Chamoru dance group to appear
at European cultural festivals
Stars and Stripes
Photo courtesy of Frank Reyes
The Chamoru Cultural Dance Group from Guam will perform at a series of cultural dance
festivals in Europe. Chamorus are natives of the Pacific Ocean islands that make up the
Marianas, which include Guam. |
The Chamoru Cultural Dance Group from Guam will perform at a series
of cultural festivals in Europe.
The 22-member troupe, called Pa’a Taotao Tano, is made up of six
Chamoru dance groups. Chamorus are natives of the Pacific Ocean islands that make up the
Marianas, which include Guam.
The dancers will perform at the following:
Festival Mondial de Folklore de la Ville de St.-Ghislain in
St.-Ghislain, Belgium, Wednesday through June 6.
Salland-Festival in Raalte, the Netherlands, June 12-19.
Internationale Folkloreade Festival, Enschede, the Netherlands,
June 20-25.
Op Roakeldais International Folklore Festival, Warffum, the
Netherlands, June 27-July 1.
The troupe, whose name means “people of the land,” will
perform dances, chants and songs from the Chamoru tradition, the Spanish colonial era and
current times.
The groups are a result of the work of Frank Rabon, considered the
“master teacher” of Chamoru cultural dance, and the revival in indigenous
cultural that began in the 1970s.
Rabon researched the local culture and recorded the traditional
chants and dances that the troupe now performs. It was a difficult task because the
Chamorus had no written language, and the ancient spiritual and warrior rituals had to be
passed on by word of mouth.
For more information, contact Frank Rodney Reyes at (31) 045-5326402,
or by e-mail at: mailto:reyes@cuci.nl
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