controversial figure skating dance

[shootingstar]

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/figure-ska...+routine+draws Perhaps as one of their Olympic Games figure ice skating numbers for this Russian ice dance pair.

One thing for certain, there has been considerable effort by the Canadian Olympic organizers for direct aboriginal involvement and investment for employment, their artistic expressions (several information pavilions are set up, I went to one of them already.) making sure the torch relay goes through 100+ Canadian aboriginal based communities, etc.

My only comment is that contemporary artistic transformation based on traditional old artistic/ceremonial traditions works better, after a person first experiences directly in person the traditional art/other culture to understand the technique, cultural nuances first and meanings. And works with/speaks people of those other cultures, particularily in artistic understanding.

It's like making up Asian-fusion food dishes without even first, understanding core traditional Asian dishes, flavourings and techniques. (No wonder why there are some awful fusion dishes.)

Reading, viewing about another culture on the Internet isn't often enough. Cultural understanding particularily if it's different from ones' own, means truly experiencing a part of it for real. I think this is the unfortunate thing for the Russian ice skating duo on this dance number.

Anyway, there's lots of cool artistic performances lined up by Canadian Inuit, Metis and First Nations performers here for next few weeks.

[crazycanuck]

That ice skating routine upset a few Australian Aboriginal Elders & made the front page of the Australian the other day. It's not become a huge issue down here though....It might be discussed on a show called "Living Black" on SBS but I doubt it. No one cares about skating here...It's just cricket, cricket, cricket & the Australian Open.

I saw a snippet of it on the news & thought...They look like idiots & no white Australian would dare do that!!!!

[shootingstar]

Always good to hear from a (ex) Canuck in Aussieland.

These are the 4 First Nations groups/tribes (or the U.S. refers to as native Indians. First Nations) which Vancouver area and Whistler geographic land cover their territories:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-20..._108930aB.html

At first I didn't like the Olympic emblem in terms of its design interpretation. I thought it looked weak. But I liked the choice of a inukshuk-like symbol (I forget the Olympic emblem's christened name.) itself in terms of symbolic meaning as a wayfinder, spirit of protection and from one of the aboriginal groups (Inuit) where their land is part of Canada.

[badger]

this is a bit off-topic, but going back to the Torino games' closing ceremonies, the show that Canada put on was definitely cringe-worthy. I"m surprised they even went that route of the inuit and the igloo. That's pretty much what the whole world imagines Canada to be, why instill that kind of stereotype?

[Ered_Lithui]

When I saw the thread title I was picturing Evgeni Plushenko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAIjRdYI-94

[crazycanuck]

I like the idea of the Inukshuk symbol representing the Van olympics. Most people that i've met in Aust/NZ only associate Canada with the cold. Oddly enough i recieved an odd comment from an aussie friend the other day " I didn't know Canada was so beautiful"....

I really really hope that global television broadcasters during the games mention that there are other places in Canada besides Vancouver & Toronto. It annoys me that everywhere else in Canada doesn't seem to exist...

Btw...As far as I remember..didn't the opening ceremony @ the Sydney Olympics start w the dreamtime? Most people around the world have no clue what the dreamtime is & only associate Australia with Sydney,Sydney, Sydney or Croc dundee (a did you know moment-the real life gent that inspired Croc dundee was actually a drug addict amongst other things..)

[shootingstar]

this is a bit off-topic, but going back to the Torino games' closing ceremonies, the show that Canada put on was definitely cringe-worthy. I"m surprised they even went that route of the inuit and the igloo. That's pretty much what the whole world imagines Canada to be, why instill that kind of stereotype?

The aboriginal component is only part of the big picture-- you'll see badger, if one takes time to visit the free pavilions near home, there's only 2 aboriginal pavilions out of over 15 different pavilions each showcasing a Canadian province or a 'welcome' place (or foreign country, ie. Netherlands, Russia, etc.)

