also graced the cover the Staten Island’s Advance North Shore addition on Wednesday, December 14th. The article was written by Virgina N. Sherry who did a fantastic job explaining the complexity of the program and the traditions that were being shared. These measurements–attendance and press coverage–are very important for arts and culture organizations but in terms of the mission of our Folklife program, this is only half of the story. It’s also important to be concerned with the vitality of traditional art forms.
Back in March of 2011, I had my initial meetings and interviews with members of USSLA. I was struck by one of the members Foday Daramy pontificating that USSLA was “ready to share our culture and we are bringing it with pride.” Bring it with pride they certainly did. Not only was the program filled with folktales, traditional dances, and live music performed by the young generation, but the elders were also heavily involved. I think this is an important component of passing down traditions. As with many other traditional art forms and the communities that bring them, there is much attention paid to making sure that the young children perform at public displays and exhibits of traditional culture. Rightfully so. This ensures that children, many of whom were born in the United States, get sufficient exposure to traditions and heritage. But I also believe that it is very important that the adults and elders in traditional communities are also engaged in traditional practices–either on stage or at home. Either way, I’ll take it. Hopefully their children will see this and one day imitate it themselves.
Unfortunately, the S.I. Advance missed the last two dances performed which I found extremely interesting. Both were masquerades that featured masked dances. The first was called the Bondo Dehbnu which comes from a women’s society on the eastern part of Sierra Leone called the Sande Society. This dance is done to initiate girls into adulthood. The second dance was referred to as “devil dancing” which is a traditional dance performed during public holidays. During both, the audience gathered around the dancers. We were being asked to pack up to make room for 4pm youth basketball in the gymnasium. The dance kind of took over the space and for a minute, you felt part of the dance. I think this is an important element that we miss in westernized performance structures. You forgot that you were in a gymnasium inside a community center on Staten Island, New York.
When the show was over, Muhammod from USSLA kept repeating to me–”This is just the beginning, there is so much more.” I think this could be said about a lot of the traditional communities I have worked with so far–this is just the beginning.
Link to Staten Island Advance Article :
http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2011/12/a_variety_show_staged_by_the_u.html
Thanks to the entire USSLA organization the Gerard Carter Community Center, and the JCC. I would also like to thank Garretson Sherman for filming the program and Kamor Olayokun of the JCC.
The Park Hill and Stapleton areas are widely known for the Liberian refugee population that lives here. However, the culture and community from Sierra Leone that resides in this same area is unrecognized. In 2010, The United States Sierra Leonean Association was the recipient of a JP Morgan Arts in Our Community grant for a public celebration of the diverse cultural traditions from Sierra Leone that are alive and well in Park Hill and Stapleton on Staten Island. On December 10 at 2pm, the newly formed organization, The United States Sierra Leone Association, will give people a taste of the Sierra Leone cultural expressions found in dance, drama, music, and traditional knowledge, at the Gerard Carter Community Center. It will also further unite the large Sierra Leonean community that is here on Staten Island. We intend to invite members of the Park Hill and Stapleton community, and the larger Staten Island community that is not familiar with Sierra Leone and the cultural traditions we have brought with us.
The content of the presentations will include the following: (1) Traditional Dance called Soukus from Central Africa which shares a familiar beat and rhythm of Sierra Leone; (2) Traditional Play & Drama performed in english and in the language of Sierra Leone called Krio; (3) Traditional Drumming and dance from Sierra Leone called Bata. The Bata drum is a two headed drum that lays across the lap; (4) A traditional medicine man, originally from Sierra Leone, named Mohammed Bangura, currently will discuss traditional folk medicine and remedies from Sierra Leone;(5) A young man by the name of Salliew Jalloh will perform a series of traditional jokes, proverbs, and stories. All will be translated into English for the audience. In addition, the audience will get a chance to taste a popular Sierra Leonean dish made with Cassava leaf. This program is presented by the United States Sierra Leonean Association, with support from JP Morgan Chase and the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island.
