Michèle's Handbell Blog!

Dance Journal, Week 7 (Mar 2, 2010)

2010-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

DNCE 320
Journal, Week 7
March 2, 2010

Meduri, Avanthi. "Bharatha Natyam -- What Are You?" Asian Theatre Journal 5.1 (Spring, 1988): 1-22. JSTOR. ITHAKA. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .

Please note: because I was traveling this past weekend and wanted to avoid excess weight in my suitcase, I did not read this article from our textbook, but instead purchased it in PDF format from JSTOR, an online archive of academic journals and other scholarly content. Interestingly, the only difference between JSTOR's archived article and the article as printed in our textbook is the pictures. The archived article included two pictures, while the textbook included only one. All three pictures are different.

My prof wrote: "hmmm."

I didn't really mean anything by pointing out the difference in pictures, just that it's kind of weird that they would choose a third, different picture for the textbook anthology we're using, rather than just re-printing the journal article as it originally appeared, and I wonder what prompted that decision.

In this discussion of Baharatha Natyam, a form of South Indian classical sacred dance, Meduri tells us that “Indian dance... encapsulates both in structure and in content the philosophical aspirations of the Indian mind. It appears as a sublime synthesis of philosophy, sculpture, music, and literature,” and is part of a “total theater that links all the minutest units of dramatic presentation.”

Meduri presents some of the more recent history of this ancient dance form, beginning with two figures from the early 20th century, Balasaraswati and Rukmini Devi. These two women approached dance from different philosophies, though they both came from the devadasi (temple dancer) tradition. Balasaraswati saw the representation of “love” as pre-eminent in Bharatha Natyam dance, emphasizing both the self and the other, but “never carnal – never, never.” Meanwhile Devi saw “love” as presented in the existing dance form as too crude and literal, unsophisticated, and believed that it should represent not sensuality, but devotion. Interestingly, even though each dancer condemned realistic modes of expression in Bharatha Natyam dance, which emphasized exaggerated theatricality, and preferred subtle and nuanced expression, each dancer considered the “vulgar.”

The author also presented some reflections on gender issues with the dance's history and modern presentation. Because India is a historically patriarchal society, men have all the social and economic power. Thus the dancer (who I am assuming is always female, though the article does not explicitly state this), is expected to conform to the pressures of the male gaze. For example, most contemporary (young female) dancers are taught by men. Meduri writes, “Thus the dancer, in the most impressionable period of her life, is taught to interpret herself and her art through the male filter.”

These issues (as well as others involving Indian post-colonialism) have created some dissonance, discord and disillusionment within the Indian Bharatha Natyam community, prompting some dancers (such as the author herself) to leave India and try to find their own artistic direction and vision abroad. Meduri closes the article by writing, “I think we need a post-colonial aesthetic, a theory that can describe and evaluate the secular reality of dance in all its marvelous multiplicity.”

Foreman, Kathleen. "Dancing on the Endangered List: Aesthetics and Politics of Indigenous Dance in the Philippines." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 384-388. Print.

This piece seems to be more about politics than aesthetics. The author speaks of some parallels between her experiences with “Native Canadians” (a term that made me go look up the publication date – 1995 – as the preferred label nowadays [in Canada] is “First Nations People”) and with “tribal Filipinos,” as both countries have a history of Western colonization. Her stated affinity for indigenous populations makes me believe she means the term “liberated” on page 384 ironically: “The Americans first liberated the Philippines in 1899 during the Spanish-American War and then again during World War II from the Japanese.” There was no visual cue (such as quotes) to indicate whether or not she means the word ironically or not – but, after all, the Americans didn't just “liberate” the islands and then leave them alone; they have had a lasting effect on the Philippine people's culture and politics.

My prof wrote: "Yes - curious use."

The paper is centered around the work of Jack Yabut, director/choreographer of PETA, the Philippine Educational Theatre Association dance collective. An urban Filipino, he works with tribal elders in an attempt to “develop and promote a national Filipino consciousness and grassroots social change through the arts.” By studying and presenting tribal dance, Yabut hopes to engender a renewed respect for the sensibilities and traditions of Filipino tribal people, especially with respect to their culture and land, within the post-colonial world of the increasingly urbanized Philippines.

Practice Journal

Since I was out of town again this weekend, I didn't get much practicing done. I did spend some time in the mirror working on the torso undulations, but I don't think I've improved much. At this point, I'm just hoping I can remember the bits that were added last Thursday! I'm also having trouble with the step-turn-jump-flap-scoop combination. The first one is ok, but I'm having trouble getting into the second one from the end of the scoop. I think I'm trying to step with the wrong foot, but I'll have to try to figure that out. It's frustrating because I move for a living – you can't play my instrument without moving! – but I feel so uncoordinated once it's called a “dance” and not just me moving to the music. Perhaps I need to stop worrying so much about it and just let my body do its thing....

My prof wrote: "I second the motion - at least for now let yourself learn holistically. The ideas will sink in."

Dance Journal, Week 6 (Feb 23, 2010)

2010-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

DNCE 320
Journal, Week 6
February 23, 2010

Manning, Susan Allene, and Melissa Benson. "Interrupted Continuities: Modern Dance in Germany." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 218-227. Print.

This paper was prepared as part of a photography exhibition. While there are some photos within the paper, it is unclear if these are the ones that originally appeared at the exhibition. If they are the same photos, their placement is strange in that they don't appear with the text to which they presumably belong, but instead appear all together in the middle of the paper.

My prof wrote: "I agree, and can only assume these photos are from that exhibit."

The exhibition's purpose was to show the roots of modern dance. Modern dance arose in both Germany and the US independently before WWI, but much cross-pollination occurred. US dancers Isadore Duncan and Ruth St. Denis appeared in Germany and their popularity provided a catalyst for German expressionist dance which flourished until the Third Reich. Many German dancers emigrated from Germany to the US to escape the Nazis and this contributed to the development of modern dance in the US. Post WWII, modern dance nearly disappeared in Germany, but US modern dance propagated worldwide.

I found the discussion of modern dance's push-back against gender roles to be very interesting. With the demise of Victorianism at the turn of the 20th century, both male and female dancers were able to break free from rigidly-defined gender roles as portrayed in dance – the madonna/whore dichotomy for women and the Prince Charming role for men – and experiment with other roles and means of personal expression outside those roles.

My prof wrote: "Well put."

The paper lists many dancers and educators who had a hand in shaping modern dance in Germany, such as Dalcroze, Laban, Wigman, Gert, and others, and briefly discusses the artistic and political context for each. The political played a very important role in German dance, as during the Third Reich, dance became very politicized for the State's purposes, which, the paper asserts, drained modern German dance of its vigor.

After WWII, ballet came to dominate both East and West Germany. In the West, there were few alternatives to ballet, but in the East, modern dance was combined with the Soviet ballet tradition's methods of teaching. In the 60's, young dancers in the West, dissatisfied with ballet and the “hierarchies” of ballet companies, developed Tanztheater, a re-awakening of modern dance.

The paper discussed some prominent dancers and dance teachers within Germany at the time of writing (1985), including Kresnik, Bohner, and Bausch, and the differences between their artistic approaches. The paper closes with “Dance is the only West German art today in which female artists play a leading role. Why this is so remains a provocative question.” Perhaps modern dance in Germany is simply acknowledging its roots.

PRACTICE JOURNAL

I didn't get much practicing done over the weekend since I was out of town, but I did show some of my friends what we've been doing. I'm still not completely comfortable with the torso undulations, but I think they're getting better. I need more work in front of the mirror. I'm pretty comfortable with the rest of the dance, although I'm not sure I have the new additions right.

.

Dance Journal, Week 5 (Feb 16, 2010)

2010-03-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

DNCE 320
Journal, Week 5
February 16, 2010

Asante, Kariamu W. "Commonatities in African Dance: An Aesthetic Foundation." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 144-151. Print.

In this paper, the author asserts that “African dance is a complex art in an advanced form,” and presents a description of an “African aesthetic” that is common to all African dance. The author points out that while cultural anthropologists and ethnomusicologists have provided insights into African arts, they lack the expertise to analyze specific movements and steps in African dance. Asante describes seven “senses” that, when combined with oral tradition, make for a commonality between and among all dance styles that have developed within Africa and within the African Diaspora, even though they come from different peoples with different languages, cultures, and geography. These seven “senses” are:

Polyrhythm, a motion sense in which movement and rhythm are intertwined. The author claims that this sense is inherent in all African dances.
Polycentrism, a time sense in which both slow and fast can occur in the same time frame. I have to admit that this one is hard to explain (and I'm not sure the author did a very good job). As a musician, I tend to explain things with musical concepts, and I think polycentrism is best explained by talking about the relationship of macrobeats and microbeats. A macrobeat is, like the name implies, a “big beat,” which can be subdivided into microbeats, or “small beats.” You can play many microbeats within one macrobeat. Whether something feels like a macrobeat or a microbeat depends a lot on tempo. What sometimes happens – and here is where the polycentrism comes in – is that at certain tempi when there are a lot of microbeats a listener begins to “float” over them and a new, slower macrobeat will emerge. (Kind of like what happens when something accelerates enough from 4/4 time where it makes more sense to feel it in 2/2.)
Here my prof wrote: "Bravo!"
Curvilinearity, the circular quality of form, shape, and structure that occur in African arts, especially dance.
Dimensionality, the sense of multiple layers or textures. The author likens it to the “extrashape and vibration that occur during a dance.”
Epic memory, the spiritual sense that an artist draws upon while creating a work. It is present not only within the finished work of art, but also in the creation itself.
Holism, the sense that the parts of a work of art are not emphasized over the whole.
Repetition, the sense of intensification over time, when “enough time” has passed (not necessarily a specific amount of time).

