a festive weekend.

This past weekend my city, Udon Thani, celebrated its 121^st birthday. Since the Thai’s look for any opportunity, large or small, to throw a party this was the perfect opportunity to dance, set off some fireworks, set up a festival and disrupt traffic.

Saturday morning I went with a couple of my coworkers to watch a couple of the other girls participate in a huge Thai dance. They had women from many of the surrounding cities (Udon Thani is the name of the province as well as the name of the city which is the capital—like counties and the county seat) gather together in the street to perform traditional Thai dances in an effort to set a world’s record.  People were there from the Guinness World Records to witness the event.  They’d anticipated just over 5,000 participating but the rumors were they ended up with over 20,000.  It was beautiful madness. The streets were a sea of orange.

We have three large traffic circles in Udon; one with a clock tower, one with a fountain and one with a statue of Prince Prajak (25^th son of King Rama IV, born back in 1865.) The event took place in the five streets feeding into the statue circle, orange spilling out in all directions like spokes from a wheel.  It was quite an impressive sight.

Later that night there was a fun street market filled with food and wares of all sorts.  One of the girls I’m here with decided that she would try her luck at panhandling. People here are fascinated with ‘farangs’ (foreigners) and will constantly stare, giggle and even ask to take our pictures.  We’ve commented more than once that if we made people pay even 5 baht (the equivalent of about 15 cents) we could easily make enough money for dinner.  So, she made herself a sign and she walked around the market propositioning people for photos.  She ended up making 30 baht and gaining a new hat and making a lot of people laugh. We followed up those escapades with a fireworks show over the lake in the park.

The next night there was another dance performance.  This one was even more traditional. The dancers dress up in elaborate costumes (demons, monkeys and such) and the dances often tell a story of some sort. It’s sort of like a cross between ballet and hula in my brain, every once in awhile you’ll get full body movement (usually from the men) but often it’s very small steps, turning in circles, and lots of slow, graceful hand movements.  They performed out in front of one of the nearby temples which made for a dramatic backdrop all lit up under the black sky (though killer for getting any sort of decent photo.)  It was a lovely way to spend an evening.

Happiness is...a song and a dance.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Gene Kelly's birth.  One of my favorite people ever, he did everything from sing and dance to act, direct and choreograph, and he did it all with style and panache. I love the description from NPR's article, he's "athletic, acrobatic,...[and] astonishing.'  Sums it up nicely.  He has this effortless way of moving that makes you feel like you could jump up on tables and slide across counter tops, skip through the gutters and balance on rooftops and look amazing doing it.

Here are a few clips to make you happy (cuz how could they not?!)

I've never actually seen this movie, but wow.  Roller skates? I'm going to have to befriend someone with a Netflix account so I can watch the whole thing.

And from one of my favorite movies of all time...not his signature scene but an equally fabulous number all the same.

(And Donald O'Connor is always a fun addition.)

I can acknowledge the fact that the world is full of some incredibly talented entertainers today, but there are just some incomparable people who have come and gone that will never be equaled. And Gene Kelly tops that list.  The world is simply a poorer place without him.  Thank heavens for film and modern technology that lets us celebrate his legacy and his life long after the man himself is gone.

Happy birthday, Mr. Kelly!

Happiness is...an amazing performance.

I went with a couple of my roommates tonight to see a tap dance performance.  One roommate is a dancer herself, the other is a dance enthusiast. I am a fan of live performances and broadening my horizons and getting out of the house (not necessarily in that order.)  I have always enjoyed dance but am not well-versed in styles or steps. My experiences with tap are largely influenced by the MGM musicals school of dance, the Fred Astaires and Gene Kelleys making huge fluid motions across a vast sound stage. Leaps, turns, jazz hands, staircases, tables, couches, city streets all being utilized to the utmost.

What Savion Glover does is nothing like that and exactly like that at the same time.

He came out on the basically empty stage (just a small raised platform and some speakers) wearing a hoodie and danced for a sold hour and a half in honor of Treyvon Martin. He paused long enough to share the stage with a couple of partners and to make some basic introductions but other than that he moved. And moved. And moved. The sweat literally pouring off of him, visible halfway back in the audience where we were seated he moved like nothing I have ever seen, or heard, before.

Where I was expecting wild arms and leg kicks he stayed practically still from the waist up, his feet making the most incredible sounds while remaining in almost the same spot on the stage for the whole first 20 minutes. Instead of gesturing and relying on movement to portray the art, he focused on the sounds to get his point across. There were sounds that reminded me of a herd of galloping horses, a rapid fire machine gun, soft shoe shuffles, and drums, drums, drums. He was loud, soft, measured and precise and wildly intricate. When he was joined by his colleagues they sometimes tapped in perfect unison, one sound made by four feet, and other times played off of each other's rhythms riffing like an improvised jazz jam session, using syncopation and counterpoint in ways I never knew possible.  It was raw and almost bestial in its intensity, not at all polished but perfect and precise in an urban Stomp sort of way. And a completely enjoyable way to spend an evening.

I guess he's been around for quite some time training with the likes of Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. and performing on Broadway and even providing the choreography for Happy Feet as well as the motion capture for  Mumble's dance moves.  He's quite the talented guy.  Gregory Hines called him the greatest tap dancer of all time. I think that's a pretty valid statement. You can color me muy impressed. Check him out.

This is far more 'traditional' and mobile than what he did tonight but it gives you a taste of the talent this guy has.  Kinda makes you wanna dance, huh?

Shout out to the roommies for broadening my horizons and introducing me to an incredible performer. (And yes, getting me out of the house!)