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G R A P E V I N E Volume 29 Number 1 December 2017

Grapevine is the newsletter of Perth International Dance. The Group meets at St Margaret’s Church Hall in Nedlands (Cnr Tyrell &Elizabeth) on Monday evenings and Saturday mornings. Monday evenings begin at 7.15pm. Saturdays from 10am - noon. The 1hour dance lesson is followed by a break for tea & general & request dancing. There is also a Friday session at 9.30am inParkerville Hall, Seabourne St, Parkerville. For more information please call Jennifer (0409372414) or Palenque (0423 834 439)

President's Report 2017G’Day and welcome to the end of 2017 thisbeing the end of the great 40th year of existencein September and the beginning of our 41st yearof operation. Only another 9 years to our 50th.What shall we do to celebrate then? At theoutset I wish to thank all the members of theCommittee who ‘stepped up to the plate’ andkept events and activities moving throughout theyear. In particular to Martin for his work onPID’s Constitutional compliance with the Dept. ofCommerce, and the production of yet anotherstellar edition of the Grapevine and to John W forhis administration of the PID Website whichkeeps us all well informed and up to date. To ourteachers a huge thank you. They do make life somuch easier learning and reviewing all thosesimple to complex dances with those uniquerhythms. A big thank you to Palenque for herinitiative, time and effort in coordinating a newprogram of dance classes for the “Youngsters”(ages 3 to 7) held throughout the year. We arecurrently trialling additional interactive dancesessions which are designed to re-visit complexdances and old favourites. Many thanks to Eve(trialling at Nedlands) and Jenny C (trialling atGlen Forest) for this initiative and theircoordination. To Jennifer E many thanks fortaking up the teacher roster at short notice andfor maintaining the Mundaring group. It hasbeen a busy year with two major and successfulweekend workshops being conducted by IraWeisburd & our regular favourite Andre van dePlas. We also enjoyed a short Hora Shalomworkshop evening with Oren Ashkenazi. As wellas various theme party nights which includedsingers from the Turkish Australia Culture House(TACH), we had a combined evening of dancewith the Macedonian Community dancers –thank you Tuna for coordinating this event. It wasa fantastic evening. Thanks to Steven Janowieckifor his enthusiasm and success in promotingContradance (now a St Margaret’s event) and to

our fellow folk dance travellers - Hora Shalomand Souleiado all of whom contribute enormouslyto the enjoyment and variety of folk dance.Appreciation is extended to our long time friendsThe Last Five Coins who provide us with musicwhich always adds to the atmosphere of ourmajor events. What would a year gone by bewithout Red Faces and a successful one at that– “och aye the noo it wus guid bonnie weeLeone”. The Saturday group celebrated its‘sweet sixteen’ year. Numbers at all dancesessions i.e. Monday, Saturday and Fridaysessions in Mundaring, have been increasingwhich augers well for 2018. May you all have avery Merry Christmas and a Prosperous NewYear. John B ‘The Prez’

Dates for your Diary

Friday Xmas party 9:30 15th December

Monday Xmas party 7:30 18th December

With the Last Five Coins

Saturday Xmas party 10:00 23rd December

All Christmas Parties are free again this year– but please remember to bring a plate

Dancing Restart Dates 2018

Saturday dancing 6th JanuaryMonday dancing 8th JanuaryFriday Hills dancing 2nd February

Teacher programme for early 2018

Mondays Saturdays

January Eve Sara

February John Laurel

March Peter John

Please confirm events, dates and start times on the website www.perthinternationaldance.org.au

Dancing in the Hills

Time flies! The Hills Group is now in its 14 th

year, established in 2004 with just 3 people, ourgroup has continued to grow slowly but steadily.Jenny C had a break for a few years, organisedan advanced class in Glen Forrest and is backwith us on Fridays. As with every group, we gainmembers and lose the occasional one or two.Some travel and return, and some never seem togo anywhere! Maybe that is part of the appeal ofInternational dance, with every dance we gainsome small insight into the culture from which itoriginates. The music, the dance, the storybehind it, whether it's a wedding dance or awoman sneaking out to be with her lover, a dancecelebrating water and community orremembering lives taken too early. We, in ourown small way, celebrate, bear witness andremember lives and lifestyles we may neverexperience personally. It makes the world seema little smaller and brings us all closer together.Of course the bonus is that our group membersare wonderful people who love the dance and thecompany. From serious 'don't talk' touncontrollable giggles to giving a gecko a freeride (it's the hills), we have it all.