Asante also cautions that “there is no universal aesthetic without personal reflection,” and that African dance is difficult to categorize because of the thousands of ethnic groups as well as the 400 million people in Africa (and the 150 million of the Diaspora).

Strother, Z. S. "Invention and Reinvention in the Traditional Arts." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 152-164. Print.

I have to love any scholarly paper that uses Star Trek as an example! (I actually think the author could have gone farther with that example of collaboration, especially given the well-known back-and-forth that has developed between the Trek “fandom” and the writers and producers of the shows and novels. But I digress....) This paper makes the claim that the traditional arts of Zaire are best viewed through the lens of pop culture (rather than “high art”) because it recognizes the collaborative nature of such art. To illustrate the way that even traditional art can change in reaction to “modern life,” Strother uses the example of the Gindongo (gi)tshi? dance, developed in the 1970s. The dance was originally meant to be a protest against the “gerontocracy” of the status quo. The artist who developed the dance even went so far as to commission a mask that deliberately avoided using traditional design elements. In subsequent years, however, other artists have started performing the dance and have changed not only the hand-gestures, but also the design of the mask (they use traditionally-styled masks). They have changed the nature of the dance from a protest to an ironic confirmation that the young are often powerless to change the system. Strother points out that Africanists (an term left undefined in the paper, I think it means “those who study African culture(s)”), like many scholars of Western culture, often overlook or dismiss “the role of collaboration and dialogue” in creative endeavors. The author posits that this may be a reaction to negative Western stereotypes of Africa, and the result of a desire to present African art as “as good as” Western art, using Western standards rather than African standards. By doing this, such critics miss the point. Art should be judged or appreciated in the context of its own culture and not by any outside standards.

My prof wrote: "Agreed."

PRACTICE JOURNAL

I practiced several times this weekend, often doing just a section of our dance at a time. I'm sure I looked a bit silly as I danced in front of the bathroom mirror – about as silly as I must have looked as an 8 year old practicing disco dancing! I did show my husband the entire dance sequence so far, using our kitchen and living room as an ersatz dancefloor. I am still having trouble with the chest contraction/expansion move. I don't know what it is, but it just feels like I'm very stiff. I need to practice that move in front of the mirror some more to see if I can figure out what I'm doing wrong. Maybe I'll even video-tape myself so I can do the move without having to look in the mirror at the same time (since that subtly changes the body position). I'm sure I will feel less "silly" as I get more comfortable with the dance. Meanwhile, I will "fake it until I make it!"

My prof wrote: "Go for a circular feeling; a "push" or expansion, followed by an equal or slightly relaxed "pull," like a roller coaster loop, if that makes sense."

Dance Journal, Week 4 (Feb 9, 2010)

2010-03-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

DNCE 320
Journal, Week 4
February 9, 2010

"Looking at World Dance." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 92-96. Print.

In this introduction to a section of essays about various types of dances from around the world, the authors invite us to ask “What is ‘World’ dance?” Does that word have any meaning in our increasingly global society, especially with regard to those who immigrate to “the West” from other countries? The authors ask three other important questions. The first is: “How are we looking?” – They caution that “movement vocabulary” is important as we analyze and discuss the cultural meaning of individual movements as well as the entire dance. Where we are when we look, when we look, and, indeed, who is doing the looking are also important. In discussing the second question – “What are we looking at?” – the authors give us examples of both the post-colonial perspective of dance in India, as well as the complexities of analyzing the dances of the African Diaspora. The final question seems to be the simplest to answer: “Why are we looking?” The authors assert that reading about different types of dance around the world, and the different forms it takes, expands the reader’s understanding of what dance is, and what it can be, which then invites us to come “face to face with hidden ideologies in [the reader’s] own dance techniques.”

Martin, Lynn. "Symbolism and Embodiment in Six Haitian Dances." Journal for the Anthropological Study of Human Movement 8.3 (1995): 93-119. Print.

This scholarly paper about the relationship of Haitian Dance to the vodou ceremony was fascinating, but I kept getting distracted by little things.

The first thing to strike me as “off” was on page 94, in the second full paragraph, which says, “Within [vodou’s] purview fall such subjects as health…, personal relationships, … business ventures, artistic expression and entertainment, and more orthodox religious obligations and practices concerning Divinity.” The Fourth Edition of The American Heritage Dictionary defines “orthodox” as “adhering to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion.” So, if subjects such as health, business success, etc., fall under vodou’s purview, are they not also “orthodox?” Martin doesn’t put the word in quotes, so I wonder – ‘orthodox’ from whose perspective? Perhaps the author means “liturgical,” defined by Random House Dictionary as “of or pertaining to formal public worship.” A better word might even be “ceremonial.”

Here my prof wrote: "or 'spiritual,' but I take it to mean more standard religious obligations in terms of Western standards."

In the last paragraph of page 96, the author talks about the use of secular songs, and I couldn’t help but think that the description sounds like “The Capitol Steps!”

Here my prof wrote: "I agree -- this seems misplaced. Skip the previous paragraph and it makes sense."

I wonder how these three sentences about secular song are relevant to a discussion of music and dance within a religious ceremony, and why this type of secular song is presented as if it were something strange or noteworthy.

Here my prof wrote: "This ties to vodou as lifestyle & the use of song to exert influence & solve interpersonal problems.

On page 98, the author describes the ason as “a sacred rattle,” made from a gourd surrounded by decorative beads or bones. There is a drawing of it on page 116. What I find odd is the author’s assertion that “the ason is not, technically speaking, a musical instrument.” Why not? Even if it’s used in a way that the author does not consider “musical” (a subjective word if ever there was one), that does not mean that the item itself is not a “musical instrument.” The in-text citation here references another paper about vodou, but it is unclear whether it is a musicology paper or from some other discipline, which makes me wonder where Martin (or Denning and Philips, for that matter) gets the authority to decide whether or not the ason is a “musical instrument.” Many years ago, I took a class in Sub-Saharan African Music and, judging by the drawing of the ason, it looks to my eyes a lot like musical instruments used in western Africa. In fact, I’ve seen similar instruments used in percussion concerts here in the US. I’m sure those percussionists would be surprised to find out that it’s “not, technically speaking, a musical instrument!”

Here my prof wrote: "Point well taken. I would have to look to Martin's sources. The only 'excuse' I can come up with is that the ason may not be considered a musical instrument by the priests/priestesses/practitioners."

Good point - and upon further thought, I think what the author meant is that the practitioners are not using the ason as a musical instrument, but in some other fashion. That does not magically make it "not a musical instrument," though. Plus, have you seen what Evelyn Glennie can do with an ashtray, a few cups, and a pair of chopsticks? ;-)

Also distracting is the author’s introduction of the word lwa without a pronunciation guide. First used on page 97, it is unclear in the printed font whether the italicized word is spelled with a lower-case L or an upper-case I. It is not until page 99 when “The Lwa” is used as a section header that the reader sees that the first letter is an L, and an end note giving a pronunciation guide is referenced, but perhaps this is the journal editor’s fault.

My prof wrote: "Indeed, it looks like a capital I, and most students write it wrong."

Throughout the paper, the word “mythological” is used to describe concepts without any discussion of why that word was chosen in that instance instead of “religious” (also used throughout the paper) or what the distinction between “mythological” and “religious” might be (see the Desmangles quote on pg 101 for a prime example).

Also on page 101 is what seems to me to be a blatant contradiction. First the author quotes Desmangles: “[Possession] is a public commitment… that heightens one’s exercise of religious authority in the community,” then goes on to say “when the possession ends, the ‘everyday self’ returns, and the person receives no deferential treatment by virtue of having been possessed.” Immediately after this sentence, the author refers back to the Desmangles quote, writing, “As Desmangles points out, the individual’s exercise of religious authority in the community is heightened.” Which is it? Is the person’s religious authority heightened, or are they treated with no deference? To me, these things seem to be mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, Martin never elaborates on what she means.

My prof wrote: "Confusing, yes. I can only surmise that what the author intends to mean is the lwa in the possessed form may be treated deferentially."

In the first full paragraph of page 102, the author conflates homosexuality with transvestitism.

My prof wrote: "This is a problem."

After pointing out that “cross-gender possession is common,” and saying that a man possessed by a female lwa “may be dressed as a woman and will speak like a woman” (does that mean with a higher pitch? Or is there some specific way that Haitian women speak that Haitian men do not? The author never explains), Martin writes that “homosexuality exists” in Haiti. Well, of course it does, but what does homosexuality have to do with the clothes a person is wearing or how they speak? By not supplying context for this information (do most men who are routinely possessed by female lwa self-identify as homosexual or gender dysphoric in some way?), the author is perpetuating a stereotype and in my opinion, that has no place in a scholarly paper, even one published in 1995.

My prof wrote: "Not that long ago in the broader sense."

Another example of a loaded word is found on page 104, where Martin writes, “Sacred movement proceeds in a counter-clockwise direction around the potomitan, which is a reversal of the normal order.” There is no context given here to tell the reader what the “normal order” might be. Does it mean that the participants process around the potomitan in a clockwise direction at the beginning of the ceremony? Or do Haitians perhaps never walk around any objects in a counter-clockwise direction? There’s no way to know from the paper.

Finally, on page 108, in the description of Nago dance, Martin writes, “The posture of Nago’s dancers is dignified….” Compared to what, exactly? Is she implying that the postures of other dancers are undignified? Perhaps the author means “an erect posture,” but if so, she should say so without using value-laden terms.

My prof wrote: "I can only hope the writer is taking a Haitian-centered approach, but I can't be sure. I think it is still a comprehensive enough overview. For more reading, check out "The Divine Horsemen" - Maya Deren & Yvonne Daniel's work."

