Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Fête de la musique 2010


You probably expected a Fête de la musique (music feast) related photo as now it's all over the world - and therefore probably also in your country. This year I looked for something different and found this at Boulevard Saint Germain! It's a Vietnamese music instrument (percussions as you can guess)... Players on each side move the long bamboo sticks up and down while "dancers" jump between them (I don't know if this makes sense to you?!) Funny as hell (and not only to Vietnamese). And, no, before you ask, I did NOT try it LOL! BTW, they also did this to raise awareness of their association for Vietnamese children.

23 comments:

  1. We used to do this in Iowa, USA. It is called tinickling here. We would do it outside at recess all the time.

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  2. Missy almost has the spelling right. It's tinikling, a Filipino dance.

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  3. This is very cool! I wonder if the American art of Double Dutch jump roping has its roots in a similar place?

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  4. I remember it, too, Missy, and I grew up in northern Illinois. At least it looks the same. But I don't remember what we called it. Funny how customs travel the world.

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  5. This was done by the Phillapinos in my small San Francisco grammar school at holiday parties. Two boys would handle the sticks, and a girl in native costume would dance between them. Brings back memories.

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  6. I can see why you didn't try this dance, Eric—you probably value your ankles!
    Thanks for bringing us this year's fete de la musique.

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  7. Sounds exactly like our tinikling. You should have tried it, Eric! It's a lot of fun, especially when you have to dance between two sets of crossed bamboo polls. ;)

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  8. Hey, let me try! Looks like fun watching or playing. I mean it does involve percussive bamboo on bamboo. Another great taste of Paris shot, Eric! Also, merci to all the birthday wishers from yesterday (see previous blog). Cheers all!

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  9. I would love to see you try, Coltrane, especially after a few of your Mr. Guiness's!
    Thanks for s different take on the fete, Eric, and also showing us some of the other ethnicities that make up Paris.

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  10. This looks really fun--I can't believe that you didn't try it, Eric!! But yours is to record, I guess. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. PHX-CDG...you do make a good point. :-)LOL

    Petrea and Missy...I am from Northern Illinois (Rockford) but don't ever recall seeing this one at recess time or actually ever Then again you're talking to one who used to love pitching friends' woolen caps and mittens up 20 ft on the side of brick gymnasium walls to see if I could get them to stick. I'm no expert at tinikling or tickling for that matter.

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  12. I've seen this done in P.E. class in Washington state. Kind of like double dutch without the jump ropes.

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  13. Oh, you should have tried, I'm sure you have lovely little twinikle toes.

    June is so THE month to be seen in Paris, what with the French Open tennis, La Fete de la Musique, Le Diner en Blanc and of course, the must-be-seen-at highlight of the Paris social calendar, the PDP Picnic!

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  14. That must be a lot of fun to play this game. Words would have missed me a lot to describe this.

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  15. Coltrane, I grew up in DeKalb. We were THAT close!

    I went to the Lab school at NIU. Could be that one of our student teachers brought it from their experience. I doubt it was part of the regular curriculum.

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  16. I knew you would treat us with a photo from Fête de la musique...and I'm so glad you did!! Merci!! ;-)

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  17. I just noticed that the two women have their legs hooked together so they each are hopping on one leg only. That takes coordination. There obviously is more to this dance than is immediately apparent.

    It looks like summer weather has settled in there in Paris. The weather in Minneapolis has been fabulous for a week. However, our rooftop clubs cannot rival lunch at Georges, on the roof of the Pompidou Center.

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  18. Petrea and Coltrane--I grew up in Chicago and went to Beloit College, just up the pike from you guys. Do not miss those midwestern winters at all.

    I remember a game that involved a ball on a string that was tied around one ankle, then whirled around for you to jump over. I imagine that involved the same coordination skills, skills that I can guarantee I no longer possess.

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  19. Super photo, catching so much of the excitement and fun. When we studied Hawaii as our geography lesson in elementary school, our teacher brought some bamboo polls and taught us some pacific islander dances done amidst the rythmic clacking together of the poles. It was a bit like chinese jump rope (an elastic rope jumping game too hard for me to describe but popular at my Southern California school). I remember it wasn't pleasant to make a misstep because the bamboo polls would close in and clack on one's ankles if you got the rhythm wrong. Cool to see some version of this being danced in the streets of Paris.
    -Kim

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  20. Second time I've heard of a similar dance to the Filipino's tinikling. the Indonesians [or was it, Malaysians?] have a similar dance involving bamboo poles.

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  21. I really miss the energy in Paris especially in June ... I shall return to my favorite city soon!!!

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