I am naming this Linedance #1 because there are many tunes and genres for dancing in a line!~! They are all fun, to me, and I will post other favorites eventually. My husband and I are dancing the DoSiDo, at least that is what we were told it was called, in this picture. I grew up in Texas and went to camp in the hill country on the Guadalupe River every summer. Sometimes we could hear the music from Criders, a local honky tonk and rodeo spot. http://www.cridersrodeo.com/ The counselors went there on their ‘nights off’.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend a visit to The Hunt Store! They have live music and the folks can dance!~ Take Highway 39 west from Kerrville past Ingram to Hunt!
“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,” Psalm 30:11
When I was a freshman in college in 1970 I enrolled in liturgical dance for a P.E. credit. We learned to dance to The Lord’s Prayer (Malotte version) and some other songs. We visited churches to perform. I loved it! Worshipful. Great exercise. Expressive. Dance as a corps.
When our third child was in elementary school, she danced in a group at our church called ‘His Handmaids’. The corps wore white dresses with wreaths of flowers on their heads and satin ribbons hanging down their backs. They danced barefoot, because they danced on holy ground. The name was taken from Mary’s response to Gabriel upon the announcement of her state as Mother of God, “I am the handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:38). I started a similar group at our next church, where my husband was pastor. We visited the nursing homes in our community. The elderly were a good audience. I found some pictures of those girls. They are grown up and in their twenties today:
It was 1992 when I was first introduced to the ministry of His Handmaids. Today the ministry debuted at our church! Several grandmothers made the dresses and a mom made the headpieces. The girls have practiced every week. They learned their parts well and only complained a little that the headpieces were itchy. No one can deny that children bring a special and pure quality to the worship experience. This particular song, His Eye is on the Sparrow, is choreographed with American Sign Language.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
Hallelujah, they are safe! The miraculous newsworthy events in Chile this week remind me of other admirable human qualities I observed first hand as an exchange student there. Did you hear that they all had Bibles and were singing Elvis songs? In honor of the persistent faith of the Chilean rescuers and miners, this post is about folk dances of Chile.
So many pivotal events in our lives happen because of a whim. When I was 17, I signed up to be a foreign exchange student. I was a junior in high school. To this day, I feel deeply grateful for the privilege of being received with open arms by the people I met during those three months. It baffles me when I recall the strong connection of friendship that we established; and, with no English speakers in the vecinity, I tore myself away from those friends thinking in Spanish and speaking it rather fluently.
I lived with a family in a small town, on a farm, two hours south of Santiago, Chile. The delightful parents were entrepreneurs and had three daughters; the oldest was my age. They actually requested a boy, but were not very disappointed when I arrived. The parents impressed me with their outward expressions of affection and emotions. They also loved to dance and enthusiastically shared their beloved country with me. I returned to the US convinced that everyone in Chile sang, danced and played the guitar. I carried my classical Gibson over my shoulder when I went. The most requested song was a Peter, Paul and Mary, ‘If I had a hammer‘, (Music is the international language!) They taught me ‘Bésame, Bésame Mucho’. Several years later, I was a member of a Chilean folk dancing group, made up of expatriates, some of whom had gringa wives, and me, (see photo above). We practiced on Friday nights and performed around town.
Because Chile is a long narrow strip of land, there are contrasts, culturally from north to south. All of the dances originated in rural areas, where people gather for rodeos and outdoor celebrations. One of my favorites was the Trastrasera, a folk dance from the south. The national dance, as well as the Resfalosa (video below), comes from the central valley region, but is popular throughout.
In The Cueca, the huaso (Chilean cowboy) and huasa (Chilean cowgirl) basically carry on a courtship by dancing. Each has a handkerchief. The men wear boots with espuelas, spurs. I was thrilled the first time I saw this. It was in my ‘Chilean family’s’ living room, and it was one of the daughter’s fifteenth birthday. They had a big party, which included, in the typical Chilean fashion, family and friends from the very young to the fairly old. The clapping and the music began, and soon, several couples were dancing!! I loved it! Of course, they were not in the traditional clothing that night, but here is the dance.
These events happened before Allende and Pinochet, if you know anything about Chilean history. Sad times. My Chilean family and I have kept in touch. Our youngest daughter will go to Chile to study and live with my Chilean sister this spring. Her daughters have visited us. I found some old pictures of when she visited me in college and when I taught them ‘the bump’. How pitiful is that?!! They taught me the cueca and I taught them ‘the bump’. Am I the only person who thinks there is something a miss with that scenario?