In addition to the “distractions” I listed above, I did find some very interesting things (in the positive sense) in the paper, too.

In the descriptions of the various lwa, Erzulie’s color is given as blue. Erzulie sounds like “azure” or “lazuli,” which makes me wonder if it comes from French, or directly from Arabic (either would make sense given Haiti’s history), or it’s just one of those linguistic faux amis that happen from time to time.

Baron Samedi is also quite interesting. In French, Samedi is the word for Saturday. Saturday comes from Saturn, a Roman fertility god. We also get the word “saturnalia” from Saturn, and the descriptions of the dances associated with Baron Samedi reminded me of descriptions of saturnalia.

The characterization of Damballah reminded me of the dance we’ve been learning in class, specifically the arm movements. Later, the description of Yonvalou on page 107 also reminded me of our dance. Is that the type of dance we’re learning?

My prof wrote: "Yes - I am most familiar with Yonvalou movement."

So, while the “distractions” I listed make me question the objectivity and integrity of the entire paper, I did find the discussion of a religion previously unfamiliar to me fascinating. I just hope that the “distractions” aren’t indicative of bias or projection on Martin’s part.

My prof wrote: "Me, too."

Bourgignon, Erika. "Trance and Ecstatic Dance." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 97-102. Print.

This discussion of “dance epidemics” is an overview of the ecstatic dance in many different cultures around the world, including countries in Africa as well as in Europe and the Americas. When the author wrote that some dancers “felt forced to dance compulsively,” I couldn’t help but think of the story “The Red Shoes,” and wonder if that story was inspired by such dances. I appreciated the discussion of masks as used in ecstatic dance: how if a mask is used in a trance state, the spirit resides in the mask and not in the entranced person (in fact, the masks are specifically designed to prevent permanent possession of the masked person). Also fascinating was the discussion on the use (or non-use) of drugs. (This section made me look up the paper in the index to see when it was written and I was not surprised to see “1968.” Words such as “psychedelic” gave it away.)

My prof wrote: "Date is also cited in "Looking at World Dance."

That's the first reading in this paper, so I guess I forgot about that! oops!

This paper shows that ecstatic dance has very ancient origins and is practiced all over the world in many different ways. While a detailed discussion is beyond the scope of this overview paper, it whets my appetite to learn more about specific practices of various cultures.

Here at the end of my paper, the prof wrote: "I enjoyed your dialogue. Thank you for taking a critical look."

Home from DBW, plus some musings

2010-03-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

I flew home from Distinctly Bronze West today -- in fact, I'm writing this from the plane, which was delayed by almost 2 hours, grrr [/rant]. I am absolutely exhausted, but had a great time at the event.

I think Jason Wells did a fine job in his inaugural appearance as Maestro of this event. I remember when he first appeared on the scene back at Pinnacle 2000 in Las Vegas, directing Ring of Fire at their 7:30 am concert. He's older now (as we all are), but hasn't lost any of that enthusiasm or energy. He has, however, gained a musical maturity that I am happy to see.

I'll be honest: that's one of the reasons I was so eager to attend the event this year -- I wanted to see if Jason had really matured in that way. It turns out that he has! Yay! This is not to say he doesn't have room to grow -- who among us can say that we don't have room to grow musically? -- but that he definitely wrung a lot of music out of us & I think if he continues in this role, there are some great things going to come out of the future of Distinctly Bronze!

I intend to keep attending both the East and West events for as long as I'm able to do so and will encourage others to attend, too.

At our Sunday night concert, I had the pleasure to finally meet a few people in person that I had only known via email or other online channels: Charlotte Hoover, and Mark & Lynn Andersen. Charlotte and I have been correspondents for years and years on the Handbell-L. Mark produces a video/audio podcast which features Lynn on handbells fairly often. (All three are (or have been) involved in the Emerald City Ringers, members of which also donated their equipment, time, and energy toward making DBW a successful event this year. (Thanks, ECR!)) Mark & Lynn also hosted Kiriku on their PNW tour a few years ago & produced their concert DVD.

Lynn said something to me after the concert that I've been musing on ever since. He said, "I can tell you've been influenced by Kiriku."

Of course that's a compliment -- one I've heard before, in fact, and have always been pleased about! -- but it's also not surprising that my ringing style looks like theirs, given their history & mine.

Let me explain: Kiriku was founded by their Artistic Director Taiko Otsubo, who was the protegé of Katsumi Kodama. (Another member of Kiriku, Yoshimichi Fukuda, also rang with Kodama from an early age. I think Yoshimichi & Taiko have been ringing together for well over 20 years.)

Kodama, for his part, made quite an impression on handbells in the US when he brought his groups to tour back in the late 80s/early 90s. Kathie Fink helped host one of those tours. (In fact, Kathie's daughter Lexi was born immediately after the Glee Handbell concert in Walnut Creek, CA -- Kathie was in labor but delayed going to the hospital so she could see the entire concert. Yoshimichi played at that concert, but Taiko did not.)

A year or two later, Kathie & PL founded Sonos, so I think it's fair to say that Sonos' ringing style and artistic philosophy was influenced by that experience (as well as by Jim Meredith's musical artistry, of course).

I first saw Sonos at Pinnacle 2000 in Las Vegas (yes, the same event at which I first met Jason Wells -- who was also quite influenced by Kodama in his younger years). They absolutely knocked my socks off & I was proud to join Sonos in early 2002. That, of course, had a profound influence on my ringing style as I learned all about "finger damping" and "sloppy damping" and other such things.

I first met Taiko in 2003 when she joined Sonos for our tour of Japan that year. (In fact, she was instrumental in bringing us to Japan in the first place!) She joined us again in 2005 and that's when I had the opportunity to see Kiriku in rehearsal. (I posted about that experience to the Handbell-L -- their attention to detail and to musicality were stunning, especially in an ensemble of that size.) Taiko then commuted from Tokyo to San Francisco to ring with Sonos for the next year and a half!

So yes, I've been influenced by Kiriku and by Taiko (and thus by Kodama), and I don't want to discount that, but it's also true that Sonos was influenced by Kodama separately and I think that Sonos has had a much greater influence on my style just by dint of sheer time and exposure.

Kodama's life was far too short, but his legacy lives on in Kiriku, Sonos, & Velocity (a small ensemble also founded by Sonos co-founder PL Grove). We share a history -- one that I'm proud to be a small part of.

.

Distinctly Bronze West 2010 - Bremerton, WA

2010-02-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

I'm up in Bremerton, WA (near Seattle), this week for the Distinctly Bronze West conference. An annual AGEHR event, there have been 11 DB events on the East Coast in New Bern, NC, south of Raleigh. Last year (2009) was the first one on the West Coast, and was the first one I attended.

It was also the last one directed by Maestro David Davidson, who passed away this past September & who is sorely missed.

This DBW marks the first one directed by Jason Wells, who is so full of energy and vitality that you'd have to be dead to not play your heart out for him. He is not an ambiguous director - he tells you clearly what he wants, not only with descriptive words, but also with his body language.

I am in the front row center, right under Jason's nose. (This prompted my friend Martin Morley to quip, "Poor Jason, blinded by the hair!" LOL!)

We had rehearsal yesterday 2-5pm, then had a 2 hour dinner break, then rehearsed again until 9pm. This morning we were at it again bright and early at 8am. We rehearsed until 10 and now the bass is having their sectional, while we treble-trouble people are on break. Lunch is 12-2 and then we'll have our sectional. We'll all be back together again later this afternoon.

We'll rehearse again all day tomorrow, and Sunday morning, then we'll present a ~~free~~ concert here at the Kitsap Conference Center at 4:15pm. If you're in town, please come on down!

ADDENDUM: Both of the commenters are correct: the concert is not free; we're charging $5 admission. But we're worth it!!

Meanwhile, I have some homework to do. I had to miss all my classes yesterday & have some reading & writing to do for my Dance class, plus have to study for a quiz in eMus, all of which is due Tuesday.

Brian will fly up here tonight & spend the weekend with me. Yay!

Time to get to work!

TTFN!

.

Dance Paper, The Koresh Dance Company

2010-02-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

DNCE 320
Evolution: the Koresh Dance Company
February 2, 2010

On Friday, January 29, I saw “Evolution,” performed in Temecula by the Koresh Dance Company from Philadelphia. The work, choreographed by Company founder Ronen Koresh, consisted of fourteen unnamed individual segments presented with no pause or intermission.

The lighting for the entire piece was very simple. Most of the work was lit with bluish-white light coming in from each side of the stage. Occasionally, a single spotlight from above would highlight a dancer, and red light was used for one segment. The minimalist lighting, which left most of the stage in shadows, gave the dance the effect of something half-hidden, half-revealed, like we were watching a secret unfold.

The curtain opened to reveal a dark stage, bare except for a line of dancers in the shadows – three men and six women – dressed in pressed black trousers and suit jackets, posed all alike, standing still and leaning slightly forward. The slow stark electronic music began and the primary dancer, bare-chested and dressed in raggedy loincloth shorts, entered from the side of the stage. He half-crawled, half-slithered across the floor, bathed in a harsh white spotlight, ignored by the other dancers. His movements reminded me of the way an amoeba moves across a microscope slide, jutting out one appendage, then another, sometimes this way, sometimes that way, the rest of the body following in a slow progression. Each movement seemed to cause the dancer anguish and pain, as if it was a great struggle to even be alive. Near the end of this dance segment, as the primary dancer continued his difficult journey, each of the other dancers stood straight up and backed away into the dark. The last in line noticed the primary dancer and stepped forward to watch him, an expression of fascinated disgust on his face, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing and didn’t know what to make of it. He stood there for a moment, then also backed away as the lights dimmed.

