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Date Posted: 16:07:14 04/07/09 Tue
Author: SS
Subject: ***********SCANDIECLECTISMPROJECT************

Noah Eaton
March 10th, 2008
Theater Arts 362U


Scandieclectism: A Community-Based Dance Project


I: Project Description

My community project aimed to attend two four-hour Scandieclectic dance classes on Sundays at Grieg Lodge at Portland’s Norse Hall at Northeast 11th and Couch Street (February 17th and March 9th) from 10 AM to 2 PM, and from these experiences ask the participants of the dance 1) how they feel Scandinavian dance differentiates itself from all other regional dances, 2) what they define “community” as, 3) how they feel this dance fulfills a need of the community, and 4) what it is that keeps them coming back perennially.

As I gathered basic observations and collecting of key quotations from my findings, I also shot a small collection of digital photographs with my Canon PowerShot A510 on the latter of the three weekends, and a brief interview with the teacher of the classes, Don Hardy, on the former of the three dates, where he provided me with some most helpful insight into the evolution of swing. I also asked several dancers to attempt to show me the basics of the dance so I could get a kinetic appreciation of this experience as well (this dance requires some experience in regard to meter and the etiquette of the lead/follower relationship, so I don’t expect to have a polished grasp of the dance form physically yet.)

II: Approximate Number of Hours of Work Completed

A total of eight hours and forty-five minutes in total class and interviewing exposure, roughly three additional hours in research briefly reading the Library of Congress’s “Why Dance?” and thoroughly reading Richard Power’s “Thoughts and Musings of Dance”.

III: What I’ve Learned

Don Hardy had an indispensable knowledge of both the history and the evolution of the waltz as we know it today. He claimed that historians have often debated one another over three primary types of dances that are each argued to be the precursor of the waltz, believed to originate between 1810 and 1815: 1) the Lavolta; a six-count Renaissance dance from France, 2) the Minuet, a ¾ time dance that was a favorite of the French court, and 3) the Landler; also a ¾ timed dance but much more grounded than the modern waltz.

He explained that in 1810, the dance was solely basic moves in essence, then by 1844, “polka-mania” began to permeate the world with the familiar “1, 2, 3, hop….1, 2, 3, hop” count. From that, Hardy was quoted directly for saying: “What we really learned from this is that there are really two frames of dance; the closed frame, and what’s called the promenade frame.” which he explained the latter is being, essentially, the “antenna between the lead and the follower”. He said by even 1845, the lead-follower relationship had not yet been established, but leading up to 1870, that bond slowly began to form as imitations of the dance began to shape up globally, as more information began to be communicated within the frame of the dancers.

He cited 1875 as a major turning-point of the origination of the waltz, when the left-hand turn, the cross-step and the Viking turn were no longer depicted as taboo as use in the dance. I quoted him directly for saying: “It took 65 years to turn left!”  He continued that, by 1890, “hideous” animal dances began to dominate the landscape, which led to the beginning of the crumbling of dance halls, continuing with the forming of what is now known as the ISTD (The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing) which regulated dances heavily to the likes of the “Roosevelts and the cream of society” and implemented the medals system, thus leaving a “discontinuity between the first part of the history of the dance and the second part.” At that part, he recommended a book to me titled “History of the Dance” by Carl Sanchas, which he said would explain further the “50-year cycle” of traditional dances to me, and how the original meanings of certain dances often fall victim to history.

Thus, that’s where Hardy mentions the Scandieclectic Dance Club comes in; to restore the sense of the waltz being an unchoreographed social form of dancing, based on the fundamental ideas of traditional Scandinavian folk-dances, combined with cross-step waltz, performed to a blend of traditional Scandinavian favorites and modern musical sounds.

*

What I also learned is that, while each of the participants are proud of preserving their heritage through the dance, and believe it is necessary to, they also are particularly broad-minded as well, and believe Scandinavian dance is open to constant experimentation with other unchoreographed art forms. For instance, Hardy mentioned that, because whirling and twirling is a commonality in both Scandinavian dance, old-time waltz and vals tango, and yet there hasn’t been much done in channeling those ideas into a social dance of its own, other dance forms can fill that void in their own respects, thus where the “eclectic” side of the equation comes into play.

