Folk celebration features music, dance
When members of the National Folk Organization gather in Las Vegas this weekend for their annual meeting, it’s locals who will reap some of the rewards.
That’s because, in conjunction with the gathering, the city of Las Vegas on Saturday is sponsoring a daylong folk celebration at the Charleston Heights Arts Center.
The National Folk Organization was founded in 1986 to preserve and promote the folk arts, said Jo Crawford, the group’s vice president. Its membership includes participants in recreational folk dance and performing groups, researchers, choreographers and folk event organizers.
At 1:30 p.m. Friday, the organization will host a panel discussion, “Ethnic Dance On Stage in the 21st Century,” at the West Charleston Library.
Scheduled panelists include: Jerry Duke, professor emeritus of dance studies at San Francisco State University; Daniela Ivanova, author of “The Folk Dance Ensemble as a Cultural Phenomenon in Bulgaria”; and Ed Austin, former artistic director of the Brigham Young University folk dance ensemble. NFO past president Katherine St. John will moderate.
Following the panel discussion, at 3:30 p.m., Jerry Helt, who is marking his 60th year as a square dance caller, will discuss his career as a caller, choreographer, calling instructor and recording artist.
Friday’s events are free and open to the public.
On Saturday, a folk celebration will be held at the Charleston Heights Arts Center.
Scheduled performers include: international dance artist Zarina, who specializes in Middle Eastern dances; guitarist RJ Fox, accompanied by Mexican/Spanish/Flamenco dancers; and the Las Vegas Kaminari Taiko drummers.
Also scheduled are workshops and dance demonstrations by area folk and ethnic dance groups, dance lessons and, in the evening, a Contra dance called by Norma Biggar and members of the Southern Nevada Old Time Contra Dancers organization.
Tickets for Saturday’s event are $10 advance or $15 on the day of the event,
Wendy Dwyer, creative director of Las Vegas Kaminari Taiko, said “taiko” refers to both the style of percussion and the drum used in taiko drumming.
While taiko drumming is based in Japanese culture, many practictioners of the musical art incorporate other musical disciplines, including jazz, into their work, she says.
Her own ensemble’s style? “Our songs we’re doing right now, I guess you can consider a little bit on the traditional side,” Dwyer says, although “I wouldn’t say we’re a traditional group.”
What is the appeal of folk arts, even in a high-tech 21st century?
“If we knew that, we’d all be rich,” Crawford jokes. But, she says, part of the appeal may lie in the universal nature of folk art — in a group of young dancers in Las Vegas, for example, knowing that they’re doing “what someone else in another part of the world is doing.”
The folk arts, Crawford says, “help (us) to make sense of and keep our feet in two worlds.”
Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.