News january 2003

1. Workshops Pacific dances for elderly people
2. Day of Dance in Friesland
3. Educational programmes Mundo Etnico in 2003
   Publications
4. Going Down Under Magazine
5. Basque music on CD Zubigainekoa
6. Music of Portuguese immigrants in Hawai‘i: Adeus & Aloha
7. New Pacific CDs on the ARC-label
8. Faka Pasifika - DVD and book with Pacific-dances
9. Heemskerk Polka - Koru
10. "CD Vela Vela!
    Pacific-news
11. Maorimusic.com.ltd
12. The first-ever Italian publiication on the indigenous peoples of the Pacific

Activities

1. Workshops Pacific dances for elderly people

January 20th 2002 the new educational publication Kaparima was presented to Mr. Wilbert Van Herwijnen, alderman of the city of Tilburg.

Kaparima – a book and a CD – contains dances from Polynesia that can be performed in a sitting down. This makes this type of dance especially suitable for elderly people, who may experience declining mobility, or disabled people.

The CD includes the music of 20 dances and the book contains all dance descriptions, lyrics, translations, melodies and background information. The dances will be taught to dance teachers working with elderly people in a series of workshops all over the country. The first two workhops will take place in Ommen and Tilburg. Contrary to what has been reported on this site previously the workshop in Ommen is planned for on January 25th and is organized in conjunction with Sportraad Overijssel. The one in Ommen is planned on January 25^th 2003 and is organized in conjunction with Sportraad Overijssel.

On saturday march 22th Mundo Etnico will organise a workshop in Friesland (see below). More workshops will follow.

2.   Day of Dance in Friesland

Saturdaymorning 22th march 2003  Mundo Etnico organises a workshop “Dansen uit de Pacific”(Dances from the Pacific). This workshop is meant for primary school teachers aiming to enable them to instruct the dances to their students.

For more information call or e-mail us: 31-13-4553691; info@MundoEtnico.nl

cd shop en book shop.

3. Educational programmes Mundo Etnico in 2003

Publications

4.Going Down Under Magazine

The quarterly magazine Going Down Under (Dutch only) informs about Australia, New Zealand and other islands in the Pacific. Since December 2001 each volume includes a story about one of the Pacific islands written by Ad Linkels and with photographs by Ad and Lucia Linkels. The first article (Winter 2001/2002) was based on an interview with the New Zealand band Te Vaka. Their leader Opetaia Foa‘i tells about their unique mixture of different Pacific dance and music styles, but also explains his feelings about the future of the small corall islands, the effect of global warming on the islands and how it feels to be an immigrant in New Zealand. In the Spring edition of 2002 there is a story on “people adrift”: Pacific island people who leave their islands in search or a new future. More information: info@dorizon.nl.

5.Basque music on CD Zubigainekoa

Another stanger in between the CD-series with Pacific fieldrecordings by Mundo Etnico has just been issued: a CD with sound recordings of traditional festivals in some parts of France and Spain where Basques are living. The title Zubigainekoa refers to a dance that is only known in the little Basque village of Lesaka. The CD focuses on the festivities of San Fermin, which became world famous by its version of Pamplona. The CD includes the music of two version of San Fermin: the big and famous one of Pamplona, but also its smaller counterpart in Lesaka. See also the cd shop for more information on Zubigainekoa (PAN 2084).

6. Music of Portuguese immigrants in Hawai‘i: Adeus & Aloha

A very special product resulting from a project where we worked on for many years.
The CD Adeus & Aloha contains recordings of Portuguese immigrants in Hawai‘i  about their roots on the portuguese islands Madeira and the Azores together with examples of influences they had on the music of Hawai‘i and other polynesian isles. The accompanying 20 page booklet containes beautifull images. This project could not have been realised without the contribution of the Fundação Oriente in Lisboa. 
Please visit the cd shop for more information.

Adeus & Aloha (PAN 2101 - Anthology of Pacific Music #17).

7. New Pacific CDs on the ARC-label

The British ARC-label released a number of very interesting CDs: Voices of the South Seas - Chants from the Marquesas Islands (EUCD 1532) contains christian liturgical singing from the Marquesas Isands in French  Polynesia. The booklet is in English, German and Spanish but the offered information is not too extensive.  Magic of the South Seas (EUCD 1597) is a peculiar mixture of more or less tradional recordings from Tahiti, the Cook Island, the Marquesas Island, Fiji and Tonga combined with three pieces by the New-Zealand rockband Te Vaka. Again the information accompanying  ths CD is quite meager.
Bula Fiji Bula - Music of the Fiji Islands (EUCD 1651) has  music of two entertainment groups on it. Mainly vocal muscis accompanied by 'spleettrom',  'stampkokers', handclapping en the occaisional ukelele. Although the booklet is in three languages, there is not much information regarding the individual pieces.
Eyecatching in the series on ARC is the CD Music of the South Pacific  with recordings from David Fanshawe. Beautiful music originating from various islands in the Pacific with a three langual booklet containing much very interesting information, lyrics, translations as well as nice photomaterial. Information: http://www.arcmusic.co.uk

8. Faka Pasifika - DVD and book with Pacific-dances

At the end of 2003 a unique product will see the light. In cooperation with tens of individuals and organisations Mundo Etnico worked, and is still working on the project: an instructional DVD on which ther will be 90 dances from the Pacific area for children as well as adults.
Most of these dances are being performed by (members) of  the Pacific Dance-ensemble Faka Polinisia. All dances previously issued on instructional CD's  with accompanying booklets will be re-released on this album.
The DVD will be accompanied by a book in English containing lyrics, descriptions of the dances , translations, scores and background information.
Do you wish to be informed please notify us by telephone 013 - 4553691 or e-mailinfo@MundoEtnico.nl.