The next dance segment featured the entire company, the men dressed in the raggedy loincloth shorts, the women in similar shorts, some with tank tops and others with halter tops. The dancers moved to the rhythmic music in ways reminiscent of chimpanzees, squatting, or moving with their knees bent and their arms swinging behind them as they cavorted across the stage. From time to time, individuals and then groups together would do a “face-washing” motion, squinting their eyes shut, slapping their faces with both hands, then blinking as if to clear their eyes of some debris or obstruction.

Suddenly a red spotlight lit one dancer from above. The rest of the company scattered and scrambled offstage, leaving him alone in the light. He stood up a bit straighter, and as he danced, I got the impression that his movements were being controlled by something outside of him, like a stringed marionette. He seemed to be in pain and resisted, almost breaking free a few times, but as the segment went on, his movements grew less disjointed and painful, and more coordinated and flowing. The music built to a crescendo then suddenly stopped. The red light disappeared leaving the dancer standing upright, alone in the silence. He seemed to wonder what had happened to him and know that he would never be the same after his experience.

As he left the stage, a man and a woman entered. The man wore the same costume as before, but the woman had added a thin gauze-like unhemmed skirt which flowed with her movements. They danced to a Schubert lieder in what looked like a ballet pas de deux, except that their movements were angular, almost “raw.” Their arms and legs were bent, their toes not pointed, but ankles flexed. Each time the man lifted the woman, she cried out as if in pain. From time to time, they would revert back to the ape-like movements. It was like they were striving to reach a goal they could never quite touch, but they persevered, driven by a force they couldn’t quite understand. The poignancy of this dance – the juxtaposition of the balletic dance with the angular motions, the grasping for something just outside of reach without even really knowing what that thing was or if it was even worth the effort – nearly brought me to tears. This was, by far, my favorite segment in the entire piece.

The work progressed through several more solo, ensemble, and full company segments. In each one, the dancers’ movements seemed to become more refined, the ape-like movements fewer and farther between. The dancers stood more upright and gave the impression of gaining control over their bodies as the dance went on. The costumes changed, too. The men’s shorts changed from rags to velour, the women’s skirts became longer and hemmed, and both sexes added tops to their wardrobe, giving the impression that they were putting on “civilization” as they danced.

Here the professor wrote, "Well put - that is just what I am gathering as I read."

A woman appeared out of the shadows at the back of the stage. She was dressed in the pressed black trousers and suit jacket from the beginning. She stood erect, staring intently at the other dancers. They seemed to feel uncomfortable in her gaze and left the stage as if confused. As she faced down the last of the other dancers, she moved to the front and center of the stage, awash in a white spotlight from directly above. She began to dance in a combination of flowing and robotic movements. She pointed a single finger up toward the ceiling, then with her other hand, splayed her five fingers out to the audience. She repeated this several times throughout the segment, her movements becoming more frantic, more insistent as she danced. It seemed as if she was trying to tell us – the audience – something, trying to communicate some great truth that she had discovered and felt we must know.

Four men dressed in pressed black trousers, with white button-down shirts, hurried onto the stage. From time to time they glanced at their wrists as if checking their watches. They bustled about hither and yon, walking in circles, never seeming to notice the women they had just displaced from the stage. They didn’t even seem to notice each other, much less the audience. They moved very purposefully – and yet all the hustle-bustle seemed to not really mean anything at all. It was as if they were in their own little world, isolated from everything else, and nothing mattered except themselves.

Women entered, dressed in black trousers and suit jackets, dancing with pointed toes and extended arms and legs. One by one, the men left the stage, exchanged their white shirts for black suit jackets and returned. They lifted the women who seemed to sail across the stage like elegant swans on a lake. There were no cries of pain this time. Everybody seemed in perfect control of their bodies and danced with expressions of joy on their faces. From time to time, the angular motions returned, but they weren’t disruptive; they seemed to be natural and joy-filled, fully integrated into the dance. As the piece came to an end, the dancers shed their jackets and trousers, leaving them in a pile in the middle of the stage. They were dressed at the end as they were in the beginning, in raggedy loincloths. Each dancer stood fully erect, looking face-on at the audience as if daring us to continue what they had started.

It was like a declaration that as we humans grow and become more sophisticated, we shouldn’t lose sight of where we came from. The “raw” is nothing to be ashamed of, and indeed will always be a part of us and we should acknowledge and celebrate it rather than try to hide it.

Here the professor wrote, "What a glorious performance this must have been. I am thrilled you could attend. It sounds like you were transported into the piece, as I was in your re-telling. Bravo!"

My grade for this paper: A+.

Here's the YouTube video promo that the KDC put together for this show. The dances are not in the same order in the video that they are in the show, but it does open with the "amoeba" dance I describe, plus the Schubert dance is in there as well as the "5 & 1" dance. (I didn't talk about the other dances in the video, but they were all amazing.) The lighting is a bit different from what I remember, but maybe that theater had different equipment, or they've changed it a bit from when that was recorded. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Dance Journal, Week 3 (Feb 2, 2010)

2010-02-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

DNCE 320
Journal, Week 3
February 2, 2010

Jowitt, Deborah. “Beyond Description: Writing Beneath the Surface.” Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 7-11. Print.

Jowitt’s thesis is that when writing about dance, the writer should include enough description of what is actually happening – that is, the movements of the dancers, the scenery, lighting, etc. – to support the chosen criticism. She cautions, however, “Criticism can’t provide a print analogue for dance. Why should it?” In other words, include enough description so the reader knows what you’re referring to, but don’t try to describe every little detail, as that would detract from the expressive qualities of the dance. Some writers (such as Roger Copeland) don’t like descriptive writing and say, as Jowitt paraphrases, that it is “too intuitive, too close to the work, or demand too little brain power to count as intellectual.” Jowitt claims that descriptive writing can be useful for many types of criticism, and provides many examples to support her thesis.

Sklar, Deidre. “Five Premises for a Culturally Sensitive Approach to Dance.” Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 30-33. Print.

In this piece, Sklar puts forth five premises designed “to encourage an examination and widening of the frames through which we look at and conceptualize dance and movement.” These premises revolve around the idea that movement is culturally-specific – that the way a person from one culture moves will be different from the way a person from a different culture moves, or, even if the movement is the same, it will mean something entirely different – and that culture should be not just taken into account, but considered centrally when studying movement. Sklar goes further and claims that the movement itself may not be evidentiary of the concepts embodied by that movement on the surface, and that certain cultural knowledge can only be known via movement. Sklar writes of being “uncomfortable” with the “currently popular semiotic metaphor” that “overvalues the visual while ignoring the kinesthetic,” which seems to directly counter the point of the Jowitt article (that one must include a description of the dance when writing about it). Through the use of “empathic kinesthetic perception,” a combination of imitation and empathy which ignores the visual effects of movement and concentrates on the kinesthetic sense and the emotions the movement triggers in the dancer, and conversations with the dancers and other members of that culture (an attempt to guard against projection), Sklar has studied dance in various cultures. The article closes with the admonition that “we must do more than look at movement when we write about dance.”

At this point, my professor wrote: "dance criticism vs. dance ethnology"

Keali’inohomoku, Joann. “An Anthropologist Looks at Ballet as a Form of Ethnic Dance.” Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 33-43. Print.

Published in 1970, Keali’inohomoku writes that this article “is an attempt to bridge [the] communication gap” between anthropologists (who think of ballet as a form of ethnic dance) and dance scholars (who find that idea unacceptable). Keali’inohomoku’s thesis seems to be that dance scholars make distinctions between Western and non-Western dance that are not recognized by anthropologists, and that this shows the dance scholars’ ethnocentrism, a desire to separate “us” from “them.” Thus, “ethnic dance” becomes a placeholder for “non-Western,” and is conflated with “primitive,” which implies “inferior.” Anthropologists, on the other hand, use “ethnic dance” to “convey the idea that all forms of dance reflect the cultural traditions within which they developed,” an idea that the Sklar article seems to agree with (in fact, the Sklar article cites this Keali’inohomoku article). Keali’inohomoku lists several ways in which ballet contains cultural-specific details and is thus, an “ethnic dance” in the anthropological sense. Since these details are obvious to anyone who looks, Keali’inohomoku asks, “Why do we seem to need to believe that ballet has somehow become acultural? Why are we afraid to call it an ethnic form?” Keali’inohomoku closes the article with the affirmation that it’s ok to use the term “ethnic dance” as long as it is not derisive, but collective – that is, “a dance of a particular ethnic group,” which includes both Western and non-Western groups.

Keali'inohomoku, Joann W. "Angst Over Ethnic Dance." Cross Cultural Dance Resources Newsletter 10 (1990): 2-10. Print.

This article is a look back, 20 years later, over some of the same issues addressed by the previous article. Keali’inohomoku notes that EuroAmerican dancers are becoming more inclusive and credits this largely to the Information Age in which people all over the world are becoming more aware of other cultures. However, in this growing awareness and inclusiveness, the term “ethnic” is still seen as polarizing, as signifying “Otherness” and implying inferiority. As a result, movements are afoot to replace the word with suitable “euphemism” (as described by Keali’inohomoku), such as “world,” “multicultural,” “culturally diverse,” or “international,” etc. Keali’inohomoku maintains that each of these words has its own problems, and are either confusing or polarizing (or both). She writes, “The point is that the label of ethnic dance is contaminated [by negative connotations] and is unlikely to be purged [of those connotations].” How then should we label dance (or other means of expression)? Keali’inohomoku asserts that there is no need for a single over-arching label: “Bharatanatyam is Bharatanatyam; a Flamenco dancer is a Flamenco dancer. A dance is a dance and a dancer is a dancer.” In other words, let each dancer (regardless of ethnicity of the dance, dancer, or audience) describe themselves in whatever way they are comfortable doing.

