Dirty Dancing

Thinking about yesterday makes me actually laugh; it was a very ridiculous day. All that we were told was that we had to meet at 11am to visit dance master David Thomas in Gouyave. So, like every other person we’ve met, I assumed he would be talking about dance in Grenada, we would ask him questions, etc etc. Never in the description for the day was anyone told that any physical dancing would be taking place. So, I wore a nice light and airy short sundress ready to face the hot and humid day ahead. Little did I know I would soon regret that decision enormously.

We met Urias at our apartments and he took us into the center of St. Georges where all of the nice shopping is and the bus depot. I loved the downtown area! It was so alive and busy with people, more of a city feel that I would expect. I was pretty interested in the street vendors who would put up pictures of movie covers. A lot more people than I expected would stop to choose which movie they wanted to buy. It reminded me almost of the black market in America but more exposed. It made me wonder if there are actually places in Grenada for the people to buy movies or if they relied on these street vendors. I was also shocked to hear that one of the buildings downtown which looked destroyed actually stood as remains of Hurricane Ivan all the way back in 2004. We have been hearing a lot about the destruction that the Hurricane caused, and it is so sad to imagine what it must have been like. Urias’ daughter, Z, told us how she was in Miami at the time of the Hurricane and came back to see the island just destroyed. It must have been devastating. They didn’t have school or power for weeks. She was explaining how she never appreciated things like ice so much in her life, because they were living without power or AC for such a long period of time. Just seeing the building still standing untouched was very eerie and sad.

After spending time downtown we caught a bus to go to Gouyave. I didn’t know it at the time but the town is actually all the way up in the northern parish of St. John. The bus ride took a very long time, winding along roads that were on cliffs overlooking the ocean. It was a beautiful and lengthy drive which eventually led us to a tiny town very similar to Grenville. It had a small feel to it that we have grown accustomed to in the country. We turned down a small neighborhood street and then Mr. Thomas led us around the back of a house where we saw the sign for the “Spices Dance Company.” Right when I saw this sign, I got a bad feeling. We walked inside right into the middle of a small dance studio with large wall mirrors and ballet bar. Mr. Thomas introduced his studio and one of his senior dancers who was to lead the session. Then, he slowly moved to the side and let her speak.

We were told right away that we would be having a dance session to learn traditional dances that they have been working on over the last year. So, not only were we going to be intensely learning dances, but the session would last 4-5 hours! I was so unprepared for what was about to happen and the room was incredibly hot, but I tried to listen as she explained each dance. The first dance that we did involved only the women and had many African retentions in it, called bele. We learned that it was a dance done by slave women who would flirt with the drummers. We had to make sure to use our hips, something I’ve never had to work on in my life, and she taught us the moves in a lighting fast pace. Not only did I look ridiculous trying, but I was wearing one of the worst outfits I could have worn that particular day. It was heavy and thick, not even close to anything someone should wear while dancing. But, I did really enjoy learning the traditional dances. It was a fun way to get involved even if I was completely ill dressed for the day like everyone else in the group.

The next dance was done by the guys to show off their masculinity. It consisted of a lot of stomping, running in circles, and kicking. After they got their turn in the spotlight, Nathan was chosen to participate in calinder, or the stick fighting dance we have learned about before. He went toe to toe with the other dancer in a stick match, which was really entertaining for everyone to watch. Not only did it show off a guy’s masculinity, but it was so fluid and graceful.

The final dance we learned was pique, something I’m very familiar with at this point because it involves dancing in sexual ways to symbolize rebirth after a death. This is always the one I dread because I look very stiff compared to what some people do, but luckily this time it was very structured and fun. We were paired up, boy to girl, and were taught the dance with our partners. Unfortunately because I was wearing a dress there were some moves I couldn’t do, but at the same time I was not complaining. One of them involved jumping on the guy and leaning the head back to the floor, legs wrapped around them, while they spun in circles. It was more fun to watch other people attempt the move.

By the end of the session we were all exhausted, sweaty, and ready to go home. None of us woke up yesterday thinking that our day would be filled with intense dancing, so to think that we ended up doing all of that makes it all too funny to think about. Once we got back, there was no energy left for anything else. Many of our nights were spent relaxing back at the apartments and going to bed early.

Today was another beach day since we had the day off from work. Maggie, Karla, and I headed to the beach and enjoyed another sunny day. At one point Maggie and I decided to walk all the way down the beach to the other side just for fun. What we didn’t realize is that we must have walked into the area of the beach where all of the locals hung out, because we once again stood out. We could feel everyone’s eyes on us, watching and trying to figure out what we were doing. One guy showed us the spice and craft booths that were set up for the cruise ships that will be coming to the island in two months. Only one of them had their crafts set up, and he showed us his necklaces and jewelry. Maggie and I were really impressed when he was explaining each one how he made them by hand with remnants from Hurricane Ivan, etc. Ironically, when we went back to our chairs to get money to buy some another guy came over to try to sell necklaces to us that looked exactly the same. He was saying how he made his own himself, etc. There was no connection between the two men. Luckily we didn’t get scammed by the first guy into buying a necklace that he clearly didn’t make himself if another random guy had the same exact ones.

Another observation that we made was that the children that we met while swimming are very similar to how we were as American children. The Grenadian children were so friendly and started playing games with us. Maggie and I were both talking about how the games resembled things that we would make up when we were younger, which made us laugh at the similarities and imaginations of children all around the world. The water felt so nice today, like swimming in a hot tub. I never wanted to get out.

Now that we’re back we can have some more time to relax and work on our group proposal a little more. Our group has decided to focus our research on drumming’s influence on Grenadian culture in the 21^st century, which is so exciting to finally say since we’ve been going back and forth so much. Over the never week we will be conducting a few more interviews then finally getting to the point where we can write our final papers. Only two more weeks on this beautiful island; it makes me so sad to think about leaving.