By Rebekah Hanson
As one of the longest running shows at BYU in its 44th year, “Christmas Around the World” will be performed by the International Folk Dance Ensemble Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6, with the theme “Fusion of Cultures.”
In keeping with the theme of fusion, the Folk Dance Ensemble brought in the Theatre Ballet this year as guest performers for a piece that fuses traditional ballet with Irish dancing.
“That”s going to be really exciting,” said Gregg Crockett, International Folk Dance Ensemble member. “I think that will be the most talked about dance afterward because of the magnitude of the piece.”
Another piece depicting the theme of the show is a Romanian piece called “Dantu Din Oas.” It is danced to music that comes from Hungary but is a fusion of Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian music, said Ed Austin, International Folk Dance Ensemble artistic director.
“So we”ve taken this music that doesn”t go with the traditional Oas tradition, but it fits perfectly, and it”s fun and it”s fresh,” Austin said. “We thought ”let”s use these two together and see what we come up with.” We are using our old traditional choreography of a village dance in Oas and put this new contemporary music to it.”
The opening number of the show, “Rivers,” emphasizes the theme of fusion and also how traditions change as they are passed from one generation to the next.
“The thought is that tradition is like a river,” Austin said. “It is a steady flow but tends to drop things off along the way and pick other things up that it flows through. That”s a great visual way to look at tradition. It”s like a river. That”s what the show is depicting.”
With each of their new dances, the Folk Dance Ensemble developed a theme throughout the show that depicts the idea of cultures fusing with one another over time, evolving into new traditions and adding onto traditions.
“The difference this year is we brought in a few new dances we”ve never done before and brought in a few guest choreographers,” Crockett said.
This year they brought in a Spanish style they have not performed in more than 30 years: flamenco. They brought in a guest choreographer from Los Angeles who is world renowned in her flamenco technique.
She choreographed a number just for the women in Folk Dance Ensemble. Even though the folk dancers are not professional in flamenco, they have added their own style and voice to the dance that makes it unique and personal to each of the women who dance it, Austin said.
“Everyone that does flamenco puts in their passion and their personality in it,” Austin said. “Almost everyone is doing something individual within the form of flamenco dance. It”s going to be a stunning new piece for us.”
The clogging number this year is also different. The Folk Dance Ensemble invited over 100 children from the Wasatch front to perform a more contemporary clogging number to go along with the ensemble”s more historical clogging number, “Journey.”
“That [Journey] works really well with the theme [Fusion of Cultures],” Austin said. “It takes you on a journey of clogging. It starts with the old fashion flat footing done in the Appalachians. Then it takes you into more of the square dance style that emerged in the early 20th century and that form of clogging. Then it breaks out into all the figures and steps that are more current now. Then it peaks when we leave the stage, and all the kids run out to their contemporary music in the shiny costumes. It shows what youth has offered the form of clogging, and this is their contribution to the evolution of clogging.”
Whether or not the audience will understand the theme of fusion of cultures is uncertain, but hopefully with the help of narration and explanation written in the program they will get a glimpse of what the Folk Dance Ensemble did, Austin said.
“I think this performance is such a great way to ring in the Christmas season and to start the season out with really remembering what this time is about with unity in the cultures,” said Marie Sonnenberg, International Folk Dance Ensemble member. “We call it ”Christmas Around the World” because we feel like it brings the world together and it is performed at Christmas time. It is bringing the countries together in the midst of the turmoil that is going on throughout the world.”
The show is not just for mere entertainment, but has a purpose and theme to it, Sonnenberg said.
“We want to show that different cultures and different nations don”t have to be so separated,” Crockett said. “That we can come together as a world and as a people and celebrate Christmas and Christ and all these different things together.”