My grade for this journal: "Excellent."

***

I'm not sure how to create a hanging indent in Blogger so I can do the proper MLA thing for the article titles, etc. If anybody knows, please let me know!

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Just a quick update...

2010-02-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update about how my classes are going:

Dance: We had 4 short scholarly papers to read. (We will be doing a lot of reading in this class, actually.) Our assignment was to write a paragraph synopsis on each article. Mine came to 3 full pages, but most everybody else's was only a half page! Did I write too much, or did they not write enough? I guess I'll find out Thursday.

UPDATE, SUN FEB 14, 2010: I asked the prof about this because it was entirely possible that I was over-doing it. (I know you're all shocked by this!) She replied that she does indeed want at least one paragraph about each of the readings. At the next class meeting, she went over this with the entire class, so it's now Official.

The class is an hour of lecture, then an hour of lab. For our lecture, we discussed 2 of the articles. I tried to give the other students a chance to speak up, but they were either too shy or had nothing to say. Those who did say things just touched the surface of things rather than delving into deeper critical analysis. I got the sense that the prof was a bit frustrated at the level and amount of discussion - at the end she said, "I do expect you *all* to participate in these discussions." I mean, come on! This is an Upper Division class; presumably, these students have all fulfilled their Lower Division requirements and so have had at least one class in Critical Analysis. I've decided not to let anybody stand in the way of my education, so from here on out, I'm going to say what I'm thinking and explore various modes of criticism, until the prof sees fit to tell me to be quiet. :-)

Maybe I'll even post my weekly reading/practice journals here....

UPDATE, SUN FEB 14, 2010:I have decided that I will post my journals and other writings here, but only after I've gotten them back, graded, from the professor. I put a link over in the right-hand nav panel so they can be quickly found.

Computer Music: So far, so good. I have very little experience with MIDI or synthesis, so I didn't really know what to expect in this class. We've been working with a piece of software called Reason and have been using virtual drum machines, mixers, delays, reverbs, and now Loop Effects to do our labs. The labs are pretty strict with *what* must be done with the equipment, but we have complete freedom to use whatever sounds we want (from the sound banks that come with the software). I'm looking forward to seeing what we do next!

GEO: GEO = General Education Oral Communication. All the other students just call it "jee-oh," so I figured I would, too. The prof is really good - you can tell she really cares about the students and how they do in class. She's supplementing the textbook with real-life examples as well as giving us all kinds of step-by-step advice and not just throwing us to the wolves, as in, "Here, go make a speech!"

I have to give a 2-3 minute How-To speech on Feb 18. My topic is: "How to save your cell phone (or other electronic device) after it's been dropped in water." Last night, she went around the room asking each student what their topic was to be & when I said mine, one of the other students exclaimed, "I could have used that information last week!" LOL.

Vocal Ensemble: Class was cancelled by the prof this week due to personal reasons. Meanwhile, I ordered a bunch of music for choir & bells from SheetMusicPlus.com so I'm hoping it will arrive soon & that some of them will be suitable for us to do!

Now, I've gotta go read 2 chapters in my GEO textbook (I bought the Kindle edition which was only $25, as opposed to $70 for the "e-Book" or $120 for the hardcover. I don't have a Kindle, but am using Amazon's free "Kindle for PC" software.) and take a quiz on it, then I've got to write a 3-4 page paper on a dance concert I went to on Friday night.

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My Dance Experience Paper

2010-01-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

Now that I've turned in my paper for my Global Modern Dance class, I thought I'd post it here. The assignment was:

Write a personal narrative about your most memorable dance experience. Provide contextual and personal detail. Two double spaced pages. Submit two copies - one with your name, one without.

When we got to class, we put the one with no name on a chair and gave the professor the one with our name. One by one, we stood up and took a paper from the chair (not our own) and read it to the class. Here's my paper:

DNCE 320
Personal Narrative Essay
January 26, 2010

I do not have very much dance experience. In fact, if the people I went to High School with knew that I was taking a Dance class, they would probably laugh. I was known as a klutz, someone who was always stumbling over my own feet, who would always bump into things, spill my drinks, and break anything delicate that I happened to be carrying.

I did have one Tap Dance lesson when I was 5 years old, but the only thing I remember about it is that we learned how to do a Shuf-fle step. Then there was the semester of Ballet I took when I first went away to college. I took it to fulfill a Physical Education requirement, but I felt incredibly self-conscious in the black leotard and pink tights and shoes, and made excuses not to go to class. I eventually received a WF – not a very illustrious accomplishment.

And so it was that the very next semester I found myself at the New Music and Art Festival at the Midwest Center for Contemporary Music and Art at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. One of the composers on the Music Faculty was having a piece premiered at the Festival and his wife – one of the Dance Faculty – was presenting a new dance to the piece. She asked for student volunteers to be her “back-up dancers” (I’m sure she used a more technically-correct term, but I can’t remember what it was). My best friend talked me into volunteering with her. We were told to wear jeans and a white t-shirt and show up at the hall an hour before the show for rehearsal.

That, in and of itself, was very stressful for me. Not only was I crazy enough to volunteer to dance – in public! – but we were only going to have one rehearsal an hour before the show?!? I tend toward the Obsessive-Compulsive side of things (I like to say that I’m not OCD, I’m CDO – that’s like OCD, but the letters are in alphabetical order like they’re supposed to be!), so the thought of not having several rehearsals to make sure I knew exactly what to do and when to do it was extremely frightening! This was waaaaay outside my comfort zone!

I don’t remember much about the rehearsal, but I do remember the performance fairly vividly. The music was typical for Contemporary Classical Music of the time – full of “pops and squeaks,” electronic noises, “bips and boops,” and lots of dissonance. As the first clicks and whirrs of the music started, the lights dimmed low and the group of us volunteers entered like a giant white worm, each of us hanging onto the person in front of us, as we crept and crawled across the stage. The lights changed to blue as the primary dancer entered – though truthfully, I don’t remember much about what she was doing, as I was concentrating on being wormlike.

When the lights changed from blue to red, it was our cue to stop being a unified worm and to break apart, stand up, spread across the stage, and begin moving our limbs in herky-jerky movements, more-or-less to the rhythm of the music. In rehearsal, the primary dancer stressed the importance of us not “lining up” across the stage, but placing ourselves randomly, facing every which way. I made sure that I was facing away from the audience!

Our next cue was when the lights transitioned from red into a deep violet. At this point, we were to stop our angular movements, slowly “deflate” into piles on the floor, then gradually join up with the other white-clad dancers like drops of a liquid will join up with other drops to form a larger puddle. Once we joined with the others, we were to randomly and suddenly get to our knees, throw our arms into the air and wave them around for a moment before again “deflating” and re-joining the puddle. These outbursts were to gradually become less and less frequent as the music slowed in tempo, until we ended the piece lying prone on the floor in a huddled mass, our arms and legs draped across the person next to us.

After a brief moment of silence, the hall erupted into thunderous applause. We all stood up to take our bows and then filed off the stage. I remember that my hands were shaking violently and as soon as we were off stage, I collapsed onto the floor, hyperventilating. I said to my friend, “Don’t you ever make me do anything like that again!”

To this day, I don’t remember the name of the composer, the primary dancer, or the name of the piece of music, but I do remember the feeling of “what have I gotten myself into??” as I entered the stage for that performance.

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Vocal Ensemble (with bells!)

2010-01-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I crashed Vocal Ensemble.

Back at Foothill, I took 3 quarters of the College Chorale, plus one quarter of Voice Class. This seems like a combination of those.

In the Foothill College Chorale, we sang SAB music (with occasional divisions in the parts). In Voice Class, we sang in unison, plus everyone sang a solo. (Both classes were taught by ~~Carl~~ Karl Schmidt, who used to be in Chanticleer .)

In this class at CSUSM, we'll be doing some SAB, some SATB, some rounds and some unison stuff. We might also have a special concert, just for solos - and the prof said it could be instrumental....

Anyway, at the beginning of class, the prof had each of us introduce ourselves and give a bit of our singing and/or music background. I said that I'm new to the area, so this is my first semester at the University; I'm a professional handbell player. I play with a professional Bay Area group called Sonos, plus I'm a soloist; and I've played bells in 33 US States and 6 countries.

He said I should do a concert sometime. I said, "Sure, my capstone project," and he said, "No, before that!" He also asked if there are pieces for choir and bells and I said, "Yes. In fact, I have a packet of music for choir and bells that I got as a publisher promotion; I'll bring it over to you." He seemed totally excited about it. Other students in the class also said, "Handbells? That is so cool!" LOL!

For those who say that handbells are not respected in the mainstream, I say that that attitude seems to be diminishing in recent years. Surely my experiences have been more positive than negative in that regard.

There *is* hope for us, after all! :-)

Looking forward to this semester!

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Week 1 of school, plus Florida!

2010-01-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

Since I have no classes on Wednesdays or Fridays, & because Monday was a holiday & Tuesday a faculty furlough day at CSUSM, I had only one day of school this week. I definitely got into the Global Modern Dance class & it looks like I'll probably get into the Computers & Music class, but Oral Communication is iffy.

For Computers and Music, the school registration system says that the class has a 26-student capacity (except on some days when it says 30). There are 30 workstations in the room, and 28 people showed up on Thursday. If it remains that way on Tuesday (or improves), then I'll get into the class

For Oral Communication, the prof said the class is fully registered, but 2 of those students didn't show up on Thursday. 2 students "crashed" the course (including me), and if the 2 absentees don't show up on Tuesday, the prof will drop them & we're in. (Likewise if others drop.)