Since March of 2011, COAHSI’s Folklife program has been collaborating with members of Port Richmond’s diverse Mexican community to identify regional artistic traditions from Mexica and the diverse dialects within the community on Staten Island. On October 9, 2011, several members of Staten Island community participated in a collaboration between COAHSI and StoryCorps. The goal was to capture the diverse voices and stories of Staten Island’s Mexican community. In this process, participants interviewed each other about the importance of language and culture on Staten Island. The interviews were mostly done in Spanish with the following dialects also being represented: Mixteco, Zapoteco, and Cuicateco. This was a very exciting process to be a part of. It was very different being the one facilitating an interview between two people. Usually, I am the one asking the questions. In this case, the questions were just as important as the answers. Some of the highlights of the interview was a Irma Flores and Jesus Juarez teaching the diversity within dialects of Mexico. One of my favorite moments was a musical duet between Victor Soto and Saul Lopez.
One of the questions I have been thnking about on Staten Island is how to facilitate research and fieldwork in communities. What is my role when the folks I meet have so much knowledge and great ideas? How do we manage these collaborations between bearers of traditional knowledge and bearers of institutional knowledge (Arts Councils)? As time goes by, I see a large distinction between doing work in communities and doing work with communities. With regard to the Mexican community on Staten Island, I think doing work with communities is preferable. It is during this process that my “informants” or “participants” become leaders. So, when you look at the photo below, that is really what you are looking at–the leaders of cultural preservation on Staten Island. I am behind the camera, framing them and captioning them as leader. I am not sure how the feel about that role but I am not sure that is part of the lexicon of the Mexican community on Staten Island. The emphasis tends to be on community and not individuals. For the folks in this photo, passing down traditional knowledge is a responsibility. Leading up to the November 5 event, COAHSI will be collaborating with community leaders in Port Richmond’s Mexican communities to share their songs, poems, and dances with the broader community.
Left to Right: Irma Flores, David Suarez, Alfredo Suarez, Victor Soto, Jesus Juarez, Saul Lopez
On Saturday, November 5, 2011, traditional musicians Victor Soto and David Suarez, will share the rich culture of the region of Oaxaca and beyond, to their adopted home of Port Richmond. They will perform, present, and discuss the origins of traditional Oaxacan music, dance, and poems at the historic Chimes Theater at the Port Richmond Public Library in the program called Poemas & Flores from Oaxaca to Staten Island. Mr. Suarez and Mr.Soto are recipients of the JP Morgan Arts In Our Communities grant from JP Morgan Chase. This event is fully accessible, free, and open to the public. Translation and interpretive materials will be provided.
Staten Island culture has benefited greatly with the influx of new sounds and rhythms from West Africa over the past two decades. The diversity within this region of Africa is even more complex than the art forms which they carry to our island. This program, at the Richmondtown Public Library, on Saturday, October 1st, will introduce traditional music and dance from Liberia and traditional Kente cloth weaving from Ghana. Participants will hear the story of Kente Cloth Weaving from a family of weavers from Ghana while they demonstrate their craft on a traditional loom built on Staten Island. Children will also learn the process of weaving with hands on activities with teaching artist Emily Ellison. Rose Kingston, Teah Jackson, and students from the Century Dance Complex will give a demonstration and discussion about the variety of dances and rhythms from Liberia and their significance. Participants will have the opportunity to learn a few basic steps while feeling the intricate steps and relationship between dance and drum. This event is free and open to the public.
This Sunday, September 18th, 2:00pm -5:00pm, Ballet Guadalupano will help Staten Island commemorate Mexican Independence through the traditional music and dance. Ballet Guadalupano & COAHSI have organized this event to provide a space to honor the heroes of the long struggle for Mexican independence from Spain. On Sunday, they will honor the songs, cities, and states of Mexico, in dance forms from particular regions of Mexico. They will teach you about the importance of this celebration and ask you to join in “El Grito de la Independencia,” the cry for Independence shouted by Miguel Hidalgo–one of the heroes who fought to preserve freedom and secure Mexican heritage (see below).
The names and faces of these national heroes serve as symbols, inspiration, and a reminder to members of Ballet Guadalupano, and the Mexican community in general. After working with Ballet Guadalupano for the past two years, the heroic commitment to culture and heritage found in Hidalgo’s cry, is clearly carried forward by this group of local artists. Or I should say, local heroes. The efforts of Ballet Guadalupano to keep the Mexican community connected to their heritage, served as one of the inspirations for COAHSI Folk Arts program called “The Culture of Joy and Resilience on Staten Island: Reframing Cultural Conversations on Staten Island.” Their commitment and contribution to family, community, and heritage is the type of cultural expression that we can all learn from–I know I do!
