Traditional Dances of the World and Technology

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Comment by Obataladance on September 18, 2009 at 6:15am

Michael, I love differences so u are for me an inspiration. Imagine if we all think and behave in the same way, what a boring dead world it will be. I am quite busy at the moment but soon i will be back. All my regards.

Comment by Michael Girard on September 18, 2009 at 5:41am

Lucia, Thanks for your gracious reply. I have also read Faludi's books, and well, at this point, I'm content to let Faludi speak for herself.

In spite of our different perspectives on a number of political and social topics, we both share a love and appreciation for authentic traditional dance and music.

Comment by Obataladance on September 17, 2009 at 12:15pm

Michel thank u very much for the link and u enthusiasm but social issues. I read the book "Backlash.." years ago when still i was a student at the university..in fact the word backlash have become a kind of symbol for a "bad reaction"..In my view this is what feminism is but still i respect you idea. Faludi never been a supporter of feminism. The expresssion of "throwing the baby out with the bad water " is quite commun among the vocabulary of social scientists when refering to professional women who have left aside maternity for a social recognition and status. Faludi used it or took it as a reference because it is known expression but Susan Faludi never have been a feminist neither a supporter herself. Feminism means nothing to the majority of women from around the world...but in one thing i totally agree with u is that of course women should be able to find happiness and fullfilment in both, public and private spaces but also to create new spaces according to their particular needs. The colonization of the body is marked by this duality where the construction of masculin and femenin is negotiated.Fortunately the human experience so complex that cant be enclosed in any general approach...feminism as much as the new spiritualities will always find the challenge of the vast cultural pluralism of the planet.

I am glad that most dancers are not feminists.

Comment by Michael Girard on September 17, 2009 at 8:28am

Lucia, maybe this is not so important, but in an earlier post, I was confused when you mistakenly wrote: "Susan Faludi in her work criticized feminism with her expression " women are throwing away the bath together with the baby "." Thanks to Google, I was able to instantly find the root of your mistake. If you type "Faludi baby out with the bath water" into Google search, the first link listed under "Google books" will take you directly to page 325 of Faludi's book "Backlash."
On page 325, paragraph 2 of her book "Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women" , Faludi quotes Sylvia Ann Hewlett's book "A Lesser Life: The Myth of Women's Liberation in America" as saying "Feminism threw the baby out with the bathwater." But, if you read the context, Faludi strongly disagrees with Hewlett . So, to set the record straight: Hewlitt is the anti-feminist who made this statement, not Faludi.

To learn more more Faludi's feminist ideas, you can also watch Faludi's talk at Google on Sept. 11, 2008 see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q_j82L_XSo

p.s. I don't work for Google. :-)

Comment by Obataladance on September 10, 2009 at 8:09am

Michel..I am convinced that "culture" as haven been officially accepted and programmed is a social constructed category for quantifying and labelling but there is also a natural development of "culture" coming from people themselves, people are in my view the real holders of history. The long dilemma between public and private spaces is also part of this dualism in which most individuals have been trapped....The "communitarians" and "libertarians" are turning around in circle coz the answer maybe relies in a "social ingeniering " ( extrange word this one which is quite in vogue among educated circles ) capable of creating enough spaces for everyone...without forgetting all the endless particularities that characterise humans needs.How this turning point will take place in a world which have been controlled and regulated by a dominant aesthetics ? Are we...women and men will able to conquer our spaces back ( conection to nature and to our ancients...respect of our pluralisms ) or will just follow the trend of trusting the good will of those in charge of the rest ? The public space maybe is more open but not necessarily more fair while many vulnerables have been left behind, in private spaces....Creating national ballets in the name of preserving have just left behind many voices...Freedom is to be able to choose among all that is in existence...Susan Faludi was a critic of feminim not a feminist herself...gender, class, race,..are just social constructions.

Comment by Obataladance on July 27, 2009 at 7:55am

I do apologize for my mistakes when writting in english..in my everyday life i deal with 4 languages... and a baby playing with my mouse. Hoping to be back soon to this topic. Best for all u.

Comment by Michael Girard on July 17, 2009 at 4:45am

Lucia, Susan Faludi (someone we both seem to appreciate?) also wrote that "Feminism's agenda is basic: It asks that women not be forced to "choose" between public justice and private happiness. It asks that women be free to define themselves -- instead of having their identity defined for them, time and again, by their culture and their men."

This agenda, as I understand it, promotes the freedom of women (and men) to define themselves as either completely traditional, partially traditional, or entirely non-traditional, doesn't it? Don't societies that practice this kind of tolerance (including in the arts) enjoy more diversity, not less?

Comment by Obataladance on July 16, 2009 at 6:19pm

Sorry Ibeshe of hearing this but i havent seen anyone with this name in this group...No idea how something like this could have happened..

Comment by ibeshe on July 16, 2009 at 2:45pm

hey, is anyone else getting spammed by a Beth Johnson? She does not appear to be a member of the group, but I have received 3 things from her in the last few days routed through this group. Do let me know, so that I can track down from where she is spamming--I have groups of my own that I need to keep clear. Thanks. -Anna

Comment by Obataladance on July 15, 2009 at 4:50am

Michel, feminism interrogates and challenge all cultural traditions while mistaking traditional pratices and representing them as just merely women subordination. Culture is a positive force for women who have chosen to live traditionally ( even for women living in the west like myself ) while at the same time acknowledging their womanhood. I wonder if western patriarcal feminism is good for third world minority women to be honest coz it is uproot discurs rather than a preserving alternative.

" Equality" is part of this growing tendency of unifiying everything contrary to diversity. Sorry Michael but I am a woman so i am not equal to a man and as far as feminism it have to be..it have never offered me anything alternative coz it doesnt take into account my cultural particularities. When the west will stop telling the rest how live, think or feel ? Forced inclusion is detrimental as much as exclusion even if it is done with good intentions.

As both of u, Michael and Shriram, me also i am trying to find a way that i can communicate as a dancer with the computer experts and ingeniers that i am trying to work with because it seems like we talk totally different language.

The body is far from mechanics because there is the emotion in the construction of sense while making a gesture.A gesture is made of a pre-mouvement ( the unique sense that every dancer give when imagining their own movement seconds before performing it ) and the movement itself..How a person behind the PC can get into my thoughts and body emotions to understand and translate what i feel when giving sense to my movements ? Movements are the result of the cumulation of many variables and not a mechanic repetitive act.It is conditioned by even our state of mind while rehearsing...It is not a question of technophobies or tehcnofiles but of obtaining a mutual understanding as a elemental step when collaborating.

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