“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37
Our ballet studio participated every other year in the Shrine Ball. A number of dance teachers brought their students to perform at the event. We danced on the concrete floor of the Sam Houston Coliseum, seen as the large roof in this photo. Before Jones Hall or the Astrodome were built, this was the largest arena in Houston. The Beatles performed there and it is where JFK spoke, the night before he rode through the ill-fated motorcade in Dallas, 1963. I have memories of trying to shake hands with Roy Rogers there, the first TV star I admired- and actually dreamed about, as he rode by on Trigger at the The Houston Fat Stock Show and Rodeo.
There was a tunnel from the parking garage to the hall. Photographers flashed while you walked by and were usually successful in selling their products. This was long before digital photos, or phone cameras! Here I am, pictured with my parents, on our way to the rodeo.
My teacher was a brilliant choreographer. She designed intricate formations. She talked to us about Esther Williams, the synchronized swimmer, to help us understand that word, “synchronized”. She spoke about the perfect precision of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. It was the fifties and sixties. I can remember at least two dances we did in the coliseum. In one, we wore white gloves that had been dipped in a chemical to light up when the black lights were turned on. Sand was on the floor so that a sandy soft sound was heard when we danced. Our ballet shoes were painted gold, and our tights, leotards and tutus were tan and brown, with glitter. There was always glitter, or sequins! We danced to this:
For another year, our teacher created an entire program to the music of Babes in Toyland. We danced to the March of the Toys, very pompous and elaborate! I was dressed as a 10 of hearts, with two felt panels, red leotard and tights. I remember that we always looked forward, in a competitive sort of way, to seeing what the Patsy Swayze School would do! Little did I know at the time that she had a son born the same year as me, who’s talent for dance would thrill audiences far beyond our stage. What would the eighties have been without Patrick Swayze? I actually preferred the story of Havana Nights, sequel to Dirty Dancing. He was the teacher in that film. But, let’s face it, his performance in this clip is a classic! Note: You have to click twice and be sent to youtube in order to see this.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14
Let’s talk about this international phenomena. It seems to have started abroad, in Europe, then migrated to the USA and Asia. If you were born after 1980 you probably have followed the growth in popularity of flash mobs. They are big on college campuses. Or, if you are a fan of Glee, these are nothing new to you either. The first “flash mob” that I have found happened in 2006. I’m slow to discover fads, and just learned the name while talking by phone with my daughter who is in graduate school. She participated in a “flash mob” with some girls from her program recently. Here is how it went: sign up online, follow directions such as: ”bring cell phone and a roll of toilet paper to X location at X time on Saturday”.
I found that a church organized a flash mob. Pop culture has infiltrated the church and the church today is, in turn, game to infiltrate the culture:
Here is what Wikipedia says about Flash Mob: A flash mob (or flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms, protests, and publicity stunts.
Notice that there is NO mention of ‘dance’ or ‘music’, it’s just a gathering. In Stockholm a mob gathered to play with Star Wars’ light sabers. Some groups just ‘freeze’. It’s a form of human sculpture: ART, in the 21st century. I have a preference for flashmobs that include dance and have clear well executed videography and choreography. When the mob is not in sync it just doesn’t create the same impression. I found several tributes to Michael Jackson. I think the contrast of people and places is quite amazing.
I want to do this! I imagine anyone who dances will feel the lure. When my daughter started to tell me about it, my immediate response was, “like the Oprah ‘I got a feeling‘ by Blackeyed Pea? The wonderful impact of that flash mob was the united corporate energy. True to her reputation, Oprah’s flash mob excels. They played this song at my goddaughter’s wedding, carrying her around in a chair. ¡Mazoltov!
Here is a favorite to a tune from The Sound of Music. Note the reactions of the onlookers; the surprise entrances of additional groups, and finally, a change of beat that takes this dance/song from the 1960’s to the present. This one is brilliant, in my humble opinion.
There is a new ‘sing along’ version of this classic film, The Sound of Music, coming out soon. I can’t wait. My husband accompanied me to the Mamma Mía sing along.. he was one of two males in the theatre! Don’t you love the ‘flash mob’ scenes of this movie, with the Aegean Sea in the background?
“Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”
Jeremiah 31:12-14
Brownie Troop: 1960. We were in the third grade. Once, again, our troop leaders were ambitious. Instead of hula dancers we were to become thespians! We presented a play based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, “The Red Shoes“, first published in Denmark in 1845. Nineteenth century literature appeals to me: Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte, 1847) and all the stories of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle, 1887-1914) are favorites.
In our story, an old soldier cursed a little girl who was vain. She was obsessed with her red shoes and could think of nothing else, even during church services. The curse was that the shoes would not stop dancing and would remain stuck to her feet, until she repented. Our friend had to run on and off stage, dancing all the while, searching for someone who could remove her shoes! Dorothy’s ‘ruby slippers’ were magical too, but not demonized! I wonder if L. Frank Baum was inspired by this fairy tale? The Wizard of Oz was not published until 1900.