Some of the aboriginals do see it as opportunity to educate the public about their traditions/past/history while others prefer to more realistic presentation of what is happening now in their respective communities. I agree on both perspectives which must be delivered to the general public to get a well-rounded picture. I know dance, song, and all that cultural stuff is just feel-good stuff to absolve confronting realities of racism, etc., if people do not also accept sharing power in decision-making and mapping a mammoth project, like the Olympics.

After all, I wonder for those who walk through old, historic Chinatown: do they have any clue about the history about the Canadian Chinese ..NOT the Chinese in China? It is the most historic Chinatown in Canada in terms of historic richness. Someone has to take the initiative then, to explain to visitors then...not just sit back.

Today I just came back from free opening of the Museum of Anthropology for their retrofitted wing. Hey, it normally costs $14.00 per adult to get in. Some great dance and drumming performances. It was a rare opportunity for even local residents to see the 4 First Nations groups that occupy Metro Vancouver, showcasing their dance, music and singing. Several aboriginal elders expressed barely contained pride of being in the retrofitted wing and sharing their stuff, etc.

Instead of showing some great traditional west coast aboriginal art that is at the museum (and reinforcing more stereotypical images ), here's something contemporary aboriginal in spirit. And it's sports related.

Explanation of the iconography on snowboard:

“The Challenger” is the for First Nations snowboard team. I’ve used Coast Salish
eyes to symbolize being watched, the Sxwayxway mask with the swirl to represent being in a state of awe and spiritual focus, and this specific to signify protection.”

Xwalacktun (Rick Harry), Swxwu7mesh

One wonders once the Russian couple comes to Vancouver, if they will be taken to some of these performances, meet the dancers and elders. One would hope. Otherwise not much new positive stuff is learned by them when already their dance routine has received international press before they got to Vancouver.

[shootingstar]

Crazy canuck, some British Columbians can be pretty snooty because they know there are some incredibly beautiful natural parts of the province which is used deliberately to showcase Canada's natural beauty. It is really irritating sometimes when there's not much ongoing interest here of stuff east the Kootnenay, Monashee mountains (I need a map, again)....which is west of the Rockies.

For an ex-Torontonian who still has her whole family in Toronto, here I see all sorts of gaps in misunderstanding and disinterest at times.

If one focused solely on the people in British Columbia, one wouldn't know that Toronto has a HUGE black population (more originally from the Carribbean, Africa though there were slaves in the late 1700's in Canada in Toronto area).

[crazycanuck]

Interesting article in today's Independent on Sunday

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/o...w-1876411.html

In regards to people asking me about Canada..I get all sorts of odd questions..." How do you manage when it's -40C??" umm..dress warmly & don't stick your tongue on anything metal

Another classic...Which do you prefer -40C or +40C...there's not much of a difference really..they're both extremes & I stay inside if it's that hot/cold

Anywho...
What annoys me is overseas tourist's to Australia lack of interest in other places beyond Sydney, Uluru, Gold Coast & the Reef.....

What won't change after the ollies is the general understanding of the conditions most Aboriginal Canadians live in....Sad that we turn a blind eye to East Hastings Street .

Nothing has really changed for the Aboriginal folks in Redfern(part of sydney) nor in regional Australia since the 2000 olympics. I know this isn't the place to bring this stuff up..

[shootingstar]

Another classic...Which do you prefer -40C or +40C...there's not much of a difference really..they're both extremes & I stay inside if it's that hot/cold
................................................................................................

Nothing has really changed for the Aboriginal folks in Redfern(part of sydney) nor in regional Australia since the 2000 olympics. I know this isn't the place to bring this stuff up..

-40 or +40 : what a choice. They are both tough choices.

As for other topics not to discuss here: why not? We'll never learn otherwise. And sometimes there is ...a sport connection after all.

ie. Maybe it was because I was sitting on the floor in lst row watching the dancers. But for the lst time, I realized how physically demanding some of the dances were and....how similar the lowered body stance with bent knees (nearly crouching)..for balance and launching off into another movement, was similar to..some Asian exercise movements and body positioning..of martial arts and yoga. (ie. the simple warrior I and warrior II movements).