I returned to Kalamunda High School, this timewith Jenny C. As before, we were welcomedwith an enormous amount of enthusiasm andgood will. I cannot praise the students and theirteacher Maria Pennington enough. We are nowplanning for another visit next year.

So 2017, a year of quiet (apart from the gecko)consolidation, is coming to a close. Our lastclass is on December 15th followed by lunch atClare's. 2018 classes begin on Friday 2nd

February.

Details will be on the website. All are welcome

Happy HolidaysJennifer

The Hills Spring Party - 20th October

Red Faces 2017 - the editor's perspective

I've not been to Red Faces for some years andthis was the first that I'd watched at the Hall. Itwas very impressive. Well done everyone whoworked hard; setting up the hall, dreaming upand preparing their skits and presenting them.OK, I know that I shouldn't pick out any specificsbut I have to list some key moments, some ofthose images I just can't get out of my head!!

The master of ceremonies, John-Tam-o-Shanter-Bardill, was resplendent in his kilt and did a greatjob.

Ashuk_and_Mashuk; Tuna Dincer & Pelin Eren

Eve, Palenque, Felix and Hanna – Ram Tam Tamwas a classic with Hanna clearly not wanting tobe there.

Zouk, aka David Lane with Aisha and her hulkyfriend Ivan the terrible.

The Sunshines – Tony, Leone, Carolyn and Mori.

Those dust chasers – Pam M and Berni

Laurel and Steve – Morrising along

Paula as Inspector Clouseau – ably supported byBerni and Nina – loved their Pop Song with Ninaand Pat too.

The Freo Trio, oh no Freo Duo, the PitmanSisters

Anne's Les Barker poems with Hedgehogs,'Nobody hugs me' and Polar Bears 'News of theIceberg'

Rond de Balingup – where the sun never shines– see article below ..

The Forgettables – John B, Steve, Peter andTony – who could ever forget those toupées?!

.. .. and last but not least, one of my personalfavourites Nina's rendition of The Physician

Lots of skills and lots of imagination on display.If you missed the event or you want to revisit itplease look out for the USB put together by JohnWhaite; watch it in private! Fabulous work John;three video cameras and lots of editing. Truededication to the cause!

Martin Williams

http://www.perthinternationaldance.org.au/ Grapevine edited by Martin Williams 2

http://www.perthinternationaldance.org.au/

What's this about ‘advanced’ danceclasses’?

As with any form of dancing (and much else inlife) some folk dances are more challenging thanothers. Perth International Dance is arecreational dance group and likes to welcome allcomers, this means that our regular Monday andSaturday sessions always include some lessexperienced dancers who naturally feel morecomfortable with less challenging dances.

In the past we have tried to cater for beginnerswith occasional beginners’ courses consisting ofa limited series of weekly sessions. Participantsare asked to sign up for the whole course duringwhich they will learn the basic steps of manyEuropean folk dances. Such a course is beingoffered on Saturday mornings 9-10am in January2018: contact John ([email protected])or Palenque Blair ([email protected]) if youare interested. But these courses have notsolved the problem of more experienced dancersfinding themselves without a satisfyingchallenge.

Independently, Jenny Currell and I found wewere missing the excitement of more challengingdances - both learning new ones and thesatisfaction of perfecting and performing theones we had learned previously … in fact, theywere getting forgotten. Although anyone mayrequest any dance they please after the lessonhour at the Monday and Saturday sessions it is,understandably, not appreciated to requestdances that will be unknown and/or beyond themajority of attendees.

So the idea of special sessions for moreexperienced dancers was born. These(currently) monthly sessions differ from those onMondays and Saturdays in that the teaching isnot allocated to one person. It is a more co-operative enterprise in which a dancer may eithervolunteer (or be volunteered!) to teach a dancethat excites them – they MAY know it wellalready, but they may want to know andremember it better - the latter involving studyingthe notes and videos, which is (or should be ifyou want to know the dance) a welcomechallenge. Each participant contributes to thecost of hall hire and insurance and no one is

remunerated for teaching. There is no break forrefreshment during the session, but afterwardspeople have met at Jenny’s place to share lunchor (in Nedlands) at the Dome for a coffee.