Finally I realized, in practicing dancing a few times with some of the participants just to get a rudimentary feel of it, the crucial importance of “resistance” in couple-dancing; resistance meaning not to have “spaghetti-arms” and to apply some pressure to your partner as well to indicate how you want to step and when you want to make turns happen. I previously never quite understood this, as I naively thought that the waltz was a rather basic dance in observance, but now I realize how deeper and complex its meter truly is.


IV: What Benefit to the Community Do You Think It Was?

Don Hardy explained to me that the core of Scandieclectic’s mission statement is based around Stanford University dance historian Richard Power’s essay: “Thoughts and Musings on Dance” where the type of dance they wish to offer the community is rooted in the notions that, firstly: “Play is important in our lives”, meaning that we “need time and space to step out of our everyday world to play, for our own satisfaction, pleasure and sanity.” and that dancing “may be the ultimate transcendent play” in that, as he quotes the founder of the term Diane Ackerman: “Deep play is an absence of mental noise — liberating, soothing, and exciting. Deep play means no analysis, no explanation, no promises, no goals, no worries. You are completely open to the drama of life that may unfold. We spend our lives in pursuit of these moments of feeling whole." Hardy insists he wants the community to have access to this “transcendental play”, regardless if you have ties to the Nordic community or not.

Secondly, Powers insists that “Americans have long emphasized creative personal expression in their dancing, along with the informal adaptation of steps from one dance into another, known as crossover.” and that “the prototypical American dancer is more intent on bending the rules than adhering to them.” Thus, because American dance is “innovative in spirit and multicultural in its influences”, the Nordic community ought to do their part in taking part in the ongoing evolution of dance, and they can accomplish this by making the dance open to the community rather than exclusive, so on an experimental level, Hardy believes, they are “making poetry happen”.

Finally, Powers suggests that dance is “intelligent”. Quoting Jean Piaget when she says that “intelligence is what we use when we don't already know what to do.” Powers goes on to explain that dancing stimulates our cognitive mind and sensory input so that we have the ability to make choices and that, in participating in both leading and following forms of dance in a non-authoritative form, the individual will “benefit from a highly active attention to possibilities.” Hardy explained to me this is important, because such a mature understanding of these possibilities will naturally deeper not merely the actual relationship between dancers, but relationships of all kinds throughout life, whether they be marital, romantic, familial, etc……..and their organization has drawn many couples out weekly who dance, and claim it has had so much of a positive impact on their marriages and kinships.

Hardy believes much of their inspiration as an organization comes from these notions Richard Powers touches upon, and these same sentiments were unanimously echoed throughout the other participants. Jack Newlevant, a self-described “routine dancer” who admits he knows little about Scandinavian culture, told me that dancing with Scandieclectic “has good effects on my outlook in life” and added, in his opinion, “blues is the new tango” and he has seen blues-dance moves actually be experimented with on occasion, thus these notions evidently appear to be grasped by all the organization’s active participants. He was also the one who recommended I read some of the Library of Congress’s archived documents on dance, particularly one titled “Why Dance?”, and that he said when I read it, I’ll understand more of why many are drawn to this Sunday feat.

Another regular dancer by the name of Cindy Lobdell, when I asked her what “community” is to her and what sort of community need she feels this organization fulfills, she replied “If you’re speaking of “community” with a capital C, I’m not exactly sure how much of an influence we have made in Portland, but when you think of community with a lower-case c, I think, when you see a whole group of individuals, from different parts of town, of various backgrounds……I think the fact that we’ve been able to attract such a diverse number of people who just want to dance is an extraordinary showing of community in action!” Paralleling this notion was a Spanish-born immigrant who has since lived in Portland for many years named Jorge Blackman who, when I asked the same questions, touched on the importance of “social capital”, believing “it is great to see a strong sense of national and cultural community be maintained, but at the same time see people accommodate others of different cultural interests.”

Which is what made this community exercise all the most enjoyable; seeing some people come here who have no prior knowledge of Nordic culture yet, when they dance the blues, or the tango, or a vintage waltz, to the traditional Scandinavian melodies of “Sheebeg and Sheemore”, “Shepherd’s Wife” or “Silver Wedding Bells”, aesthetically it fits hand-in-glove, and they are drawn rather quickly to the dance, but moreover to part of the culture. And that, to me, represents a combination of that play, that experimentation, and that promise of possibility, in action; all three I perceived being the core of what makes Scandieclectic a successful community dance organization.

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