Meanwhile, I have to continue as if I'm in the classes & prepare my work for Tuesday. My homework includes:

Global Modern Dance: write a 2-page paper describing a memorable dance experience. Oy! Do I write about my one Tap Dance lesson at the age of 5 (shuff-le step!) , or my one semester of ballet taken for Phys Ed credit 20 years ago (and in which I got a WF)? Maybe I'll take a chance and instead of writing about my past "dance" experience, I'll write about how many people tell me how my handbell playing looks like a dance, plus what I hope to "take away" from this class. Or maybe all of it. We'll see.

Computers and Music: no homework! In fact, if I understand correctly, there will be no homework all semester. Instead, we'll have lab assignments which we'll complete during our lab time each week.

Oral Communication: give a 2-minute introductory speech about myself, including a visual aid. If I had my bells, I would bring some of them, but Lois has them now for cleaning & repair (I'll get them back after the Sonos rehearsals Feb 6/7), so I think I'll bring in a Sonos DVD and/or my own CD instead.

I'll have to prepare all of that on Monday because I am right now on a plane to Florida. Tomorrow morning, I'll be conducting a workshop for the bell program of the West Palm Beach school district. Every elementary & middle school in the district has one (or more) bell groups & each year in May they (along with all the other music groups in the district such as bands, orchestras, and choirs) present a big concert in the city's beautiful Performing Arts Center. In Jan or Feb they have a clinician come in to work with the kids on the music they will present. I did this a couple of years ago (maybe 3?) and have been invited back again this year. I'm happy to go back because this is one of my all-time favorite events! These kids are fabulous - so energetic & enthusiastic - and so *into* the music. I know it's because they have fabulous teachers!!

Anyway, I fly home to San Diego on Sunday. On Monday, I have to "crash" Vocal Ensemble & see if I get in. Tuesday night after Oral Communication, I have to "crash" Intro to Acting -- but I might not. Tuesday is a very long day for me, and I may decide that 4 classes in one day is too many.

Oh yeah, the picture of me in this post is me on my flight from Denver to Miami - I'm flying with frequent flyer miles & couldn't go directly to West Palm Beach (nor fly out of Carlsbad). There are still a couple of hours left in the flight (though of course, I won't actually get to send this until we land), so I think I might nap.

TTFN!

-Michèle (from my mobile phone)

Spring Semester 2010

2010-01-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. Brian & I area still unpacking and setting up our new house. My music room is in process, but I keep getting distracted by things such as changing our address at a million-and-a-half places, setting up online bill pay for all our new utilities, and trying to figure out school.

Once my music room is set up, though, it's going to be wonderful - it's bigger than the room I had in Mountain View, even if it has no closet (but that's ok because we have a garage for that stuff) - and I'm really looking forward to when it's done & I can start using it!! Unfortunately, I am still going through all my boxes and filing things that need to be filed, organizing things that need to be organized, and throwing out things that really should have been thrown out a long time ago.

As for school, well, it's been interesting. As I wrote before, I had every intention of attending Palomar College. I planned to take Ear Training, Piano, Logic, and Computer Music Composition.

However, I ran into one problem: The Ear Training course has a co-requisite of Theory. That's fine, but really do I have to? I talked to the Professors for both the Level 1 & Level 2 courses, and when I told them what my Theory background was...

1987-1988: 3 semesters of Theory at Bowling Green State University in Ohio (early Baroque through Romantic)
1989-1991: 4 semesters of Theory at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati (early Baroque through 20th century (Serialism & Minimalism)
2008-2009: 3 quarters of Theory at Foothill Community College, SF Bay Area (Baroque through late Romantic (Aug 6th chords) and some Impressionism)
2009: 1 quarter of Musicianship at DeAnza College, SF Bay Area (a combination of Theory & Ear Training, we covered the Partial Series, Maj/Min chords & scales, Modes, & First Species Counterpoint)

... the Professor of the Level 1 class put it to me bluntly:

After seeing your Music Theory background, I'm sure you are going to be bored with Music [Level 1], perhaps even bored with [Level 2] or [Level 4].... I am not convinced that any of academic classes will fit your status. Palomar College is really designed for the student who has just finished high school. If they succeed at this level, then they usually transfer to another higher level of learning. I think that next college is where you should be (UCSD, San Diego State, etc.).

This bluntness made me kind of sit back on my heels and say, "Huh. Maybe he's right. What *are* my options?"

The reason I had been going to a Community College in the first place is because the California State University system doesn't usually admit transfer students unless they're an "Upper Division" student, which means that they've finished their General Education courses. I'm not quite finished with my GE yet (which is another rant -- I currently hold two Associate degrees, but haven't finished my GE?!?), but am very close.

Fortunately, I live very close to CSU San Marcos (less than half a mile away!) and so I went over there to see if I could talk to an academic advisor or at least someone in the Admissions office. The friendly people at the help desk there told me that it is too late to enroll for Spring 2010 (which I expected) and also that it's too late to apply for Fall 2010 (which I did not), but that I could still take classes through something called "Open University". After reading up on it a bit - it's a lot like the "Continuing Education" option at the University of Cincinnati, through which I took a year's worth of Music classes because it was too late to get into the Conservatory by the time I decided I wanted to go there (sound familiar?) - I decided to pursue that option.

There are a couple of drawbacks to going via Open University.

One is that it costs more. OU students pay the equivalent of the out-of-state rate for classes, so it costs about twice as much as a regular enrollment (and almost 3 times as much as Palomar College!).

Another is that you can't actually get a degree via OU, you have to actually enroll in the University. That's what I had planned to do anyway, so no problem, plus up to 24 units of credit can be transferred from OU to the University when I do enroll.

And finally, OU students can't register for classes in advance. We have to attend the first day of classes and get a Permission Code to register. This means that it's very likely that the class that you want will be closed by the time you go to register for it.

I've spent the past few days going through the General Education requirements as interpreted by CSU San Marcos (every school is a little different, even within the CSU system) and know what I still need to take to finish my GE (and what I plan to appeal [1]). I also went through the requirements for the degree I want to get [2] and figured out what I still need to take (of course, some of my previous music classes will fulfill some of the requirements).

So I am now armed with a spreadsheet of classes I might take this semester, provided I can get into them. I have a plan of action with various options depending on which of the classes are closed. If I get into everything on my list, I will be taking 14 units, with descriptions as follows, from the department's web page:

Global Modern Dance (3 units): Introduces students to the body in motion by examining the interaction between creative expression, daily life, and performative representations of cultural identity and difference. A multidisciplinary approach to understanding the body as socially and politically defined with attention to gender, race, class, and national identity. Includes lectures, video and film screenings, live performances, participatory demonstrations, and discussions.

Computers and Music (3 units): Introduction to computers and their use in musical context. Includes an historical over-view of the field and in-depth investigation of the use of computers and synthesizers in creating musical compositions (both printed and recorded). Students will learn the basics of synthesis. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface, the language by which computers and synthesizers can "talk" to each other), sequencing, computer music notation, and random computer-generated compositional process. Computer ethics and word processing will also be covered. Projects will be completed in Microsoft Word (word processing), Vision (sequencing), Finale (notation), and M (random compositional processes).

Oral Communication (3 units): Introduction to the form and content of communication. Includes: the linguistic, psychological, and cultural bases of communication; various types of communication ranging from basic speech acts to forms of persuasion and conflict resolution; the social and political significance of communication; how communication operates within and across a wide range of social contexts. Students become actively acquainted with some of the potential proficiencies that may be brought into various social contexts. Requires active participation in classroom excercises, collaborating on a group research project which is presented orally to the class, and practicing public speaking.

Introduction to Acting (3 units): A studio class centered around the student’s practice of basic acting techniques. Each student will be required to prepare a monologue and a scene to be performed in class. Basic approaches to theatrical movement and voice will be explored.

Vocal Ensemble (3 units): A vocal ensemble specializing in many different musical styles. Performances will include works from jazz, traditional, popular, and classical repertories. Emphasis will be placed on correct vocal and performance techniques and improvement of musical skills.

(I probably won't get into the Computer Music class, as it's currently listed as "Closed". I'll still go to the first class & see.)

Spring Semester "Officially" started yesterday, but it was also a teacher "furlough" day - a non-paid day of leave that is the result of the state budget crisis - so today is actually the first day of classes. However, none of the classes I want meet on Wednesday, so I have nothing today. Tomorrow, I will try to get into the Dance, the Computer Music, and Oral Communication classes. Vocal Ensemble is next Monday & Acting next Tuesday.

If all goes well, I will enroll in the Fall Semester 2011 and graduate after Spring Semester 2012. That will depend entirely on how it goes when my transcripts are finally evaluated and an Official Determination is made as to how the classes from my previous 6 colleges & universities (including CSUSM) all apply to my degree requirements.

Wish me luck!!

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[1] CSUSM's guidelines for the GE Math requirement say that CS 111 fulfills the requirement. CS 111 is a 4 unit class in computer programming in the C language. I have an Associate in Applied Business in Information Systems. Surely *something* from that degree program will count for this requirement (maybe even the Calculus course I had to take!). I can't know for sure until I have my transcripts evaluated, but I'm not planning to take a Math course until I do.

[2] a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts. Doesn't that sound *perfect* for handbells?!? :-)

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My pictures from Japan

2010-01-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

I just got done writing up a long (looooong) post over at the Sonos in Japan 2009 blog which includes most of the pictures I took with my phone.

I say "most" because that post was already so long, I didn't post them all. I do want to post some of them here. Specifically, my piggy pictures.

I don't know what it was, but I saw piggies everywhere in Japan! It's a mystery because neither 2009 nor 2010 are the year of the Boar.

Anyway, it started out at the shabu shabu restaurant Inton, where our chopstick wrappers had 3 little pigs on them:

I did post about these guys, but after that, I found all these other piggies!