[shootingstar]

Latest articles. lst article they interview a dance leader of a contemporary indigneous group in Australis. Last link gives videoclip.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2...891/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2...891/story.html

While they may be technically great in terms of manoeuvre execution, I was trying to figure out their dance story. The routine just didn't elicit excitement in me. Personally I felt emotionally dead / empty. Maybe I was influenced by the news story.

A great figure skating dance routine should generate inspiration and emotional excitement/wonder.

I've never seen an aborigine Australian dance. But after yesterday afternoon's dances that I saw from each of the 4 different First Nations traditional dance groups, this is a complete contrast to what I feel. Yesterday it was inspiring, one shared with the groups and spectators there --celebration, reverence and grace.

I also went around looking at the museum's exhibits before seeing the dance numbers. It was a good thing I did for my own understanding. I've seen similar twice in the past 8 years since it's a beautiful museum with stunning views overlooking to the mountains and water. But this time, with the museum's retrofit the masks, head-dress artifacts, were displayed with better arrangements and new display cases. There's all sorts of complex legends and beliefs conveyed through the designs...one would need to read several books. But probably simple obvious ones: ie. raven is trickster (in Chinese mythology the monkey is the trickster, little that I know there), bear, etc.

In my last job, which was part of a large engineering construction project, our organization did work with local First Nations group (Katzie Nation) that occupied the land where we were building the highway approaches to a brand-new bridge. To capture the spirit of the local area, the bridge was designed with several First Nations and natural things emblematic of the area. There are golden eagle sculptures attached high above near the bridge cabling, the bridge fencing (which was also built to be anti-suicide) emulates fish traps that were used by the Katzie with fish-shaped designs along the fence rail along the whole 1 km. bridge and there are permanent posters. It was an really interesting engineering project on several different fronts...one of them because it involved working with the First nations group and there was also a tandem archaeological dig to recover as much as possible before the area was covered over by concrete....they did find some stuff several hundreds years old which will take several years of cleanup, cataloguing and historical analysis.

The organization's handyman was also a Katzie elder (or near elder, in his late 50's or older) who would do his cultural blessings at various functions, outreach work with local schools on their history and culture. That's when he told me of "ancient fish" in the river that our bridge was going over....which was the endangered sturgeon. (This plus the disappearing salmon that did swim annually from the Pacific.)

[SadieKate]

These are the 4 First Nations groups/tribes (or the U.S. refers to as native Indians. . .

No, that would be Native Americans. . .

[shootingstar]

No, that would be Native Americans. . .

Thx. One thing for certain I've never heard of anyone nor read recent stuff that uses the term "Native Canadian" up here in Kanata (aboriginal name from which Canada is derived from). Highly doubtful that the Russian skating duo even know the latter fact. Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, etc. are also aboriginal-based names.

Guess what? In the past I've referred to myself to others as a 'native-born Canadian', meaning I was born in Canada.

"Aboriginal peoples" is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. The Canadian constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal people: Indians (commonly referred to as First Nations), Métis and Inuit. These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. More than one million people in Canada identify themselves as an Aboriginal person, according to the 2006 Census.
Aboriginal communities are located in urban, rural and remote locations across Canada. They include:
• First Nations or Indian Bands, generally located on lands called reserves;
• Inuit communities located in Nunavut, NWT, Northern Quebec (Nunavik) and Labrador;
• Métis communities; and
• communities of Aboriginal people (including Métis, Non-Status Indians, Inuit and First Nation individuals) in cities or towns which are not part of reserves or traditional territories (for example, the Aboriginal community in Winnipeg).

Source published by the Canadian federal government:
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ap/index-eng.asp

Another resource: http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/ac.../en/index.html

[Tuckervill]

We use Native American down here because of all that confusion with Columbus thinking he was in India, or something like that.

Native Canadians are also Native Americans, by the way.

Karen

[arielmoon]

IMO this dance was their artistic interpretation, like a painter. It's not right or wrong, it's their interpretation. Some folks are easily offended.