Past-times and Patriotism: ArtsFest Day 4

The American Racket Cloggers

“Today, in an auditorium filled with spectators, I’m going to grab a stranger in a baseball cap and make him my partner, then hop onstage and let a professional Clogging team teach me how to Barn Dance.”

This was not the first thought that came to mind when I woke up this morning.

I had been flipping through my handy ArtsFest 2010 catalogue, scouting out interesting events to attend on the 4th day of the festival when my eyes fell across it:

American Racket Cloggers: Live and Kickin’.

I had to go.

Without hesitation I hopped into my Kia and shot off towards Kissimmee, excited at the prospect of finally regarding a sport that was much-anticipated in my book: Clogging.

I didn’t know much about Clogging, except that the dancers wore silly shoes and the music was fun. What more could I possibly want out of a dance? It sounded like a win-win to me!

The outside of the auditorium was deceivingly serene, and when I wandered around the premises there were signs posted for some sort of Church gathering. I was halfway convinced that my GPS had mislead me when my ears caught the distant trill of a fiddle, and I hurried towards it.

Inside the building were a few ushers that were quick to welcome me in, so in I went. The moment I set foot inside the auditorium I knew I had made the right decision.

A good ol’ folkie favorite was being blasted over the loudspeakers, filling the large room with the merry hymn of fiddles and onstage was a group of 6 dancers; three guys and three gals. On the way to my seat, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from them as they twirled, “hoo-hah”-ed and vivaciously slapped their steel-plated shoes against the wooden floor to the beat of the song.

I was mesmerized!

When the song was over, a group of traditional Irish Cloggers gamboled onto the stage and performed a lively jig that had the audience clapping their hands in rhythm. If the Flip camera hadn’t been in my hands, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from clapping as well!

The American Racket Cloggers returned to perform a few of their favorite numbers, and then came the interesting part.

“For this next dance, we’re going to need some help from the audience.”

The request rang throughout the auditorium and rattled up a wave of mumbling from the crowd. You could tell what was on their minds: ‘Help? From the audience? Where‘s my coat?’ But sure enough, the Cloggers dispersed into their audience and took their pick of innocent bystanders to publicly humiliate. I, for one, was happy to be cozy in my seat and excited to watch the newcomers attempt to dance.

“We need one more female participant.”

... Of course you do.

After shooting a quick glance behind me at the reserved crowd, I knew for certain that the gods of dance were calling upon me, so I pocketed the Flip camera and hustled onto the stage, where I partnered up with the pleasant stranger in the baseball cap and, well, the rest is history.

I’m going to pretend like I didn’t have an absolute ball up there with the Cloggers. Scratch that; I had a Barn Dance. Even better!

After snagging an interview with the Cloggers on the way out the door, I was proud of my spontaneity and the fantastic adventure it had led me to.

Check out more from the American Racket Cloggers by visiting http://americanracket.tumblr.com/


The Hannibal Square Heritage Center

After the Cloggers, I hurried off to Winter Park where I hoped to find my next destination, Hannibal Square Heritage Center.

Ever the observant one, I unwittingly parked directly across the street from the Heritage Center then spent the next fifteen minutes meandering through Winter Park looking for it.

After giving up hope and heading back to my car, I saw ArtsFest flyers adorning the entryway of the building across from me. Sure enough, there was Heritage Center. I hurried inside.

Although beautiful, the interior décor was not what I was expecting. Almost every inch of the wall was covered by a portrait of a local African American resident of the Winter Park area, along with a short story or description about the picture.

These pictures were part of The Heritage Collection: “A unique exhibition of history told by the residents who have lived it”.

Each of the portraits told a unique story about a struggle an African American individual in the Winter Park area had faced. Keep in mind that the walls were covered with portraits. Not a single wall stood blank. This was certainly a humbling experience, and though it was unspoken, I knew that reverence was a necessity within the building

I eventually ran into the events coordinator of the day, and was able to talk to her about the activities that were going on inside.

“It’s an intragenerational activity today,” she explained to me.

She then showed me upstairs to where children, students and adults were all painting either self portraits, or portraits of someone important to them.

Although one of the goals of ArtsFest is to promote arts and festivities, it should not be forgotten that learning and embracing diverse cultures is also important. I definitely urge people to visit Hannibal Square Heritage Center for a chance to learn something new about one of the most important branches of American History.

If a portrait is worth a thousand words, and this building was filled with portraits, that means we have a whole lot of listening to do. So we'd better get started!



Emotions Dance Company

What makes “contemporary dance” any different that a regular dance?

Heck if I knew- up until 6:50 p.m. Sunday night, that is.

I parked my car outside a brown, round-ish building in Orlando at 6:45, entirely prepared to get to the bottom of this “contemporary dance” matter.

I stepped inside the building and was extremely surprised. The room was large and round and mostly empty except for a well-lit section straight ahead. A square, black mat lay across the floor, on the far side of which a sat a man with an acoustic guitar that was plugged into an amplifier. On the near side of the mat were the guests, seated in a hodgepodge array of plastic chairs.

This was certainly a different experience.

I noticed some photographers curled up on the floor between the audience and the mat, and I quickly joined them. Just as I had fired up my trusty Flip camera, the announcement echoed throughout the room, “Flash photography and recording devices are not permitted at any time during the performance.”

I was immediately disheartened, but luckily the photographer next to me seemed to notice. She nudged me.

“That doesn’t count for us,” she grinned, brandishing her “ArtsFest 2010: All-Access Pass” badge for me to see. I couldn’t have been happier!

Now, if a person were to decide, impulsively, to regard a contemporary dance performance, there is one important rule that needs to be established: approach this type of dance with an open mind.

I certainly did not intend to be nearly kicked in the face by one of the dancers, nor did I expect to watch one crawling across the floor directly towards me. These incidents were a bit astonishing at first, sure, but every movement was relevant delivering the underlying message of the performance: the struggle between good versus evil.

Sunday night at approximately 7:30 p.m., I fell in love with contemporary dance. A combination of the traditional grace of ballet and new-age rock, this is type of dance by far one of the edgiest, most passionate and artistic means of self-expression I have ever witnessed!



Day four of ArtsFest 2010 proved to be busier and just as exciting, if not more, than the previous three! From the noisiest of traditional American dances, to a glimpse into the lives of the Americans who have struggled most, today has been a day of Patriotism and Past-times! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Have a happy ArtsFest!