Patti got into the act, too, and bought me a piggy spoon when she went out to Kamakura!

Finally, I found this adorable keychain at Narita airport on our way home. It even oinks!

Addendum:In that post, I wrote:

Sonos left Tokyo Narita airport on Northwest flight 326 at 3pm on Thurs, Dec 24. We arrived at San Francisco airport at 8:15am on Thurs, Dec 24. Yes, we are a group of time travelers! :-)

Personally, that marked the beginning of several hectic days for me -- directing at my church on Thursday night, then Christmas Day with family, then packing up our apartment on the 26th & 27th, so the movers could come & cart it all away on the 28th, then my husband & I could fly down to San Diego & meet the movers at our house in San Marcos, then I could fly back to the Bay Area for the Sonos concert on Sun, Jan 3, then I could drive back down to San Marcos. *whew* I'm exhausted just reading that! :-)

Yes, I have moved to the San Diego North County area, specifically San Marcos. Brian got a job down here back in October & has been down here since then. He first lived at an Extended Stay America in Carlsbad, but then we found a house, made an offer, closed escrow, & took possession of it over Thanksgiving break. I will be attending Palomar College to finish my General Education requirements, then plan to attend CSU San Marcos, which is less than half a mile from our house. Classes at Palomar start on the 19th.

I will be commuting up to the Bay Area to rehearse with Kevin (for Bronzewood Paedeia) and with Sonos. Our schedule is already planned - we'll be rehearsing once or twice a month until July, doing the Saturday/Sunday thing each time to maximize rehearsal time. I am not the only commuter. Sunghee will also be flying up from LA, and Cheryl drives in from Grass Valley. I think Cheryl's commute is longer than mine, so I can't really complain.

Anyway, more about that as the year progresses. Right now, I've got to keep un-packing - I want my music room to be usable asap!!

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Earthquake in Tokyo!

2009-12-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

I was peacefully sleeping and suddenly I was woken up by my bed rocking from side to side. When it stopped, I said to my roommate Sunghee, "Was that an earthquake?" "Uh-huh," she answered. "OK," I said.

Then it started back up again. "It's lasting a long time," Sunghee said. "Well, they do build their buildings to sway here," I replied.

When it was over, I got up, grabbed my phone & tweeted "earthquake in Tokyo!" which generated an entire thread of Facebook comments, including a link to the USGS page earthquake we felt. It was a 5.3!

What's funny is that there was apparently there was a 4.9 last night at about 11:45pm, but none of us felt it.

This morning, I realized that over the years, I have spent approx 14 weeks in Japan. I've lived in California for 8 years, but I've felt more earthquakes in Japan than I have in California.

But, whenever I talk to people who live Back East, they always ask me, "Aren't you afraid of the earthquakes?" I always say, "Um, no. I'd rather have earthquakes that happen occasionally than the guaranteed-every-year tornadoes and blizzards. Plus, there are earthquakes in the Midwest, too!

ps. Cheryl posted about last night's Tokyo earthquake over at the Sonos-in-Japan-2009 blog.

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Guerilla Handbell Strikeforce

2009-12-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

This has been going around the internet today, so I had to post it here, too.

The "Improv Everywhere" group staged a "Guerilla Handbell Strikeforce".

For our latest mission, a 13-member handbell choir provided some unexpected accompaniment for a Salvation Army bell ringer on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.

Check out the video at the link above!

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Sonos blog: "Three Little Pigs in Japan"

2009-12-15T16:19:00.000-08:00

I created a new blog post on the Sonos in Japan 2009 blog:

Three Little Pigs in Japan

ADDENDUM: My friend Nahomi posted a video of the show! I link to it in an addendum post over at the Sonos blog.

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Karaoke in Japan for Marquise's Birthday

2009-12-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

A bunch of us went out to sing Karaoke in Shinkjuku (a section of Tokyo) for Marquise's birthday last night. Joel apparently got video.

Read all about it at the Sonos-in-Japan-2009 blog!

I'll have to figure out a suitable revenge....

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Bell-Ringing with the Muppets

2009-12-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Gail Berg sent this link to the Handbell-L, and it was so cute, I figured I'd share.

Enjoy!!

ps. Don't forget to check out the Sonos in Japan 2009 blog to read all about our adventures in Japan! Our first concert is today & we are excited!!

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Irrashaimase!

2009-12-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Japan! Sonos, party of 15, has landed at the Osaka-Kansai airport, gone through Immigration, gathered all the luggage, and gone through Customs.

We met our host, Tamamura-san, outside, loaded up the bus and now are merrily on our way to the Hotel New Archaic in Amagasaki, between Osaka & Kobe.

We have a day off tomorrow & the remaining 3 people (Joel Gingrich, PL Grove, & Brian Houston) will arrive tomorrow night.

I probably won't be posting to this blog much for the next 2 weeks, because I'll be posting to the Sonos in Japan 2009 blog: http://sonos-in-japan-2009.blogspot.com so come read all about our adventures there!!

After a 10-hour flight from SFO-NRT, a 3-hour layover, a 2-hour flight from NRT-KIX, and finally an hour-long bus ride to the hotel, I am beat! (but excited about this tour!)

-Michèle (from my mobile phone)

Sakura at SFO!!

2009-12-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hey! My classmate Sakura is on our flight to Tokyo! Sakura was in my Musicianship class at De Anza. Small world, isn't it?

(also: our Musicianship professor is going to Japan on Sunday!)

-Michèle (from my mobile phone @ SFO)

Because it's COOL!

2009-12-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

I posted a few times about how Sonos was working on a DVD. We were actually working on 2 of them - and the first is now ready!! It's called "Ringing Up" and the blurb says:

Sonos leads you through music of three worlds: Europe, Asia and America. With stunning virtuosity this contemporary ensemble performs the famous Bach Toccata in D Minor, Gershwin's beloved Porgy and Bess, James Meredith's groundbreaking Kodo Tryptich and Smirti, his hauntingly intense elegy on the bombing of the World Trade Center with cellist Emil Miland, and more.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the DVD:

First is Edward MacDowell's "To a Humming Bird".

And here is James Meredith's "Smirti" with cellist Emil Miland.

I would have embedded the YouTube videos, but Humming Bird's width wouldn't behave when I tried it, so just click on the linkies, m'kay?

The DVD is available on Amazon -- the page says it's encoded for Region 1 (US & Canada), but I confirmed with Jim that that is incorrect; it is Region 0 (worldwide). We're working on getting the Amazon page fixed.

ps. I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but I understand that I have a lot of "face time" in it. It's probably a combination of the fact that I played flute on a couple of the pieces, plus my hair color makes me stand out even when I'm not the center of attention (*gasp!*), but when Kevin saw the video at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz last week, he said to me, "The videographer must really like you!" LOL!

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Cow Tipping

2009-12-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

Cabeza de Vaca was son of Teresa Cabeza de Vaca y de Zurita. In 16th century documents, his name appeared as "Alvar nuñez cabeça de vaca". Cabeza de Vaca means "head of cow". This surname was granted to his mother's family in the 13th century, when his ancestor Martin Alhaja aided a Christian army attacking Moors by leaving a cow's head to point out a secret mountain pass for their use.

--Wikipedia, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

I hope in some measure to convey to Your Majesty not merely a report of positions and distances, flora and fauna, but of the customs of the numerous, barbarous people I talked with and dwelt among, as well as any other matters I could hear of or observe.

--Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, The Relation

Maybe it's because I'm a feminist, but one of the first things that stood out to me when reading Norton's (and later Wikipedia's) biographical information on Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was the fact that he uses his mother's family name rather than his father's family name. In fact, Norton never tells us his father's family name (neither does Wikipedia, for that matter). I understand that De Vaca is proud of his family heritage, but it still seems like an usual thing to do -- usually the mother's family name is preserved in middle names or in ways other than the primary surname. (OTOH, I am not conversant in 16th-century Spanish naming conventions, so maybe this is no big deal.)

While I may be a feminist (though not completely fluent in Feminist Theory), I am definitely not a cultural anthropologist, despite a lifetime love of National Geographic. However, there were a few passages in our assigned reading (excerpts from De Vaca's "The Relation") that made me think that the Native peoples De Vaca traveled among may have either been matriarchal, or at least had matriarchal aspects to their culture.

One such passage that made my femmy-sense tingle was:

When a daughter marries, she must take everything her husband kills in hunting or catches in fishing to the house of her father, without daring to eat or to withhold any part of it, and the husband gets provided by female carrier from his father-in-law's house. Neither the bride's father nor mother may enter the son-in-law's house after the marriage, nor he theirs; and this holds for the children of the respective couples. If a man and his in-laws should chance to be walking so they would meet, they turn silently aside from each other . . . . The woman, however, is free to fraternize with the parents and relatives of her husband.

The reasons this caught my attention relate to the different treatment of the husband and wife in this scenario:

1) She is allowed to go back to her parents' house, and she is allowed to "fraternize" with her husband's parents, while he is not allowed to associate with hers. (We are not told whether he is allowed to socialize with his own parents);
2) The husband must give up all that he catches to be later given an allowance of meat/fish/whatever delivered "by female carrier"; and
3) Could it be that, instead of bringing her husband's catch to her father, she's really bringing them to her mother?

As I said, I am not a cultural anthropologist, so I may be way off-base, but I still think it's an interesting way to look at this narrative.

