I can't even begin to describe the energy in the gym during Kivgiq. You feel it the moment you walk in the doors of the school. There are people everywhere in the halls. Some are at tables selling crafts, others are eating (snacks that are not particularly good for you, but do smell delicious!), others are sliding on the stair railing (though there is great effort to curtail that).
Once you near the door to the gym, you hear the drums. The drum is foundational to the song and the dance. The beat draws you in. Once you listen for awhile, you begin to anticipate that the cadence change signals the climatic ending of the dance. All of these dances have significant meaning. I don't understand most of the time, but there are teachers all around me. If I ask, I hear that one whole dance sequence signifies the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. Note to self, ask more often, because once my teacher told me what was going on, it really began to take shape for me.
My favorite dance was the Raven dance. Raven in Inupiaq is: tuluġaq (too-loo-ruck). We've been trying to get our little Raven to answer to "Tuluġaq", but haven't quite been successful in getting her to be bi-lingual. There is a distinct resemblance, don't you think?
The celebration is not limited to watching dancers on the stage. There is a large area for participants to get up and join in.
The dance groups all have at least one "invitational" dance in which anyone who wants to is invited to "boogie". Elders and youngsters alike are taking part in the festivities and clearly bring their own particular perspectives to the event.
I can't even begin to describe the energy in the gym during Kivgiq. You feel it the moment you walk in the doors of the school. There are people everywhere in the halls. Some are at tables selling crafts, others are eating (snacks that are not particularly good for you, but do smell delicious!), others are sliding on the stair railing (though there is great effort to curtail that).
Once you near the door to the gym, you hear the drums. The drum is foundational to the song and the dance. The beat draws you in. Once you listen for awhile, you begin to anticipate that the cadence change signals the climatic ending of the dance. All of these dances have significant meaning. I don't understand most of the time, but there are teachers all around me. If I ask, I hear that one whole dance sequence signifies the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. Note to self, ask more often, because once my teacher told me what was going on, it really began to take shape for me. 
My favorite dance was the Raven dance. Raven in Inupiaq is: tuluġaq (too-loo-ruck). We've been trying to get our little Raven to answer to "Tuluġaq", but haven't quite been successful in getting her to be bi-lingual. There is a distinct resemblance, don't you think?
The celebration is not limited to watching dancers on the stage. There is a large area for participants to get up and join in.
The dance groups all have at least one "invitational" dance in which anyone who wants to is invited to "boogie". Elders and youngsters alike are taking part in the festivities and clearly bring their own particular perspectives to the event.
No comments:
Post a Comment