Here is a picture of our cast!
As I look at this picture, I am thankful to say that many of us are still friends and manage to see each other regularly. The pretty blond on the far right, wearing a hat, died in 2003 from brain cancer. We still remember and miss her. My friend holding the fan, who is standing beside her, reminded me the other day of our Brownie songs: Make New Friends, But Kept the Old! and There is Something in my Pocket.. It’s a Great Big Brownie Smile! The “grandmother”, pictured in the middle wearing glasses, is a judge today. She appears on stage annually in a musical comedy produced by and starring lawyers, called, “Night Court”. It is a benefit show sponsored by the bar foundation. I see that I wrote “4th from the left” at the bottom of the photo. Did I really think that I would not recognize myself someday? Maybe not, since I wore a beard.
I don’t remember what music played as the little girl danced on and off the stage. I can tell you that the stage was in our school cafeteria, and is still there today.
A film of the same title was released in 1948. It is rather dark, very artistic, and follows a different story line. But I found a video that resembles the version we performed.
” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10
I would like to begin this post by reminding the reader that when my ballet teacher suggested I write a book entitled, “Point your little toe“, she said that the subject matter did not have to be limited to dance, or toe pointing. Hence, a little tale about shot gun shells.
The other night I was out to dinner with my husband, who is a pastor. We were talking about people and he added, “her husband is in the shot gun shells in my desk”. Excuse me? His instructions upon his death were to put his ashes in shot gun shells and to fire them into the woods behind our church.
Shooting shot guns is not allowed in our incorporated town so the shot gun shells remain in my husband’s desk drawer, at least for now. The other pastor originally had the remains in his desk, but found it a little creepy, so they were transferred.
Any suggestions? It is good to honor the wishes of the deceased. And, in the event that it is not possible…?
The following is not particularly relevant to this story or the contents of the shot gun shells. It only reminds me of other tales from ‘these parts’ and folks we know who carry guns. And, it is a family favorite from the 90’s.
“For he knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:14
Fred Astaire died June 22, 1987. He was 88. People magazine featured him on the cover that week. It was also the week that our home was invaded by the chicken pox! Our five year old son caught it from a little boy the last week of kindergarten. He was followed, two weeks later by his seven year old sister. Two weeks after that, when we were at Vacation Bible School, I went to pick up our 17 month old in the nursery, and someone asked, “Does she have the chicken pox??” I said, “Oh, no, her siblings were just getting well from it”, as about 20 faces turned my way, sharing a look of dread and disbelief that I still remember well.
What can you do to keep yourself sane indoors for six weeks with little ones? We discovered that the local Blockbuster had a plethora of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. To this day, our family loves to watch the films that they memorized that summer.
My mother often played the piano at home. I remember that one of her pieces of sheet music was, “Cheek to Cheek”. She said that it was always one of their (my parents) favorite songs. They married in 1942 and are still together! I was thrilled to see it performed in “Top Hat” (1935).
My husband’s father did genealogical research for fun. We learned that Ginger Rogers, a McMath from north Texas, was related to us! When our fourth child was born in 1990, we gave her four names like her sister, and included “McMath”. I’ll talk more about the wonderful dances we discovered in the Fred Astaire movies later. Suffice it to say, these were so dearly loved that the featured photo on this blog is “Fred and Ginger pointing their toes”! Here is another favorite: “Swing Time” (1936).
“There is a time for everything , and a season for everything under heaven:..a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1,4
Our Brownie troop performed the Hukilau at the mall! I think it was 1959 and we were in the second grade. Our troops’ leader went to Hawaii, a very exotic place.. soon to become a state! She brought us the grass skirts and taught us the dance. Again, we practiced it over, and over, and over…
They put us on a big platform in the middle of Sharpstown Mall. We practiced going up the steps to take our places and walking back down..no falls, please! I found a video of the Hukilau dance. These little girls are wearing coconut bras!!! WE DID NOT have those! I think we wore white shirts, or may one piece bathing suits with shorts underneath! I never knew exactly what ‘where the mau mau eats the cow cow’ meant, but this was about the dance, anyway!
This is a picture of me with my friend who’s mother taught us the hukilau, standing in front our our elementary school. We are still friends, and our mothers, are too! And here is a picture of our mothers, the troop leaders; we tried to copy their pose, 50 years later!
“Since my youth, O God, you have taught me. And, to this day, I declare your marvelous deeds.” Psalm 71:17
Point your little toe... 