ADDENDUM: In class today, we talked about Estaban, a "companion" of De Vaca. I put "companion" in quotes because Estaban was a Moroccan slave in Narvaez's expedition who ended up shipwrecked along with De Vaca - you can see him in the picture up there at the top of this post. There is some new scholarship that proposes that Estaban ended up the real leader of De Vaca's group, which Dr. Scott said was in a new book (which I saw in earlier Google searches, ~~but can't find right now - I'll post it if I find it~~ - Here it is!!). Today I came across this interesting page about Estaban. Here's an excerpt:

In the spring of the year 1539, a tall black man lay mortally wounded by Zuni arrows in the village of Hawikuh, in what is today northwestern New Mexico. If he prayed in his last breaths, he surely addressed God as "Allah." How did a Muslim come to visit—and die in—New Mexico in the early 16th century? I had never come across such a figure during my university history studies in the United States, nor had I read of him in French history books at the lycée in Casablanca, Morocco, where I grew up. I heard of him only quite recently, by accident.

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...

2009-12-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Of Española, Paria, and the other lands, I never think without weeping. I believed that their example would have been to the profit of others; on the contrary, they are in an exhausted state; although they are not dead, the infirmity is incurable or very extensive; let him who brought them to this state come now with the remedy if he can or if he knows it; in destruction, everyone is an adept.

-Christopher Columbus, from Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage [Jamaica, July 7, 1503]

So Columbus said, somebody show me the sunset and somebody did and he set sail for it,
And he discovered America and they put him in jail for it,
And the fetters gave him welts,
And they named America after somebody else.

~Ogden Nash, Columbus

I find myself at something of a loss as to what to write about Christopher Columbus. He is such a controversial figure. When I was a child, we learned that he believed that the earth was round when everyone else thought it was flat (because he saw a butterfly on an orange), and that he discovered America (but thought it was India). There was very little mention of the Natives, other than as almost "extras" in a play. I think it would be fair to say that's a very simplistic presentation.

Today, it seems that children are taught more cultural context from both the European side and the Native American side. All in all, I think that's a good thing. However, I remain morbidly fascinated by the negative reactions I see to teaching the greater historical context of Columbus (and many other historical figures). It's as if they take it personally - any attempt to provide context is seen as an attack on America, and thus on them.

Take this blog post as an example. The author is commenting on a news story:

Kolowith’s students learn about the explorer’s significance, but they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend.

["Nuanced," you say? Is that what we are calling it today? Back in my day, they called it, "Libtard-Commie agenda-driven indoctrination of the youth in order to destroy America and her culture." But, I guess that was too many words for the kids coming out of such institutes of lower learning and had to be condensed to "nuanced."]

Why such vitriol?!? How does presenting more historical context "destroy America and her culture"?!? Why does the author seem to feel so threatened??

Our reading this week was two excerpts from letters written by Christopher Columbus, one from his first voyage and one from his fourth (and last). What struck me as most interesting was the change in tone between the two letters.

The first letter has a much more positive "feel" to it with Columbus doing his best to put the expedition in the best light possible. He was writing to the people who had financed the voyage - Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain - and wanted to make sure they felt like they had gotten a good return on their investment. He has to admit that they didn't find any big cities or spices or gold, but manages to convey a sense of wonder with the new (to him) land.

The second letter, written in Jamaica in 1503, during his fourth and final voyage, has a much more somber tone. Columbus has seen all his work be either destroyed or turned against him -- colonies he set up have failed, or have rebelled against his authority. He was sent back to Spain in chains, disgraced and full of despair. Norton says that his "woes were accompanied by nearly delusional periods as [he] underwent a virtual breakdown."

I can easily believe that when I read his words: "Weep for me, whoever has charity, truth, and justice."

ADDENDUM: During class today, Dr. Scott mentioned that he was peeved with Norton because of how it presented the biographical material for Columbus, completely ignoring any of the current controversies & uncertainties surrounding his birth and his role in the slave trade. I said, "Join the club; I've been peeved at Norton for weeks!"

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Peace in Our Time

2009-11-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

... they made peace with [Massasoit] (which hath now continued this twenty-four years) in these terms:
1. That neither he nor any of his, should injure or do hurt to any of their people.
2. That if any of his did any hurt to any of theirs, he should send the offender, that they might punish him.
3. That if anything were taken away from any of theirs, he should cause it to be restore, and they should do the like to his.
4. If any did unjustly war against him, they would aid him; if any did war against them, he should aid them.
5. He should send to his neighbors confederates, to certify them of this, that they might not wrong them, but might be likewise comprised in the conditions of peace.
6. That when their men came to them, they should leave their bows and arrows behind them.

-William Bradford, "Of Plymouth Plantation"

The Peace Treaty of 1621 - John Carver and Massasoit agreed to a treaty containing only a few essential and enforceable conditions:
(1) Indians and Pilgrims vowed not to injure each other, and if it occurred the leader of one group would surrender the instigator to the other for punishment.
(2) Indians and Pilgrims would not steal from one another.
(3) If either party was engaged in an unjust war, the other party would aid them.
(4) All the Wampanoag tribes would honor the peace treaty.

"Pilgrims and Wampanoag: The Prudence of Bradford and Massasoit," by Robert Jennings Heinsohn, Ph.D

While researching this journal entry, I was really surprised to find the above quoted passage by Dr. Heinsohn! The passage he references is one in which I wrote several notes in the margin of my Norton Anthology -- but none of my notes matches what Dr. Heinsohn says. Why is my reading of the text that different from his? Did he read the same text I did? I wondered if he was a Puritan Scholar and his quote represented the prevailing view of the 1621 agreement, so I decided to google Dr. Heinsohn. Turns out he's not a Puritan Scholar, after all (or at least not professionaly), he's an Environmental Engineer, and that means I can disagree with him with relative impunity. So, what was I waiting for? Here goes:

(Note: In Bradford's agreement, "he," "his," or "him" refers to Massasoit and his people, while "they," "them," or "theirs" usually refers to the Puritans. (I say "usually" because Bradford sometimes loses track of his pronoun's referents, as I'll point out later.))

First off, Heinsohn combines #1 & #2 from Bradford's agreement. Heinsohn writes:

(1) Indians and Pilgrims vowed not to injure each other, and if it occurred the leader of one group would surrender the instigator to the other for punishment.

But that's not what Bradford said. Bradford wrote:

1. That neither he nor any of his, should injure or do hurt to any of their people.
2. That if any of his did any hurt to any of theirs, he should send the offender, that they might punish him.

Bradford's agreement doesn't say that the two groups "vowed not to injure each other," but rather that Massasoit & his people vow not to injure the Puritans, and that if an Indian does injure a Puritan, that Indian will be turned over to the Puritans for punishment. The Puritans did not agree not to harm the Indians, or to turn over their own people to the Indians for punishment.

Secondly, Heinsohn's claim that "If either party was engaged in an unjust war, the other party would aid them" just doesn't hold water. Bradford's agreement says: "If any did unjustly war against him, they would aid him; if any did war against them, he should aid them." Notice the very careful choice of words and the difference between "him" and "them." It really promises that the Puritans will help the Indians in war if and only if the war being waged against Massasoit & his people is "unjust" (in the Puritans' opinion), but Massasoit promises to help the Puritans no matter the reason for the war (that is, whether or not the Indians think it is just).

Heinsohn's third claim, that "all the Wampanoag tribes would honor the peace treaty" is closest to the truth. According to Bradford (whose use of "them" and "they" is a bit confusing, but not overly much), Massasoit does promise to "certify" to his neighbor tribes that he has entered into this agreement & ask them to honor it, too.

Finally, Bradford continues with point #4, which Heinsohn doesn't even mention. Bradford's pronouns are harder to follow here, so I will do the bracket thing to try to clear it up a bit: Massasoit promises "That when [the Indian] men came to [the Puritans], [the Indians] should leave their bows and arrows behind them." In other words, the Indians would come to the Puritans unarmed. The Puritans make no such promise; they are free to approach the Indians while carrying guns or other arms. That doesn't sound like a very fair agreement to me! (However, it makes me chuckle that there seems to be a loophole here: the Indians have promised only to "leave their bows and arrows behind them," but that doesn't mean they can't carry guns themselves! I wonder how that one slipped past Bradford's company?)

So, I don't know what the good Dr. Heinsohn was reading, but it certainly wasn't the agreement that Bradford reported. I wonder where he got his interpretation?

ADDENDUM: When I was doing my research for my journal on Anne Bradstreet, I ran across this bit about William Bradford's wife:

other women refused to come (such as the wife of the Reverend John Wilson, who had to return to England himself to persuade her) or took one look at the glorious New World and threw themselves overboard (the wife of William Bradford)

- Paula Kopacz, "To Finish What's Begun: Anne Bradstreet's Last Words"

Then, when doing research for this journal, I came across both of these:

"In the next four months, half of them would be dead," we learn. And yet, said Bradford, who would lose his beloved wife Dorothy when she fell over the side of the anchored Mayflower and drowned, "what could now sustain them but the spirit of God and His Grace?"

- Jeffrey Lord, "The Answerable Courage of William Bradford," The American Spectator

On December 7, 1620, before the colony was established, Bradford's wife died. Dorothy Bradford died while the Mayflower was at anchor in Provincetown Harbor. However, there are no contemporary accounts of the circumstances of her death, only a later mention of drowning by Cotton Mather in Magnalia Christi Americana. Bradford included only brief mention of her passing in his own writing. There is a widely circulated story that she committed suicide because the Mayflower was a moored ship, but this is derived from a work of historical fiction published in the June, 1869 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. This claims that they had decided to leave their young son in the Netherlands, and his wife was so stricken with sadness that she took her own life. Regardless of this fictional treatment, there is no proof of suicide. Although it is more likely to be referred to as an accident of her falling off the front side of the ship.

-Wikipedia, "William Bradford"

What's the truth here? Did Dorothy Bradford kill herself out of despair, or was it an accidental death? Bradford never mentions her in the reading we were given and Norton, of course, doesn't deign to say anything about it (Norton doesn't even tell us her *name*!!).

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