Dance to the Music-Sly and the Family Stone

We have been on the road and without internet for a few days so I have several posts to upload.  Here is the first from Tuesday, June 18.

Hokey Pokey dancing :)

Today I got to do one thing I was really hoping to do in Brazil-dance with a Brazilian to Brazilian music!  In fact, the whole day was full of music and dancing from start to finish.

We headed out early for 8AM classes at CCL.  The English students we spoke with were in their first year of learning English so for something fun we decided to review the vocabulary of body parts by teaching them the “Hokey Pokey.”  It ended up being really fun!   We stopped by a Portuguese class for their Festa Junina party with all kinds of foods and drinks, including a new juice called cajá, before continuing with our planned schedule.

Class at CCL

The music and dancing continued when we went to visit Zacarias de Góis (Liceu Piauiense,) one of the older public high schools in the city.  In the past it was recognized as one of the best public high schools in the city, and it still has a very good reputation.  While the building itself had a more historical aura, the ideas presented were academic and innovative.  We met with the principal first and he told us that the school has around 1500 students.  Some students follow the more traditional Brazilian schedule, attending one five-hour session of school each day.  However, around 500 students take an entrance exam in order to attend full day of classes, from 7AM-4PM daily.  These students are able to incorporate arts, theater, music, dance, chess and more into their schedule.   The principal told us that a good principal must stand on three pillars, pedagogical, institutional and community.  Immediately following the principal interview we walked to a different building where we were greeted by an auditorium full of excited high school students preparing for a performance.  One extremely outgoing young man came right up to us to welcome us to his school and provide an overview of the program.  We heard several songs by the choir, led by a student conductor.  We were then treated to a dance performance of a Brazilian dance called “forro,” which is really popular in the northeast region of Brazil.  After that, we were invited up to dance ourselves, let me remind you that this is in front of about 300-500 high school students.  The boy leading us was so good, I felt like I had been dancing Brazilian dances for years.  We also learned “Swingera” and “Ai Se Eu Te Pejo!” Following our impromptu performances, we were treated to a classical ballet piece, more singing and then a question and answer session.  Once again, we were honored to be welcomed by so many friendly faces.

Student choir

Learning some dances, I held my own I think :)

More popular dances, we had so much fun!

The principal then took us on a tour of the school grounds.  He highlighted their art program, which was truly inspiring.  The students create art in many of the same forms that you would see in the U.S.: sculpture, pottery, painting, drawing, etc.  One key difference is the lack of resources.  The students use discarded materials picked up in the streets as the basis of their artwork.  The art teacher explained that this meets the dual goal of helping to clean up the city while also providing materials to be used by the students.  Some of their work was really beautiful and creative.

student painting

Painting on the back of a refrigerator panel

painting on a discarded piece of wood from a demolition site

School lunch

We had lunch in the school cafeteria, which was the typical Brazilian lunch of rice and beans with salad, meat and deliciously fresh watermelon.  As we were eating, the lunch hour began for students and the spotlessly clean cafeteria filled up.  One thing that struck me was the inclusive and collective nature of the cafeteria.  There was no sign of the clique-y groups you would see in an American cafeteria, but rather everyone seemed to sit with everyone.  I learned that students are kept in order by two representatives from each class elected by their peers.  These students also serve on an advisory committee to the principal.

Line for the cafeteria

Here's a link to an article about our visit.

After lunch we moved on to our next stop, one of Alex’s three jobs.  Because teachers in Brazil are not paid well, it is common for them to work more than one job and Alex teaches in three schools.  This class is held at a private school, which prepares students for various exams.  The students in Alex’s class were preparing for medical entrance exams on which they must prove English proficiency.  We spent some time talking about the medical field and other issues, it was interesting to hear from people who are physical therapists and dentists as the English language they need to learn is much different from that of a high school student.

Medical students

After a bit of rest, we headed to the grocery store where the staff had filled a cart for me with all of the gluten free products they carry so I could buy whatever I needed.  

My cart full of gluten free goods

CCL

elaborate costumes

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Then it was back to CCL for more class visits during the evening session before we headed out to the June festival.  We had heard about the festival before coming to Teresina, but were especially excited because the northeast region of Brazil is known for the Festa Junina.  The June festival is celebrated in honor of three saints, São Pedro, Santo Antonio, and São João.  Upon our arrival, it seemed much like a county fair at first with a carnival, live music, and all kinds of food stalls-my stomach was growling in no time.  We made our way over to the main attraction, the dance contests.  We watched dances called Quadrilha which were fascinating.  This dance is based on the old minuets danced in Europe during the Baroque era. It can best be described as an explosion of color, music and movement.  As you will see in the video, the dances are much faster and louder than they were during the 16-1700s.  Each group is made up of about 100+ dancers and they perform a 30-minute dance (wait until you watch, I can’t imagine the stamina!)  The dance tells the story of a girl that wants to get married and prays to Santo Antonio.  Of course she meets a boy, and I’m sure you can imagine the rest of the story.  Different dance groups compete all week, the competition narrows down with a winner being chosen based on the highest scores at the end of the week.  Everything about these performances is completely over the top-the costumes, make up, speed, movements, etc.  Immediately after the performances, one of the dancers passed out, and I wasn’t surprised.  Have I mentioned that all this was happening and it was still over 85 degrees!  After watching the performance we headed to the food stalls and enjoyed arrumadinho, a traditional meal of grilled meats and pineapple, rice, beans and one of my new favorite things, manioc-farofa.  Alex says that people who like farofa are called “farofeiro” and I am definitely one of these.  This name actually has kind of a negative connotation in Brazil, it implies you are unsophisticated and a little country.  I don't mind though, I think it's funny and the farofa is too good to really worry about what people are calling you.

posing with some dancers

We finally got home around 12:30 and had to be up early the next day for early classes.

Here is a video of the Quadrilha-it's from a phone so the quality isn't great, but you'll get the idea of what the dances were like.