Currently Jenny is trialling a 2nd Wednesday ofthe month morning session (10.15-11.30) at theGlen Forrest Community Hall; the last sessionthis year will be on December 13th. Attendeescome from various groups and those of you whoknow Jenny will not be surprised to hear that theemphasis is on Israeli dance. In Nedlands thesession is on the 3rd Sunday of the month in theafternoon (3-4.30), so the last session this yearwill be on December 17th. If you are interestedbut not sure whether they may be for you, youmight like to take a look at either of theseDecember sessions: alternatively if you areinterested but cannot attend at the days andtimes mentioned above, we encourage you toregister your interest and availability with eitherJenny or myself since the demand for and timingof these sessions will be assessed at the end ofthe year.

Eve Blair

Saturday Group – Turning 16

Congratulations to the Saturday Group – thatturned sweet sixteen on 2nd September. What noteenage tantrums!!?

Travellers' TalesOn the next few pages we feature tales fromsome of our dancers on their travels, mostly fromthis year – although the one from Tony Hoar isfrom last year. Tony has been boomerangingfrom 2 weeks in Taipei, to Japan to get his doseof autumnal colours and is now back in Perth –returning via Taipei on his way home.

More details for some of these travels can befound on the PID web-site



Europe and Dance – John Whaite

In May I left Australia for 10 weeks in Europe,focussed on dance of course, with somesightseeing on the side.

Touch down in Italy, and I caught up with ourformer member Michaela Hill, who has beenliving in Bologna, doing academic research onone of her ancestors. She was in fine form,enjoying the Bolognese lifestyle, but not muchdancing. However, she did have a side trip to theEurovision contest in the Ukraine!

Next to Albania, to join Yves Moreau's AlbanianCulture Tour. What a great experience! A tourbus with 50 dancers and musicians travelling totowns and sites of interest throughout southernAlbania, nice accommodation, fine local food,enjoying Albania's best folk musicans anddancing with locals every day. As well as Yvesand Frances Moreau, there were Albanian danceteachers Steve and Susan Kotansky, andAlbanian ex-pats Kujtim & Pjereta Ismaili, soeverything ran smoothly and we learnt a lot aboutthis extraordinary country and its dance.

After Albania, I spent a week in Kosovo. It is fullof renewal with a very energetic feel. I didn't seeany folk dance, but I did catch a wonderful (free)performance by the national ballet, and aperformance by some Roma musicians.

Next, in Greece, Kyriakos Moisidis' Greek DanceSeminar. Kyriakos is a delight, a professor ofculture at Thessalonika University, and he is wellknown in Sydney where he has often presentedworkshops. In fact there were quite a fewAustralians in the group. The seminar was heldat Papa Nero, on the mountainous east coast ofthe Pelion peninsula, dancing on a woodenplatform under shade trees with the sea breezecoming off the water below. In the evenings, weate at Damachouri, which was a location for themovie "Mama Mia" - very picturesque. Anothergreat experience, and I highly recommend it.

From Greece to France, for the two Frenchfestivals that I always return to. The first is "LeSon Continue" - the festival of traditional musicalinstrument makers - a long weekend of dance,music, and a surreal atmosphere. Set in thewooded grounds of the Chateau d'Ars, there aredozens of instrument makers' booths, beautifullydecorated, with musicians testing a huge varietyof instruments. The sound is a musicalcacophony, reminiscent of a symphony orchestratuning up, and the air under the tall trees apleasant cocoon.

A highlight for me was when dancing in amarquee, a roving 15 piece bagpipe and drumorchestra entered and crossed the floor in frontof the stage, completely drowning out the soundof the dance band. You might expect the danceto stop, but no! The dancers were soenthusiastic they just kept voicing the tune anddancing until the interlopers were gone.

Next stop the "Grand Bal de l'Europe" - 2 weeksof camping, 7 dance marquees, lessons morningand afternoon, dancing until 3 am, and about5,000 dancers. I was a bit concerned that theweather would be either too hot or too wet, but itwas fortunately glorious. And with 2 weeks toenjoy, there was no pressure to attend everydance session, so a relaxing time. Lots ofFrench bal dance, various regional dances, aswell as a smattering of dances from all over -Lithuania, Scandinavia, Greece, America,England, Spain, Africa, Middle East, Israel, andmore. Not as exotic as Albania, but a wonderfulevent.