Mexican Independence Day celebrates the events and people that eventually resulted in independence from Spain. The uprising pitted the indigenous Indians and mixed mestizo groups against the privileged classes of Spanish descent. The first call to arms was made in the village of Dolores, in the state of Guanajuato by respected by Father Miguel Hidalgo in what is known as the “Cry for Independence,” or “Grito de Dolores.” When the Spanish found out about the revolt of Father Hidalgo the government ordered him and his officers to be arrested. When Hidalgo heard about this he called a meeting at his church. He rang the church bell on the night of September 15, 1810 to call his congregation for a mass. When all the people arrived, Father Hidaglo rallied the people to fight. He gave the speech in a small town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato. In this speech, “El Grito de Dolores,” came Hidalgo’s famous call “Viva Mexico” and “Viva la independencia!” This “Cry for Independence” has become a symbol of Mexican independence. Each year on September 15 at eleven in the evening, the President of Mexico rings the bell of the National Palace in Mexico City. This year we are honored to have the Mexican Consul General of New York City say those famous words in Faber Park. Please join us. Food will be available. This event is free and open to the public.
Since July of 2011, COAHSI’s “The Culture of Joy & Resilience: Reframing Cultural Conversations on Staten Island” program brought a series of large exhibition panels profiling four community-based folk arts practices to select New York Public Libraries on Staten Island. This fall, COAHSI will bring those artists to three libraries throughout Staten Island to give live presentations and demonstrations about their traditional art forms and heritage. Patrons of these programs will meet the artists and watch live demonstrations and performances and engage in conversations about these important art forms and communities that practice them. The following programs will take place in September and October:
Tottenville On the Lawn: An Afternoon of Irish Music & Dance
September 10 at The Tottenville Public Library -2:00pm
On September 10th at 2pm, on the front lawn of the historic Tottenville Public Library, visitors will meet traditional Irish musicians Linda Hickman (flute/tin whistle), Iris Nevins (harp/guitar), and Douglas Barr (concertina) and dancer Dawn Daniels. Participants will watch and listen to live traditional Irish music and dance while learning about the important connection between Irish music and dance. This event is free and open to the public. In the summer of 2010 traditional musicians Doug Barr and Linda Hickman were awarded the Arts in Our Communities grant in hopes of awakening an interest in Irish traditional music, and to establish a monthly session here on Staten Island. They were successful in providing a popular traditional Irish Session at the Wild Goose pub on Forest Avenue. The recent closing of the Wild Goose has placed the sessions on hold but it has not stopped the music from playing. The goal of Linda and Doug’s library program is to introduce Staten Islanders to the traditions of Irish music and the Irish music session, and to carry on the tradition of Irish music on Staten Island established by Monsignor Charles Coen and the late Paddy Reynolds.
A Staten Island Celebration of Mexican Independence Day:
September 18th at Faber Park @2pm
Traditional Mexican dance troupe from Port Richmond, Ballet Guadalupano, will present regional dances of Mexico in commemoration of Mexican Independence Day in Faber Park. The program will recognize, reconnect, and celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day for the Mexican community on Staten Island through traditional music and dance. It will also introduce the larger Staten Island community to the historical and cultural significance of this important day. The group will perform traditional dances from particular states of Mexico significant to its independence: Chiuayay, Tabasco, and Hidalgo. All dances will be performed in the authentic traditional costumes. A DJ will also be present to encourage dancing among the crowd throughout the afternoon. The event will be presented by the group and COAHSI folk arts, who will assist in explaining the significance of each dance, in both English and in Spanish. The popularity of Cinco de Mayo in the United States overshadows one of the most culturally significant celebrations within the Mexican community – Mexican Independence Day (September 16th, 1810). Cinco de Mayo, while popular in certain states of Mexico (i.e. Puebla) is not widely celebrated throughout the country. The event is free and open to the public.
Weaving Music, Dance, and Cloth from West Africa to Staten Island
October 1st at the Richmondtown Public Library @ 2pm
Staten Island culture has benefited greatly with the influx of new sounds and rhythms from West Africa over the past two decades. The diversity within this region of Africa is even more complex than the art forms which they carry to our island. This program, at the Richmondtown Public Library, on Saturday, October 1st, will introduce traditional music and dance from Liberia and traditional Kente cloth weaving from Ghana. Participants will hear the story of Kente Cloth Weaving from a family of weavers from Ghana while they demonstrate their craft on a traditional loom built on Staten Island. Children will also learn the process of weaving with hands on activities with teaching artist Emily Ellison. Rose Kingston, Teah Jackson, and students from the Century Dance Complex will give a demonstration and discussion about the variety of dances and rhythms from Liberia and their significance. Participants will have the opportunity to learn a few basic steps while feeling the intricate steps and relationship between dance and drum. This event is free and open to the public.
