AUBURN - A picture may well be worth a 1,000 words, but a dance can say far more.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
The ODESA Ukrainian Dance Ensemble performs the official dance of the Ukraine, the Hopak, for their finale at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center night of traditional music and dance on Wednesday.
The ODESA Ukrainian Dance Ensemble performs the official dance of the Ukraine, the Hopak, for their finale at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center night of traditional music and dance on Wednesday.
That is the belief of Dr. Felicia “Faye” McMahon, a professor of folklore and culture at Syracuse University.
Beginning in 2002, McMahon has helped organize the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center's Folk Arts in Central New York Festival, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts, which kicked off Wednesday night with a celebration of folk dancing.
“I talked to Donna Lamb here at the Schweinfurth in 2002,” McMahon said. “I talked to her about all the different ethnic groups in the area, particularly in the Syracuse and Utica areas and we decided to put together a program.”
McMahon said that the first program featured members of the Sudanese Lost Boys, but over the last several years, the program has hosted a diverse number of cultures and performance styles.
“Primarily we've had things like old time fiddle playing and music,” McMahon said. “Quilt making demonstrations and things of that nature.”
Wednesday night's performance was a lively selection of folk dances from around the world.
While America was founded by immigrants, McMahon said there is still a significant influx of diverse cultures coming to the central New York area. This is what she hoped to highlight with the show.
Taking to the floor were dancers, all based in the Syracuse area, but hailing from the Ukraine, Turkey and Ghana.
“I wanted to represent a wide range,” McMahon said. “The Ukrainian community is one of the oldest immigrant communities in the area while the Meskhetian Turkish community is one of the newest.”
The performers not only represented a broad cross section of the world, but also the stories about how they came to find a home in America.
The Meskhetian Turks have historically been a displaced people, with their homeland lying on the border between Georgia and Turkey. For many it was a life of turmoil, with many being essentially homeless and belonging to neither Turkey nor Russia.
McMahon said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union there was an influx of Meskhetian Turks into America and the Syracuse area.
Children and adult performers showed a variety of traditional dance and what it could say in simple children's play, rites of a wedding ceremony, and more.
McMahon said the Ukrainian population is one of the oldest in the area and they were represented by the ODESA Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.
They also showed the symbolic gestures that dance can hold in traditional societies.
They performed dances of welcome as well as courting, clad in the traditional, colorful clothing of the region, symbolic as the dances themselves.
The Ghanaian dancers were accompanied by traditional drumming, two art forms that when brought together have a deeper symbolic meaning.
“This is a dance of appreciation,” Etse “David” Nyadedzor, leader of the drummers, said. “It is meant to show that you should be thankful for the things that you have.”
McMahon said through her work, she has been fortunate to know these performers well, which she believes is important in making them feel welcome and sharing their artistic expressions.
“A lot this is very traditional,” McMahon said. “These are dances they only perform at wedding or things like that; these are things that normally other people wouldn't get to see. I think it is a wonderful opportunity for these people to share this part of their culture in a public venue. And I think it is important to give the audience a greater understanding of the different ways people express themselves through things like dance.”
The festival continues
The Folk Art festival will continue at the Schweinfurth during Schwein-Fest from 2 to 4 p.m., Oct. 5, with performers from the Sudan, the Ivory Coast of Africa and the Onondaga and Oneida Nations.
Beginning in 2002, McMahon has helped organize the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center's Folk Arts in Central New York Festival, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts, which kicked off Wednesday night with a celebration of folk dancing.
“I talked to Donna Lamb here at the Schweinfurth in 2002,” McMahon said. “I talked to her about all the different ethnic groups in the area, particularly in the Syracuse and Utica areas and we decided to put together a program.”
McMahon said that the first program featured members of the Sudanese Lost Boys, but over the last several years, the program has hosted a diverse number of cultures and performance styles.
“Primarily we've had things like old time fiddle playing and music,” McMahon said. “Quilt making demonstrations and things of that nature.”
Wednesday night's performance was a lively selection of folk dances from around the world.
While America was founded by immigrants, McMahon said there is still a significant influx of diverse cultures coming to the central New York area. This is what she hoped to highlight with the show.
Taking to the floor were dancers, all based in the Syracuse area, but hailing from the Ukraine, Turkey and Ghana.
“I wanted to represent a wide range,” McMahon said. “The Ukrainian community is one of the oldest immigrant communities in the area while the Meskhetian Turkish community is one of the newest.”
The performers not only represented a broad cross section of the world, but also the stories about how they came to find a home in America.
The Meskhetian Turks have historically been a displaced people, with their homeland lying on the border between Georgia and Turkey. For many it was a life of turmoil, with many being essentially homeless and belonging to neither Turkey nor Russia.
McMahon said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union there was an influx of Meskhetian Turks into America and the Syracuse area.
Children and adult performers showed a variety of traditional dance and what it could say in simple children's play, rites of a wedding ceremony, and more.
McMahon said the Ukrainian population is one of the oldest in the area and they were represented by the ODESA Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.
They also showed the symbolic gestures that dance can hold in traditional societies.
They performed dances of welcome as well as courting, clad in the traditional, colorful clothing of the region, symbolic as the dances themselves.
The Ghanaian dancers were accompanied by traditional drumming, two art forms that when brought together have a deeper symbolic meaning.
“This is a dance of appreciation,” Etse “David” Nyadedzor, leader of the drummers, said. “It is meant to show that you should be thankful for the things that you have.”
McMahon said through her work, she has been fortunate to know these performers well, which she believes is important in making them feel welcome and sharing their artistic expressions.
“A lot this is very traditional,” McMahon said. “These are dances they only perform at wedding or things like that; these are things that normally other people wouldn't get to see. I think it is a wonderful opportunity for these people to share this part of their culture in a public venue. And I think it is important to give the audience a greater understanding of the different ways people express themselves through things like dance.”
The festival continues
The Folk Art festival will continue at the Schweinfurth during Schwein-Fest from 2 to 4 p.m., Oct. 5, with performers from the Sudan, the Ivory Coast of Africa and the Onondaga and Oneida Nations.
Citizen
Hot Jobs
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.