Dance Revolution
Shaping Cultural Experiences
Travel has been an integral part of my life since I was a young child. I grew up in a multicultural, bilingual home in the Netherlands with a Polish mother and a Dutch father. My
Update & BBC News Link
A brief update: One interview video will be uploaded tomorrow evening. I believe the BBC News One-Minute World News provides well-balanced reporting of news, hence why I wanted to share it. Top stories on May
From Nigeria to Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VNkCazT_T4&feature=youtu.be
When you first meet Oluwagbeminiyi Osidipe, you encounter a very vibrant, friendly, and unique personality. Oluwagbeminiyi or Niyi – as she shortened her name for simplicity – was named by her mother, who had a “very personal experience” when she had her, Niyi explained. Niyi is a Yoruba Nigerian transplant who arrived in the U.S. in 2006. As one of the most densely populated (West) African countries, Nigeria derives its name from the river that spans its land. To the South, it borders the Gulf of Guinea to the Atlantic Ocean. Originally colonized by the British, Nigeria gained independence in 1960. Its main ethnic groups are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, who speak English and their own respective languages, while major religions include Islam, Christianity and indigenous beliefs. Niyi shares her story, her views on politics, cultural differences she’s embraced with humor, and what we can learn from each other by expressing curiosity. Her message is simple: travel enriches us through its exposure to new cultures, and enables us to grow.
Mark Twain on Travel
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” (American author Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad).
Have you had the opportunity to travel (extensively, within your country, or even once abroad)? Can you relate to Twain’s sentiments? How does travel enrich us?
Pleasing The Taste Palate
Food has the wonderful quality of uniting us no matter where we are. There is nothing partisan or narrow-minded about food. It simply invites us to indulge, create recipes, and share with others. Two of my favorite Polish dishes (included in collage) are pierogies and barszcz czerwony – a beetroot soup – served on Christmas Eve in Poland. How does food bring us together? What are some of your favorite dishes and why? Can food trigger memories?
Stereotypes: Truth or Fiction?
DEFINING STEREOTYPES: “An idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation.” (Merriam-Webster). Stereotypes enable bias and preconceived notions to perpetuate, but can also reveal valid
Annual Human Rights Report
“The world changed immeasurably over the course of 2011. Across the Middle East, North Africa, and far beyond, citizens stood up to demand respect for human dignity, more promising economic opportunities, greater political liberties, and
Euro Crisis & Emerging Stereotypes
Brief Crisis Breakdown Since the onset of the global financial crisis, or Great Recession, in 2007, the Eurozone has feared impending growing global debt levels, as well as sovereign debt within European countries themselves. In
Remembering Tiananmen
Today marks the 23rd anniversary of Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing, China. Inflation, a lack of career prospects, the fall of Eastern European communism, and political corruption, are all said to have fueled anger
Coffee's Uniting Power
A cup of coffee can bridge cultural gaps. At least, that’s what Gizem Salgicil White, founder of Turkayfe.org, believes. Her organization aims to create awareness of Turkish culture, particularly within America. Gizem is a Turkish native,
Whenever fitness is brought up in conversation, it is usually met with great enthusiasm, or people cringe at the idea. Growing up, field hockey was one of my favorites with its focus on skill, teamwork, and strategy. I admit that I find treadmills, five-mile runs, and weightlifting very off-putting. The social aspect of a team is far more appealing to me than a solitary run.
However, I’ve always been fascinated by dance, which you could do alone in your PJ’s and no one would (need to) know. Recently, I’ve discovered an exercise routine that exposes you to different world music genres with the fun of dancing: Zumba. Its hour-long routine creates a cultural experience with salsa, merengue, hip hop, belly dancing, pop music, and many predominantly Latin musical elements.
Zumba was accidentally created in the 1990s. Its Colombian founder, Alberto Beto Perez, left music for his “traditional” aerobics class at home, and instead choreographed a routine with salsa and merengue, which he carried in his backpack.
SALSA – Origins in Cuba with strong influences from African culture. For an in-depth history, you can read more here.
MERENGUE – Country of origin: Dominican Republic. Also popular in Haiti. The folklore goes that the dance originated with chained slaves who had to a drag or hop on one leg while cutting sugar to drum beats.
CUMBIA – Started in Colombia (popular in Panama as well), but highly influenced by African culture. In Africa, the Guinean ‘cumbe’ (dance) was a courtship dance.
FLAMENCO – Andalusia, Spain. Characterized by passion/romance, gypsy influences, colorful ensembles, and a flair for drama, as its roots formed in theater.
SAMBA – Founded in Brazil with strong ties to African culture. Very popular in Rio de Janeiro, as you can often hear it during Carnival and soccer.
REGGAETON – Rooted in Puerto Rico and Panama. Mixes hip hop, Latin music (salsa) and Jamaican pop style (dancehall).
To get a taste of the music, iTunes has free previews of popular Zumba songs: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/zumba-fitness/id268002889
What dance styles do you enjoy? What can music teach about a culture? How does it create a (sub)culture?
Hi! I'm the founder of Culture With Travel and #CultureTrav. Please chat with us on social media and contribute in the comments! Follow @Nicolette_O
Comments (2)
Tancerka
21 Jun 2012I have tried fitness but a regular gym routine does not work for me… I find it boring and don’t see results fast enough. Plus, you need lots of self discipline (which I seem to lack). I keep paying membership fees at my local gym and feel quite stupid wasting all this money and not exercising there on regular basis. Loving dancing I might try Zumba! Thanks for the idea!
Nice website! It was great to read all about various styles of dancing.
As to my favorite dance style….Well, I might be a dinosaur visitor on your blog, but disco dancing was once my thing. I am sure that there is a generation out there who danced to the tunes of Donna Summer, BeeGees, and the sound track of Saturday Night Fever. Simple, happy, upbeat music! We are in hiding now because “it’s not done anymore”! I wish there were places where you could dance to the disco tunes again in public ( and not in your PJs)!
Nicolette
21 Jun 2012Hi Tancerka! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for the compliment! Zumba incorporates a large variety of music styles and keeps building on popular music, too.
There’s nothing wrong with disco! Dancers young and old can attest to their love of the Beegees and Donna Summer. When Beegee Robin Gibb and Donna Summer passed away, many mourned them and remembered their music fondly. Dancing is about whatever music style YOU love, and nothing to be ashamed of.
As far as gym memberships go, I’ve also fallen into the trap of paying for them and not having the “self discipline” to go as much as I should. The Zumba classes I take are offered at a gym that bypasses membership and other fees. Instead, you pay for individual classes or opt for a 10-class package towards Zumba, abs-focused routines, or bootcamp. It’s a brilliant idea for those who cannot commit to going to the gym four days a week, and places exercise in your ‘power’ in a fun way! Keep on dancing, Tancerka!