Last year, the group Ballet Guadalupano and COAHSI Folklife coordinated the first public celebration of Mexican Independence Day, on Staten Island. There was plenty of dancing, food, and music. The best part of this event was the opportunity to help put it together. This year, we would like to make it even better but we need your help! If you are interested in doing some of the legwork to put this event together, please contact at cmule@statenislandarts.org or 718-447-3329. I would be so grateful to have some extra hands on deck for this event.
StoryCorps is non-profit organization that records the voices of America through a national oral history project. Since 2003 they have collected and archived more than 30,000 interviews and is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. Millions listen to their weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition. Their mission is “to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives.”
In the Fall of 2011, COAHSI will be collaborating with StoryCorps to ensure that the diverse voices of Staten Island are found within their sound portrait of our nation. We will be working with StoryCorps through their “New York City Outreach Initiative” to capture the stories of communities that might face barriers to an opportunity to have their story collected. COAHSI Folklife will be working with selected community partners on Staten Island and teaching them how to interview people in their community. Each participant will receive a free broadcast-quality CD to share with to family and friends, and a second copy will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The first week of the StoryCorps and COAHSI collaboration will be on October 3 -11 in Park Hill and Port Richmond. Stay tuned for more details. Please visit the StoryCorps web page for more information.
No matter how technological savvy the world becomes, I am still at the mercy of radio. The waves of our radio were the ones that I turned to when Hurricane Irene knocked on New York City’s door. Later in the week, a story featured on NPR called “The Music of Louisiana’s Angola State Penitentiary” transported me to higher ground. The radio piece follows Hal Canon, folklorist at the Western Folklife Center, as retraces the steps of legendary John and Alan Lomax at the Louisiana prison where they found Huddie Leadbelly in the 1930′s.
They were on a mission to gather folk songs of African-Americans, specifically music born of slavery, and they wanted it in its purest form. The elder Lomax believed prison walls were a filter against what he considered the “polluting” influence of popular music.
The piece is just beautiful to hear and succeeds at making me recognize that culture and creativity is a powerful force, more powerful than Category One hurricane of our recent past. Listen to the story to hear how music and creativity continues to play a role at Angola. For more information about the story and to learn more about the important work at the Western Folklife Center, I encourage you to go West. You can tune in to the NPR website to listen to the story or just listen below.
Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter recorded the folk standard "Goodnight Irene" in 1932
Podcast: Download
To remember and honor the dead on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) invites you to create a simple memorial at home, at work, at school or elsewhere. We encourage you to make your memorial with a group of people. Use available materials such as flowers, photos, paper, mementoes and candles to make a traditional memorial or imagine and create a new format. It’s up to you.
For the past six years, the Brooklyn Arts Council, through their Folk Arts program , has initiated an annual September 11th memorial project, including performances of poetry and original songs as well as a photo exhibition. For the 10th anniversary of the attacks and as the official memorial at ground zero finally opens, they will present “Return, Remember: Ephemeral Memorials in the Legacy of September 11th.” This will be BAC’s final memorial project; past projects can be viewed in the September 11 Memorial Projects Archive. Please click here for all of the details.
Where will you be during 9/11? How will you memorialize the events of 9/11?
Arts in Education- Bringing Artists to the Classroom: SI TAI March 13, 2012It is a truism that good artists don’t automatically make good teachers of their art. Teaching is a separate talent. It is also a learned skill; one that can be built and strengthened. And when an excellent artist becomes a teaching artist, sparks can fly – the good kind of sparks, the kind that travel […]Kelly
- Bringing Artists to the Classroom: SI TAI March 13, 2012
- Lumen
- Featured Artist: Chee Wang Ng May 10, 2012I had the opportunity to ask a few of the LUMEN artists about their work. One of my personal favorites is Chee Wang Ng. His work fascinates me because of its simplicity. Creative and beautiful, it uses a recurring theme of rice bowls. His piece that will be shown as part of LUMEN 2012 […]lumenfest
- Featured Artist: Chee Wang Ng May 10, 2012
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