Happy New Year All

Happy New Year all! I was checking out the Angry Asian Man blog (angryasianman.com) and I came across this video. Not sure where it was taken, but it shows Lion/Tiger? dancers doing a traditional dance with a modern twist. This got me thinking... Is this the new trend? Is the future melding traditional and modern practices to reflect our times? I can recall when I was learning traditional Filipino dances our teachers scoffed at the idea of us trying to add in modern dance elements. In fact, they would get quite angry. "You are shaming our ways!" or "That's not how its supposed to be done!". And, them being the adults and experts, we never dared to add hip-hop or any other element into the dance.

I think of Bhangra as well. I think a large part of the success of Bhangra is the power of the music and the energy of the dance. I've seen Bhangra performances that were purely traditional-instruments and all, and performances that went bass heavy with Lil John- and I loved them both. I've always marveled at the way two things, which can been seen has having no relation at all, be put together in a way that works beautifully and at the same time signifies the meeting and blending of cultures.

I have a deep appreciation of the traditional as well. I think centuries-old music, dance, story, etc. that have stood the test of time had done so for a reason, and its beauty and artistry can teach us a lot.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed the video!