25th Annual Ethnic Dance Festival Tickles the Fancy

By Jorgio Castro

The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival celebrated its 25th Anniversary this year with a two week long performance at the Palace of Fine Arts. The performance, which occurs during the last two weeks of June every year, showcases cultural music and dance from around the globe. Called "a zestful celebration of human diversity, focused through the prism of dance" by the Los Angeles Times, the festival was very popular and well attended as usual, with traffic being heavy into the Palace and parking rare as always. Despite the crowd and traffic, the performance certainly left none disappointed.

On the weekend of June 21-22 (which I attended), there were eight groups lined up for the show, each with a distinct style representative of their ethnic and cultural background. Of those, five are Asian-Pacific in nature.

First to take the stage on this day was Chuna McIntyre & the Nu'namta Yup'ik Ensemble, a group working to maintain the tradition of the Eskimo, performed a dance called "Shaking the Universe." In Yu'pik Culture, there is a belief that anything that exists has its own awareness. The dance reflected this belief and was a tribute to the sky. "The Festival affords us an easy transition from what was to what is to what can be" says McIntyre, who has performed worldwide at the Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center (both in Washington, D.C.), as well as in France, Russia, and New Zealand.

After a brief intermission, the audience was treated to The Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company's first ever performance of Si Ji, which translated means "Four Seasons." The dance reflected the colors and ambience of nature's seasons through movements of four dancers shrouded in satin. The dance company was formed in 1989 in San Francisco with the goal of developing "Chinese American Dance Spirit" by fusing Chinese folk dance with elements derived from Western ballet and modern dance. "I want to show people more than just the beauty and ideals of being a Chinese woman and dancer," says Artistic Director Lily Cai. "There is a dark fighting nature of the Chinese woman that I want to reveal too."

Next to perform were the dancers and musicians from Gamelan Sekar Jaya. Formed in 1979, Gamelan Sekar Jaya is a traditional Balinese orchestra group. Called "gamelan" in the native tongue, this type of orchestra is most commonly found on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java. In Balinese dance, movements are seamlessly interwoven with the music. Their performance exemplified this, with control and concentration evident from the dancers who were perfectly accompanied by the soft sounds of bronze, wood, and bamboo instruments. The dance performed, called "Puja Santi," was directed to the audience as an offering of welcome and honor.

FatChanceBellyDance performed, as one might imagine, different forms of belly dancing. Originating in the Middle East, belly dancing has been spread throughout India and Central Asia. FCBD views belly dance as a way of celebrating the female spirit, with hip and arm movements abound. Founded in 1987 by Carolena Nericcio, FCBD has since cultivated an "American Tribal Style Belly Dance," which is not as restricted by Arabic culture and tradition. The group performed "Jardin" (Garden), a dance which focuses on the bounce of sway of the dancer's hips.

The show-stopping performance on this day was delivered by the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, which was formed in 1968 by Master Seiichi Tanaka. Taiko combines drumming with discipline of the mind and body, with many drummers working in unison to create a unique and vibrant sound, traditionally thought to be the voice of Buddha. The group performed three separate pieces. "Space Noto" is based on the legend of Kenshin, a warlord who attacked the village of Nafune, only to have his army repelled by villagers beating the taiko throughout the night. "Shi Shi Mai" was a lion dance that on this occasion was performed by the most renowned Japanese lion dancer, Nosuke Akiyama. Finally, the "Yodanuchi/Hachidanuch"i was a long and well choreographed piece which represents a flashier form of taiko performance which brought the crowd to its feet.

Finally, all of the performers were brought onto the stage to be greeted with a raucous ovation by the audience. As all of the dancers took to the stage, it was a great reminder of the tremendous power of music and dance to unite people of all cultures and ethnicities, and to excite the imagination, pleasing everyone who is a part of it, whether performer or audience member.

Many other Asia-Pacific performers were featured earlier in the festival, such as the Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble, in addition to all the other acts detailing cultures from around the world. The festival concluded on the 22nd, but will return next year for its 26th rendition, which guarantees to be a crowd pleaser once again. For more information on the festival, check out the World Arts West (www.worldartswest.org)

Congratulations to World Arts West and the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival on its 25th Anniversary!

July 2, 2003