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FESTIVAL DANCERSJubilee American Dance TheatreDANCE ORIGIN: USA 2011 PERFORMANCE
Say, boys, when you tell where you’ve been / You preach your wives such stories / You can tell them just a few / Just met an old acquaintance / Or the train was overdue / And when the wife believes / That every word is true / Then you wink the other eye! Jubilee presents a foot-tapping suite of traditional American music and dance. It opens with Kentucky Running Set, the earliest dance form in the colonies, followed by an old-time music break with “Mississippi Sawyer”, “Goodbye Liza Jane”, “Kitchen Girl”, and “Little Liza Jane”. The next set is Exhibition Square Dance, performed to “Skip to My Lou”, “High Up on Tug”, and “Wink the Other Eye”. This complex piece is choreographed to show square-dance formations, lifts, polka steps, ladies chain, circles left and right, allemandes, swing your-partner, and the special flying square—a carousel-like spin that sets the ladies flying. The final set is Appalachian Clogging, high-energy step dancing to “Bile Them Cabbages Down” and “Blackberry Blossom”. Kentucky running sets descend directly from pre-1650s era English dances. The form was isolated in the Appalachians for generations until the English scholar Cecil Sharp brought it to light in 1917. He described the form as “so smooth that the dancers seemed to be moving, or gliding on wheels”. Clogging—like some square dance elements—originated in eighteenth century Appalachian cabins where Irish, German, and English immigrants, enslaved Africans, and Native Cherokee combined songs and steps and developed a percussive syncopated dance. The banjo was originally a West African stringed gourd. The dancers begin in 1860s era costumes. They then transition to authentic clothing from the 1950s American square-dance renaissance. The women wear petticoats, pettipants, and dresses with rows of “Native American” rickrack. The men’s vintage shirts sport embroidery and floral appliqués. The old-time music group plays authentic instruments, with fiddle and banjo playing melodies, and a caller cuing the square-dance moves. Hilary Roberts choreographed Kentucky Running Set. Becky Coulter learned Exhibition Square Dance from its choreographer, Mary Bee Jensen, and set it for this stage. Coulter choreographed Appalachian Clogging with George Frandsen in 1983 and adapted it in 2008. 2009 PERFORMANCEThe next piece featured precision Appalachian clogging.
Jubilee presented a high-spirited demonstration of precision clogging footwork as it
is used in traditional formations: America's big circle dance, the
square dance, and the running set. You will see
traditional American square dance moves such as "duck for the oyster, dive
for the clam" as well as an overlap of common formations in both
dances—right and left-hand stars, do-sa-dos
(partners passing around each other while facing forward), seesaws, and elbow turns. Along with hambone, tap
dance, and step dance, Appalachian clogging is a percussive form that is rooted
in British and Irish origins and subsequently blended European, Native
American, and African-American elements. The costumes suggested "the American feel"—men wore plaid shirts and suspenders, and women wore calico dresses. This clothing was
seen in 1950s rural communities and casual settings. Like the dance, the
"ol’ timey" music has roots in British and Irish music. It was
further influenced by the songs of enslaved Africans who laid railroad tracks
through the mountains. To the European fiddle, dulcimer, and pipes, mountain
musicians added the banjo, a traditional African instrument, as well as the
then-evolving guitar and mandolin. Internationally known teacher Erik Hoffman choreographed the
square dance number and wrote the “calls” in 2006; this piece debuted in Kaustinen, Finland,
and was last performed at the Gannat (France) International Folk Dance Festival
in 2008, and was reset for this stage. Jubilee's Artistic Director, Hilary
Roberts, choreographed the Appalachian clogging piece in 1999. It debuted on
the Festival stage in 2000, and has since been performed locally, and in
Italy, the Czech Republic,
Mexico, Finland, and France. It was also reset for this
performance. 2005 PERFORMANCE
Jubilee presents a suite of four parts created by a noted Cajun authority, San Francisco State Professor, Jerry Duke. The opening depicts local gentleman rounding up the townspeople from their homes and accompanying them to the social hall. Once inside the hall a lullaby entitled, Fais Do Do, is sung to put babies to sleep, followed by a waltz to segue into the evening's festivities. The third section portrays married couples and singles dancing together to the upbeat Contra, the Colinda, said to be an old Caribbean song brought to the region by slaves. The concluding dance is the well-loved Cajun two-step. Brought to the Bayou in 1910, it is heavily influenced by Caribbean dance rhythms and is noted for its fast-paced twists and turns called, the "jitterbug." All the costumes are original 1940s garments and are typical of the simple yet formal attire that people wore to dance in. The lyrics of the songs are nostalgic reminiscence of aspects of Louisiana's folklore or a person's childhood memories. |
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