Dance Festival Lessons

Ah, to be 20, 21, 22 and dancing at an international folk festival. (Who am I kidding, at 40 I would have been delighted.)

When we first got to Piazza Roma at about 7:30 PM Thursday night, on the stage, which is prominently placed in the middle of the piazza, there was a mass going on. What made the mass a lesson in global relations was the participation by the dancers sporting an international plethora of costumes. These dancers from three or four continents could have been Christians, Muslims, Jews or anything. Being at the mass was a sincere and loving way to share a cultural experience in an Italian piazza.

After the mass we moved to one of Tãwa’s comfortable outdoor tables. You remember Tãwa – our favorite Japanese restaurant in the world – which happens to sit right on Piazza Roma. From my table I saw the energy and excitement radiating from the piazza as it slowly filled up with people. Our hometown folkloric company, Ri Ualanegli, produces an annual folk dance festival that is incredibly professional. Well organized, artfully staged, and unites dancers in the creation of something magical for the greater good. Hey, politicians out there – the arts unite people – what a concept.

The companies are composed of young people. No, that’s a lie. I noticed some people with gray hair and in Ri Ualanegli there are some men and women in their 40s. However, to a woman in her third act, they all seem young. Sigh. Imagine, being young, unattached and on a great arts based adventure. There were companies from Kenya, Mexico, Island of Comore (French), Serbia and of course Italy. Performers travel long distances, eat together, dance together, play music together and share ideas. It’s a fabulous experience that increases one’s understanding that people all over the world are essentially the same. We all dance with the same kind of body. We all play instruments that elders taught us to play. Forget G7, BRICS, NATO, UN – we ought to send our leaders out to international arts based festivals. Maybe the world’s leaders would start to understand how important it is to appreciate the culture, the language, the costumes, and food of other people.

As Jack said, “it’s our tiny little town and we are representing the world as it should be.” We watched this incredible parade of performers and Pontelandolfese children that culminated on the stage with the flags of all the countries. All are interspersed, holding hands with such a gentleness toward each other. Such a feeling of togetherness.

Holding up the littlest baby, the presenter, Gabrielle Pallidino, said and this baby in the complete traditional costume of our village represents how the heritage continues to live on. It’s so astounding to see these little children, the perfect reproductions of our history, wearing with pride the outfits of our universal past. Enzo and Althea waited for the parade!

What was really amazing was sitting here and seeing all the small children from different countries who came with their dance groups playing and dancing right in front of the stage. It didn’t matter who was performing. The wee ones were all dancing with a certain sameness. There’s a lot of leaping and twirling. There’s a lot of jumping. There’s a lot of running back-and-forth. Children from different cultures with different languages playing together and brought together by music. This is the lesson to be learned. Time to learn it.

Ci vediamo,

Midge – Check out my website.

So Proud – The Italian and revised version of E-mail: 9/12 is available on Amazon.