9. Heemskerk Polka - Koru

In the 1980s the Dutch dance teacher Frank Broekmans left the Netherlands to start a new life an an immigrant in New Zealand.
Almost immediately after his arrival the local Auckland Dutch Dancers invited him to become their dance teacher. The Auckland Dutch Dancers consist of a group of Dutch and other immigrants who at that time were trying to preserve some of their Dutch roots and traditional forms of dance in their new homeland. The group was invited to perform during the opening ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games and especially for this occasion Frank created a new dance based on elements of existing Dutch dances. The new choreography was called Heemskerk Polka, named after one of the who ships in which the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand for the western world in 1642. The traditional Dutch dance steps and figures were combined with an important symbol originating from the Maori culture: the koru. This spiral shaped figure can not only be seen in the natural growth of the fern frond but also in Maori artifacts such as bone and green jade carvings. This spiral form called koru is the symbol of new growth, new life, peace and tranquility. “New growth and new life reflect the life circle of man. Peace and tranquility represent the permanent state of the forest which is linked to man’s desire to be always surrounded by these elements. The koru symbol relates to man’s effort to create a situation where peace and tranquility are the end result or it shows an individual who provides peace and tranquility - a wife, a husband, a partner, a child” (Matthew Eru Wepa). The music to which the dance was performed by the Auckland Dutch Dancers came from an old Dutch EP-record: Nederlandse Dansen (Dutch Dances), played by the Gooische Vedelaars. The tune was called Zeeuwse Schots (Schots of Zeeland) on this EP.
“Schots” is a dance type and “Zeeuwse” refers to the province of Zeeland. That is also the reason why this specific dance tune was choosen by Frank Broekmans as New Zealand was named after this Dutch province. On the EP the melody of the Zeeuwse Schots was actually combined with another Dutch song called Moeke, doar staait ‘n vrijer oan de deur, meaning: “Mother, a lover is a standing at the door”.
During a research trip in New Zealand the dance was recorded by Ad and Lucia and after that taken back home to the Netherlands where it was adopted by the group Pieremachochel conducted by Elske Hoen. A few alterations were made by Elske Hoen. In the Netherlands the music was re-arranged into an adventurous mixture of Dutch and Pacific elements and played by a combination of two musical groups: the musicians of Pieremachochel and the Dutch Pacific ensemble Ka Wela ‘Ana. The original melodies of the Zeeuwse Schots and Moeke, doar staait ‘n vrijer oan de deur were alternately played by differents combinations of accordion, violin, recorder, steel guitar, slack key guitar, ‘ukulele, accoustic bass guitar, dobro, and Polynesian percussion instruments such as ‘ili‘ili (stones), p‘ili (split bamboo rattle), poi (a Maori dance implement: balls attached to a string). The first verse of the song Moeke, doar staait ‘n vrijer oan de deur is sung one time and at the moment the spiral form koru is depicted in the dance the Hawaiian steel guitar plays the Maori melody Hoki Hoki Tonu Mai. The dance was renamed Heemskerk Polka - Koru. It was staged for the first time during an intercultural dance performance on January 20, 2002 in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

The tune will be issued on the upcoming CD Vela Vela!, and the dance will be included in the above-mentioned DVD project Faka Pasifika .  info@MundoEtnico.nl

10. CD Vela Vela!

About 25 new dances from the South Pacific for children and adults will be published by the end of 2003. For the first time this CD will include dances from Tokelau, taught to us by Te Vaka vocalist Sulata Foa‘i. Other new items include a “metal” version of a Tahitian otea (dance type); the Heemskerk Polka-Koru, an intercultural mix of Dutch dancing with Maori elements; Boti Kuru, a slapping dance from the island of Rabi; children’s dances from the island of Pukapuka; plus other dance songs from Maori New Zealand, Hawai‘i, Niue. an English edition will eventually be added..

Pacific news

11. Maorimusic.com ltd

New Zealand music industry veterans James Moss and Neil Cruickshank have joined forces to establish a new company MAORIMUSIC.COM LTD to promote Maori music locally and internationally. Moss, owner of Jayrem Records and Cruickshank, owner of Tangata Records have had a combined experience of over 25 years promoting Maori music. More information: info@maorimusic.com.

12. The first-ever Italian publication on the indigenous peoples of the Pacific

La causa dei popoli (the cause of peoples) is the only Italian journal dealing with indigenous peoples and stateless nations. It is available on the internet at: www.popoli-minacciati.it/causa.htm. The new issue is devoted to the Pacific. The title of the article means “Self-determination and decolonization: the indigenous issue in the Pacific”. Several Pacific scholars and campaigners were translated into Italian for the first time. For more information contact the editior Alessandro Michelucci at: popoli-minacciati@ines.org .