Beyond The Classroom Blog Assignment

     For the Native American culture, I chose to talk about grass dancing at a powwow. I was looking into powwows and I saw that there were over nine different types of dancing. Grass dancing, which is a type of men's dancing, caught my attention. It caught my attention because of the cool outfit’s the people wear. From the first link I linked, I learned that this dance was originally a warrior dance that has evolved over the years into a more competitive northern style. They believe the dance originally came from young boys tying grass around their waists. The outfits have since been transformed by adding a lot of feathers and beads for sound. The outfits are accompanied by beating and stomping to show the strength of the warriors too. Here is a video that showcased more of the dance.

    For the Andean culture, I chose to look more into their instruments and the music that goes with them. I played the saxophone in the fifth grade so I was curious if they also have a similar instrument to the saxophone. I found that their saxophone is made of bamboo instead of the traditional brass material. They are similar to traditional saxophones in the way that they both use reeds still to produce sound. They have a long neck without bends like the traditional saxophone which produce a different sound. He showcases different Andean saxophones, some that are deeper and others that are lighter in sound. Here is a video showing you the sounds.

    For African culture, I chose to talk about the Isicathamiya singing style. We touched on it in class but I wanted to look into it more. It’s a mix of vocal work along with a specific type of dancing, mostly focused on movement of the feet. The Isicathamiya singing style focuses on harmonious chants by the people involved along with simultaneous dance moves so that everyone is in sync. The groups for this style range between a few members to over twenty. There are competitions held mostly just for pride and dignity. Here is a video showing a Isicathamiya competition.

1. G, About Paul. “Grass Dancing: Native American Grass Dancer Regalia, Info & More.” PowWows.com, 1 Feb. 2020, https://www.powwows.com/grass-dancing/. 2. “Saxo of Bamboo: Saxo Andean: Kaypacha.” Musical Instruments, https://www.kaypacha.com.ar/en/instruments/saxo.htm#:~:text=Andean%20saxophone%20or%20simply%20sax,with%20A%20pavilion%20of%20pumpkin. 3. Mihalka, Matthew. “Isicathamiya.” Music in World Cultures, University of Arkansas Libraries, 20 Aug. 2021, https://uark.pressbooks.pub/musicinworldcultures/chapter/south-african-isicathamiya/#:~:text=Isicathamiya%20is%20a%20performative%20vocal,dance%20moves%20used%20in%20performances.