Getting our Dance On!

Bom Dia,

It is a new day in Sao Paulo and I am preparing for the day. Thanks to my friend Gibran I have a computer today that can upload my photos so I will be able to share some images of my time.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon experiencing Brazil through our five senses. We walked the streets in silence listening to the sounds and observing our environment. I described some of Sao Paulo in my last blog, but this time I took the time to really look at some of the graffiti in the city. I had heard that Sao Paulo has a big hip hop movement, but I took a close look at some of the graffiti during our walk yesterday.

Then we arrived at this amazing dance school called Instituto Brincante which I more or less translate as the Institute of Playing. We arrived while a group of school teachers were there. They come once a week for a year to learn about Brazilian culture, but instead of learning through books and lectures they learn through play. They were in the middle of their weekly dance class and afterwards they went across the hall to make paper mache festival costumes. The celebration of saints' days are big in Brazil and June is the biggest month after Carnavale in February. They were making stars, horses, houses, etc. out of recycled materials that would be easy for them to get in their community without spending a lot of money.

When we got there the first thing that she asked was where all of us were from. Our group is really diverse with people representing all of the major racial groups in the world. Each of us talked about our background and at the end of the class the teacher told us that seeing us being from so many different parts of the globe and all considering ourselves Americans actually changed her idea of what the United States is. I know that we have a long way to go in terms of being a country where we value all people and where we can share across culture but when she said that I had a moment where I thought - this is what God would really want for us. If only this was the way things were on a regular basis at home.

After the introductions we got right into dance. Most of the dances she taught us were relatively simple choral dances that were from different regions of Brazil but mostly with indigenous and African roots. I had a great time and it was a lot of fun. I was dancing with folks that I am used to mostly seeing in meetings and the amount of joy we had was amazing. Everyone was getting into it and we were dancing in a circle and in pairs. Towards the end we came to a dance that I think was called Maracatum and it required more drums so a few of us volunteered to be drummers. From what I have learned it is very rare for women to be drummers in Brazilian culture (or in most cultures for that matter) so I volunteered. I had a great time and think that I found my new calling as you can see from the picture. I made sure that someone took a picture so that Ella could see her titi drumming. My sister might not be so pleased with it, but I think I going to go to the marketplace today in search of a small drum for Ella - and maybe a big drum for me.

Our class was nearly over and I was drumming, singing, and dancing at the same time while I looked out on some of the leaders of our city and I thought of the quote - If I can't dance then it's not my revolution. I send a particular shout out to Barr Fellow Jose Masso because I think he would have been so happy to see this scene. He just finished doing an event called Dance for World Community in Boston. And I am going to volunteer to add something to next years event. A big Brazilian dance class for everyone to learn how to dance and drum the Brazilian way!

So I have more to share but can't get it all in this one blog so I will write again later!