In a nice surprise, Beatrice Suom and Virgileturned up with their new baby Andrea.

So now I'm back, with lots of new dances toshare. I hope you enjoy them.

John Whaite

Le Grand Bal de l'Europe – Wrap Up



Martin and Pam – Europe 2017

Our winter ie northern summer holiday of fourmonths didn't involve any dancing so perhapsstop reading now!

We do have one classic dance image fromBrussels. While eating lunch on the steps of theStock Exchange listening to a busker playingsuperb cello music; enter two middle-agedbackpackers walking up with all their gear – tallthin lady and a thick-set guy with a pipe in hismouth; backpacks and boots. The cello struckup with Hallelujah and the couple started todance – very slow, deliberate and stylish - tangostyle. Big applause at the end – we joined in withthe applause but not with their dance.

Our 4-months away was roughly divided into 2weeks in Germany, 8 weeks in Norway, 2 weeksin Scotland and the rest in England. Unusual forus this year in our motorhome we visted themajor centres of Brussels, Cologne, Dresdenand Berlin. We loved them all and some smallerplaces such as Eisenach and Erfurt that bothhad a big focus on Martin Luther & theReformation 500th anniversary celebrations.

The crowds at Dresden Castle ….

Our 8 weeks in Norway was shared with about5¼ million Norwegians and seemingly tens ofthousands of motorhomers. In the north everythird vehicle seemed to be a motorhome.

We had the usual problems of sleeping - themidnight sun and the ever present water;lapping, rushing, falling – make it really hard!!

It is a fabulous country with amazing roads; aconstant mix of bridges, ferries and tunnels,many of them sub-sea. Lots of tolls though.

Their 18 National Tourist Routes include someof the most amazing scenery and fabulouslookouts in the world. We travelled on 12 of themand they are fantastic.

Even close to the snow line it was often warmenough to cook outside. “Jeeves” was on handto cook and to be our chauffeur!!

Other thoughts & images of the holiday include:

Almost 40% of Norwegian new car sales areelectric cars; contrast that with our 0.02%!!

There were still street cigarette machines inGermany and lots of vaping around Europe.

We tackled some crazy junctions and droveabout 13,500 km; so not a very 'green' holiday

Overall it was a superb holiday with hugecontrasts ranging from the noise and clamour ofBerlin .. ..

.. .. to the total calm of so many parts of Norway.



From Pam Massey

This article reflects Cyndie's

Well starting backwards (my usual form!) wasRed Faces, & the first one I’ve been to in mustbe 10 yrs. You migrated to the hall in myabsence!

Must say I was very pleasantly surprised! It wasa good show! More outsiders in the audience &less PIFDancers than in the past, & what ashame those members missed a good night!

I recommend being there next year!!

Backwards again, from 6th July-3rd Aug, I washouse-sitting just 10 mins drive south of Cairns.Seemed like a good place to be in the middle of aPerth winter! And I was not disappointed! My 4thvisit there, previously 1976, ’87, & 2000, and allthose times Cairns hadn’t changed much, butthis time it has changed out of all recognition!! Idon’t often say this about development, but forthe better! It has gone from being a good centralbase for the nice things around, to being nicewithin. And they let me use their car, & invite afriend. Well I thought, rather than having 1 friendfor 3 weeks, I’ll see if I can wing it & get 3 friendsfor one week!

I did!! The day after I arrived the owners left. Theday after they left Jenny Currell arrived. The dayafter Jenny left I cleaned the house & washedthe sheets for the next day arrival of Cyndi. Andthe day after Cyndi left I cleaned the house &washed the sheets for Susie K, & the day afterSusie left I cleaned the house & washed thesheets for the owners return!

Highlights were a day on Fitzroy Island withJenny. A tropical paradise. We snorkelled, as Ihad done there in 1987 when it was anabundance of colourful coral: Now, sadly, about80% is dead…..this sea-change is not a positiveone!

We also walked round Mossman Gorge, wherewe bumped into a familiar folkie face from Perth(as you do!)

Highlight with Cyndi was a beautiful 45 min driveeast of Cairns (yes, there’s a peninsular!),through the cane fields at the beginning ofharvest, up around over hills & suddenly besidelittle tropical beaches, to the end of the road atYarrabah Aboriginal Community, which was avery positive experience, & I was impressed attheir self-governing.

Cyndi & I also travelled as far south as Tully &Mission Beach, where we visited Nina’s sister.

I dragged all 3 along to my favourite little NQtown, Babinda, that shares the ominous title withTully as the wettest place in Australia! (At leastthe rain is warm!)

With Susie, we had a delightful afternoon atPalm Cove, being entertained by the CairnsUkulele Band, & we got across the DaintreeRiver to where I had worked in 2000 (& PaulaDay had visited) and another 25 km north toCape Tribulation, cassowary & 2 little chickscrossing the road en-route.

It was all perfect! Pam Massey

Cyndie Innes Travelling to the Tip

Mid-year is a necessary time to go north,escaping our winter blizzards (which would besummer in UK but they have different bodythermostats over there!)

This time Queensland, first spending the week inCairns with Pam Massey who happened to behouse sitting there at the time. This luxury homewas a fine starter together with ongoinghospitality from two exuberant Jack Russellscalled Ruby who plied us with slobbered softtoys and Solly who licked us to death if she could(childminding would be easier) but we took themon nice rambles around the rain forest area,leaving them after clever manoeuvring outthrough the door to take off to explore thecoastline .. Cairns is a friendly tropical town withnumerous restaurants together with a biglandscaped lagoon safe from crocodiles and boxjellyfish. There was a long promenade along thebeach, a pleasant way to spend the evening. Wevisited Yarabah, an aboriginal settlement thatused to be a mission, but now fully independentwith a school, café, Art Gallery and friendlyatmosphere.

On our excursions we saw notices warningpeople not to feed the cassowaries but never seteyes on those elusive ‘killer’ birds...

The following week I farewelled Pam (and thedogs) and met up with the Casey bus tour for ourcamping trip to THE TIP. This included a boattrip up the Daintree to see the rainforests and the



crocodiles. There was one ‘cute’ 2 foot baby crocsheltered in the water by overhanging trees.

Our tents were large enough to stand in repletewith camp stretchers. But hammering in thosetent pegs! The ground concrete hard, at timesrequiring a drill first. Kitty our cook was a whizzat soups while our driver Barry entertained uswith anecdotes as we bumped along the endlessgravel track. Our stops were at interesting pubsor camping grounds alongside billabongs. Wepassed old homesteads derelict since the goldrush days.

We arrived at the Jardine River where theaboriginal owned ferry does very well out of thetruck, cars, motorbikes and four WDs that needto cross. A nice scenic spot to wait in the queueas the ferry drivers took long lunches.

Seisia, the northernmost town was our home forthree days, camping on the beach where wecould see the sunset as of course were facingwest... We were “sufficiently reassured” that thecrocs didn’t come up from the beach... all thesame, I dared not venture out without a torch.

Our trip to THE TIP was a scenic walk/clamberfor a few kilometres and well worth standingthere seeing the meeting of the oceans.

The trip on the ferry to Thursday Islandimpressed me as this plucky little fort on the hillprotected our country in both world wars.

Before returning south went on another crocodiletour for now that they are a protected speciesthey have gone forth and multiplied and nowbring ‘delight’ (if that’s the word) to tourists. Slowlogs can become a lightning 'strike' in seconds.

On returning south we spent a night on thefurthermost station (Bramwell] run by an intrepidlady called Wendy who manages cattle, carmaintenance and camping sites. The night wewere there 200 people sat at long tables with redtablecloths wining and dining and listening to amusician/comedian playing his ukulele as wewatched the sun go down. Where else wouldone want to be? Yes, a trip well worth doing buttell you what! For me, nothing can beat thePilbara.

A Stint in Tunisia From Paula Day

In early September, on my way home from Italy, Ispent a week in Tunisia. A close friend isworking there and it seemed an ideal opportunityto visit a country which I otherwise would, mostprobably, never visit. It was also a country aboutwhich I knew only one thing ie ‘Life of Brian’ wasfilmed there.

Peta is living in the capital city of Tunis and so itwas there that I spent the first part of my week.Initial impressions……..very hot, chaotic,polluted, choking, elegant but very shabby,friendly and welcoming. Very hot, becauseTunisia is boarded by the Mediterranean Sea,Algeria and Libya. Chaotic, because the Tunistraffic is a nightmare and terrifying for apedestrian tourist. Polluted, predominantly withplastic bags and bottles but also with just aboutanything which can be placed in rubbish bins(non existent except for a few placed in the maintourist strip a few months ago) or recycled (notyet part of the local vocab or psyche). Choking,because smoking is permitted anywhere andeverywhere. Elegant but very shabby, with a lotof French-colonial architecture. Friendly andwelcoming, with beautiful looking people whoreally want to offer assistance, although thesame question asked of five different people willresult in five different answers. Arabic is theofficial language and French the unofficial.Everyone assumed Peta and I were French andso would converse to us in French, which wasfine for her level of the language but which Icould only politely tell them, in French, that Ididn’t speak French.

Tunisia has a very long history of invasion. Firstcame the Carthaginians, then the Romans, thenthe Arabs, then the Ottomans, then the Frenchand finally independence in 1957. Peta waskeen to see a few particular places beyond Tunisand so arranged a three day road trip for us both.Our mode of transport was the louage, orminibus taxi, which has a specific starting pointand destination and bus stops in betweenwherever you choose to hail or demand it to stop.Our first night’s destination was the north coasttown of Bizerte, locally known as “the Paris ofTunisia”. We never did find the part to whichthat was referring! We stayed inside the very oldMedina de la Mer which was near an area thatdistinctly reminded us both of a Cretan port. And



it was not like cosmopolitan Paris because weseemed to be the only tourists, a fact which wewere both quite happy about. While there, wetook a louage to the northern beach ofHammamet which had been recommended.Although the beach and surrounding area wasextremely littered the sea was clean, cooling andlovely. Our other two nights were spent inland onan organic farm near the town of Testour and ourreason for being in the region was to visitDougga, the “best-preserved Roman small townin North Africa” according to UNESCO. And itdid not disappoint! 65 hectares of ancienthistory and, for the most part, all to ourselves.We also did a bit of an Audrey Hepburn-stylephoto shoot with me in my 1950’s French skirt.Silly, but fun!

Once back in Tunis Peta was very keen for me tosee a part of the medina where she had lived forher first few weeks. We entered at the gate nextto the tourist section, passed shops filled withtouristy products and antiques, then wended ourway along the crowded, cobblestoned alleys untilwe were, quite suddenly, on our own in acompletely residential section. It felt like a secretplace, kept hidden from the tourist hoards, and itwas beautiful. Clean, exotically historic andreally tranquil.

A week in one country doesn’t sound like verylong and yet the freneticness and thebombardment to the senses, particularly via thenose, made a week feel long enough for me. Butconsidering the adventuresome nature of PIDmembers perhaps Tunisia may be a place whichis added to their lists of possible traveldestinations?

Paula Day

Painting the Town Red!?? I always liked the idea of painting the town red butin Freo this year they have apparently run out ofred!!

A Suikinkutsu in Shirotori Park. - from 2016

Shirotori Cohen is a small zen themed parksouth of Sakae in Nagoya (which is betweenTokyo and Osaka). I spent some time in Nagoyaearlier this year, co-incidently while Perth washaving its 50-year record breaking heat wave.

While strolling through the park, I noticed a non-descript rock with a water filled depression ontop and surrounded by small rocks. A bambooladel was resting on top and a couple of one-and-a-half metre bamboo poles were leaningagainst it. On closer inspection, I found a signthat explained that it was called a Suikinkutsu. Byusing the ladle to pour some water onto therocks, placing one end of the bamboo poleagainst one of the small openings hidden amongthe rocks at the base and listening at the otherend, intriguing bell like sounds could be heard.

Under the rock, is hidden a large invertedceramic pot containing some water. As drops fallthrough a small hole at the top of the pot, theyproduce a bell like echo as they land in the poolbelow.

Shirotori park has waterfalls, a peacefulteahouse and many beautiful vistas. Set in a verybusy city environment, it is a real oasis.

Tony Hoar

Red Faces – The Forgettables, remember them?



Dancing in Buenos Aires - August 2017

The most recent (round the world) travels tookme via Auckland to the Paris of South AmericaBsAs for the 3rd time – having visited twicebefore about 10 years ago.

Little had changed with my favourite places in thecity being antique gorgeous cafes, ancientcemeteries, historic architecture and oh yes, ofcourse the all pervading TANGO.

La Boca district BsAs – the birthplace of tango

It is a fascinating place by day and by night, fullof activity and beautiful people next to an everincreasing number of people sleeping in thestreet. There is no social security in BsAs, onlyown luck, family and friends.

The Portenos, as the people of BsAs are called,love a spirited demonstration and practice thisalmost nightly, accompanied by music bands,sausage stalls and lots of placards around thestately pink Government house in the heart of thecity, the Casa Rosada. And who would not haveheard or seen Evita singing ‘Don’t cry for meArgentina’ from its ornate balcony.

Dancing with a Star at the Piazzola

I missed slipping a peso across a battered oldcounter for the ‘subte’ (subway) ride across townas this has not only doubled in price (fromperhaps 20 to 40 cents per ride) but also is a‘smart card’ now. Moreover the oldest wooden undergroundcarriages in the world have now been taken offthe tracks, a ride on the linea A sadly is no longera journey back to the 20ies.But there are many Tango venues where little ornothing has changed for decades, where menand women are seated on opposites of the room,couples in their own section, and a wink or nodof the gentleman mysteriously sees a girl risingto their feet at the opposite end of the room, tomeet in the middle and silently embrace for thenext 3 minutes or so of a dancing tango –immersed in music and connection and rhythm,oblivious to the rest of the world in their ownuniverse.The day-to-day tango danced around the BsAshalls and bars has nothing to do with stage tangoand encapsulates something of the Argentinespirit and soul.Most visitors are satisfied to attend a stage showthough, such as the one offered at the TeatroPiazzolla. This underground place, goes back tothe glorious 20ies too when it was used for veryrisqué parisienne cabaret shows. A great venuefor a dance and the red velvet remains.

Tango show at the Piazzolla where I dancedTravels went on to Scotland for some hiking andtouring, and to Germany/Switzerland for bikingand a family visit. Once settled back in of coursethe mind begins to wonder and wander … whereto next?

Whilst in Germany the big Octoberfest spectaclein Munich casts its tentacles and shadowseverywhere in and beyond the country.There was a huge beertent complete with bandsand merrymaking Munich style right smack in themiddle of the Zurich main station and Frankfurtairport lined the path from checkin with festiveposters, brass band performances, rows of beersteins and ginger hearts right to boarding theplane.



Rhein Donau Club PERTH WA / Oct 2017

Thus once back in Perth we had to join into thespirit and visit the German Club in Melville for itsannual Octoberfest held in true style and highspirits.

Don’t they all look like true blue Bavarians?

At last my ‘Dirndl’(purchased inBerchtesgaden in2016) got its properouting that night.

The real thing –imported.

It wasn’t Munich but it was getting close and Iwas surprised how many true blue Australianshappily and proudly presented in traditionalBavarian costumes for the night. Of course thebeer on tap helped a lot. Prosit Gisela

Wet, Wet, Wet from Leigh Richmond

Balingup

This is a piece written after Souleiado’s very wetperformance at the Balingup Mediaeval Carnivalethis year. It is designed to be sung to the Frenchdance Rond D’Argenton. The photo providesevidence of our drenching!

ROND DE BALINGUPWe went to Balingup againWith our mediaeval programmeThe forecast was for lots of rain Would it all be worth the painWould the audience remainAnd were we all a bit insaneCHORUS

Sou-lei-ado, oh no, no!Don't dance in the winter al frescoSou-lei-ado, oh no, no!Don't dance in the winter al fresco

The one o'clock parade came roundUmbrellas up, umbrellas downMud all over boots and gownsNervous smiles and lots of frownsWere we all about to drownOr slip and slide onto the groundCHORUS

At 3 p.m. it looked alrightThe sun came out; a welcome sightOur maypole dance was going rightWhen suddenly from heaven's heightThe rain came down with awe and mightWe carried on, we're not too brightCHORUS

The audience all ran awayBut we decided we would stayWe were saturated anywayWe'd finish our set come what mayWe may as well just earn our payAnd be the heroes of the dayCHORUS



An Ode to Dancing – 40 years onThe following ode was written for inclusion in oneof last year's 40th editions of Grapevine. It gotstruck off by one of the sub-editors but it didhave an airing at Red Faces. In case youmissed it! :-

What are these dances, what are theserhythms?That for forty years have sustained this Group?Could I but learn them all, am I so driven?No, my äge-ed brain is addled, it's in a loop!

A grapevine here or was it a yemenite?What did André say, is this a hora?All these new dances, will I ever get them right!?I really liked the older dances, but now I'm filledwith horror!

Perhaps I need some new DNA, Or new dance patterns in my brainsShine in some extra light, or try another dayThen I might really make some gains

What's this I hear – I'm getting old!?New knees and hips and energy more thriftyA poor suggestion, perhaps far too boldLet's just drink to when the Group is fifty!

The Indulgent Editor

Some more red facesTuna Dincer and Pelin Eren as Ashuk andMashuk

and the Sunshines Tony, Leone, Carolyn, Moriwith their very own human music stands – withour born again Scottish Prez - Master ofCeremonies for the night

André van de Plas - Workshops

In July André van de Plas made his annualpilgrimmage to Perth for a week-end of teachingbefore heading off across to the east.. This yearhis week-end workshops were attended by overforty dancers where he taught eleven dancesfrom seven countries.

As always, we rated the dances' popularity

Dance name OriginVotes

Lezzitli Yoghurt Turkey - Roma 13

Sarba Mariutei Romania 10

Ha Oreach Israel 8

CemenTurkey -Kurdistan

5

Mesecina Kosovo 4

Dafno Greece 3

Strandzansko Horo Bulgaria 3

Tou Paradeisou Greece 3

Oj VardareMakedonski

Macedonia 2

The Castro Almaine England 2

Hora Din Caras Romania 1

Can you still remember them all?!

André has advised that he willl be back in Perthin 2018 for the week-end June 30th- 1st July. So,put that in your diaries now!!



Last year for the 40th Year CelebrationsGrapevine featured life stories and dance storiesfrom some of our dancers – what PID and dancemeant to them. Here's one from Brenda thatmissed the deadline – take this as the first steptowards the next decade!

Brenda's Bits:

Forty years ago a friend suggested I go to a newgroup where I can learn dances from all over theworld. The first Monday I attended there werealready two circles. People welcomed me andwere prepared to help me with the steps. Thiswas the first of many places, in a Masonic Hall inNorthbridge.When I became more confident and enjoyingtotally the different dances, especially the Israeliand Rumanian ones, I joined the performancegroup who rehearsed somewhere in Subiaco onThursday nights. Each week-end we wereinvited to perform at different functions,sometimes in the Hills. After theseperformances we would end up in someone'shouse, eat healthily and if I remember correctlyEve would have baked a delicious bread.It didn't matter where we were , we would danceagain. I can still 'see' us dancing in a linethrough the different houses. Wonderful times!Especially as I had my own dance partner, DougPianta. I wonder here he is now? We actuallydanced at the opening of the Fremantle ArtsCentre.Eventually, I went to live on a kibbutz in Israel,Ramat Yohanan. At the Jewish Agency inLondon, who arranged for people to go tokibbutzim, I requested to go to one where therewould be Israeli dancing and classical music.Ramat Yohanan was perfect for me for thosereasons. I was in an Ulpan, a system where onelearns Hewbrew in class for half a day and we

work where we are needed for the other half ofthe day. During this time was Passover andTHE OMER.The Omer is a wheat-harvest ceremony held onthe first day of Passover in a wheat filed atsunset. On Ramat Yohanan lived achoreographer, Leah Bergstein and a composer,Matiyahu Shelem, who actually composed themusic for the partner dance that we still do, “VDavid Yefe Einayim”. They created this amazingceremony and people came from all over Israel tosee this. Instead of staying the five months of the Ulpan, Imarried a member of the kibbutz and was amember there for eight years, during which time Idanced in the Omer each year in the pertnerdance called “Shibolet d'Sede”, sheaves of wheatin the field. My husband was the flautist in thekibbutz orchestra.Each year that I lived in Israel I would return toPerth and return to the Perth International DanceGroup.So now, after a few years' break fromInternational Dancing, I returned and was so gladto see so many of the people who havecontinued to dance and have maintained theGroup for forty years.

Branda Cohen

Brenda Cohen (formerly Harvey)

We are scheduling a 4 weekBeginners' Course for January

Please look out for the flyers andpromote them to your dance

friends

Saturdays 6th - 27th January 20189 – 10 am

at St Margarets Hall

$30 for all 4 weeksStudents $25



g r a p e v i n e - perthinternationaldance.org.au€¦ · – “och aye the noo it wus guid...

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