Ring Shout Dance

RUN MARY RUN by RASHIDA BUMBRAY AND DANCE DIASPORA COLLECTIVE Whitney Museum, May 13, 2012 from Rashida Bumbray on Vimeo.

Alllliiiiiiggaaaaaatttooooor!

Wait until you see HAT Co's version of this bayou beast. Thank you Ms. Linda for the inspiring print!

Dances for Wiley

Michael Walsh is working with the some of the dancers tonight. Their artistic challenges are to create:

1.   A dance that is culturally relevant to (and/or influenced by) the social community we have chosen for Wiley -- Southern Louisiana/Bayou/French Creole/Melting pot community. Bamboula and Ring Shout examples:

2.   Movement that is more abstract in nature, that works (in some ways) against the lyrical style of the song "Safe and Sound"

3.   Movement that supports and reflects the action of the scene and the relationship between Wiley and Mammy (the "Snoooogooooblooowww" scene, right after he returns from the swamp and she says she has to teach him more conjures now that he's seen the Hairyman once.)

Beasts of the Southern Wild

     Beasts of the Southern Wild is a movie following the life of a little girl called Hushpuppy who lives in The Bathtub, a community in Louisiana that's on the wrong side of the levy. Her mother's gone, and her struggling father isn't afraid to dole out the tough love. This film is in many ways similar to Wiley and the Hairy Man. Hushpuppy has the same childish, independent spirit as Wiley, and when she's on a mission, she does it with the same determination.
     One thing that I really loved about this movie is how it featured the culture of the people in that particular part of Louisiana. They celebrate everything-births and deaths, creation and destruction. When talking about the town on the other side of the levy, Hushpuppy remarks that 'they only have holidays once a year.' Even if something terrible happens to the little town, they celebrate what they have. They have a strict rule: no crying. Tears won't change anything.
     While I was watching Beasts of the Southern Wild, I noticed that their clothes weren't anything special, and they were often very dirty. The girls didn't do anything fancy with their hair, and didn't wear any makeup. These people aren't afraid to get dirt on their clothes, being a part of the nature around them is part of their way of life. Hushpuppy goes out into the wilderness near her home wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear, but that's all she needs. There is a freedom about it because no one is watching her except maybe her Dad or any animals nearby. I think it would be wonderful to live in a culture where keeping up appearances didn't matter so much.
     In the beginning of the movie, Hushpuppy's teacher shows her a tattoo of prehistoric beasts that used to live in The Bathtub. After that, whenever something bad happens that makes her scared, she thinks of the beasts. When her father collapses because he's sick, she imagines the ice caps melting and the beasts coming out from inside of them as a way of explaining things that her six year old mind can't understand. That made me think: what if Wiley's way of understanding his father dying was the Hairy Man?

A clip of a good part from Beasts of the Southern Wild:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqzWdcoq1Lc

Some photos of Louisiana Creole people from the time period 'Wiley and the Hairy Man' is set in. An interesting thing about the photos is that they're all of musicians.

Creole Slang

Here is a list of Creole slang words to possibly use in Wiley.

'Cooyon' (Foolish, silly)
'Craze-i or Craze-ah' or 'Toekey' (Crazy)
'I'll be a monkey's uncle!' (An exclamation to something you never thought would happen)
'So dirty they could stand up in the corner by themselves' (Used like: "His socks were so dirty they could stand up in the corner by themselves")

Another long list, including proper pronunciation: http://www.experienceneworleans.com/glossary.html

Hound Dogs and Swamps--Continued

Icile has been doing some research on Hound Dogs so that we can think about how we want to portray Wiley's closest furry, four legged friend.

The state dog of Louisana is the Catahoula Leopard Dog.

The Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog is independent, protective and territorial. Loving with its family and all people it knows well but can be reserved with strangers This breed needs a dominant owner who shows strong leadership.

The Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog is believed to have originated from Nordic Wolfhound being introduced some three to five hundred years before the Spanish arrived, however, no one will really know for sure. The state of Louisiana is cited as the point of origin, particularly the area of Catahoula. In 1979, the breed was designated the state dog of Louisiana. The Catahoula was named after a Parish in northeastern Louisiana and after the mottled spots on its coat. At one time this breed was used to round up feral pigs and cattle—livestock that had escaped, and was living in woods and swamps. It involved team effort that is highly coordinated and organized, fast paced, dangerous and a marvel to watch. The ideal dog team usually numbers three, and they must work together. Otherwise, one pig can kill all three in a matter of minutes. Each dog has to be aware of what the pig and the other two dogs are doing and react accordingly. Hunters sometimes used the Catahoula to trail and tree raccoons, but this dominant breed is more at home acting the thug with obstinate boars. This dog is used particularly on the difficult task of driving and rounding hogs and unruly cattle.

The Redbone Coonhound is a breed of dog, which is widely used for hunting bear, raccoon, and cougar. Their agility allows them to be used for hunting from swamplands to mountains and some can be used as water dogs. The AKC standard says, "The Redbone mingles handsome looks and an even temperament with a confident air and fine hunting talents." [1] This breed has been registered with the UKC since 1904 and the AKC since 2009. This is the type of hound featured in the novel Where the Red Fern Grows.

Read more about Redbone Coohounds Here.

Lastly, here are some cool swamp photos that Icile found: