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welcome to ethnic dance theatre: your passport to the world

journal entries: edt performers share their stories

Ever wonder what EDT performers are up to, whether it's an international tour, workshop experiences or thoughts on culture, art and the world? Well, you've come to the right place! Read on:

big winners in bavaria (October 2003)

By Donald LaCourse, EDT Artistic Director
In October 2003, long time EDT performer and my sister Renee LaCourse, along with our nephew Jacob Schultz, his girlfriend Jenny Roehl, my brother Mark (another long time EDT performer) and I traveled to Germany to participate in the 3rd annual Bayrische Loewen (Bavarian Lion) Schuhplattler Competition held in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. We were there as the first American individual couples invited to take part in this prestigious championship, along with two group competitors from Philadelphia, PA and Newark, NJ. We had received our invitation because we were the 1st and 2nd place winners in our North American competion held in May 2003, and through the hard work of several friends in Bavaria who helped secure the invitations for us.

We spent 10 days as the guests of our dear friend, Hans Menzinger, the owner of "Trachten Poehlman", a store for traditional Bavarian clothing. From the time of our arrival until our departure, we had the rare experience of being immersed in the living, breathing folk culture of Bavaria. Although we had all grown up surrounded by things German, each day we tried new foods, wore traditional clothes, and explored ethnographic museums and peoples homes, to gain new insights into the customs and life of this corner of the globe.

At the top of the list of highlights was the competition itself. Held in a large ballroom of a charming hotel on the Auwaldsee in Ingolstadt, we arrived at 8:30 in the morning , after a 1 1/2 hour drive, to find a bustling scene of men, women and children dressed in their best festival day clothing. Delicate silk brocades, crisp linens and lace, and heavy chains of silver were the order of the day. We slipped in quietly, our own attire not revealing our "Foreign" origin, to register for the day's events. We heard no whispers about "the Americans" until Jake and Jenny first took the floor. Then we heard the approving murmurs for our Festtracht. When the first "catch" of the girl by Jake happened, the entire room gasped at the smoothness with which it was accomplished! When they finished their dance, the room erupted into thunderous applause. A short while later, when Renee and I performed, once again the audience (our fellow competitors) gasped and shouted for our rendition of the ancient dance. Afterward, we were surrounded with new friends, offering their amazement that we knew their tradition and dance so well.

The awards ceremony came after an entire day of competition in age categories from 6 years, to over 60. The 30 competitors in each age category were called to the floor, where places were announced, from last to first. Since this was a competition of the champions of the 10 participating federations, the placement of standings was very close. We were proud that Jake placed 24th and Jenny 20th out of 30. I was thrilled that I placed 11th out of 30 in the 35-49 year category, and everyone was stunned by Renee's FOURTH place finish in the same category- an amazing achievement that had all of us welling up with tears of pride and joy.

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dancers compete in china (October 2003)

By Blanka Brichta and Jan Morse, EDT dancers
In October 2003 we were participants in a world premier international dance festival and competition held in the city of Jiangdu, China. We performed three "fad" dances from the 1920's—Varsity Drag, Black Bottom and Charleston—to original jazz recordings from that era. The suite was choreographed by Lance Benishek, an internationally recognized expert on American dance (and a former EDT dancer who appeared most recently in EDT's The American Show).

The invitation to the festival was graciously offered by the festival committee through Ms. Tian Jiang Cui, the Artistic Director of the Minnesota Chinese Dance Theatre. Ms. Cui has worked with EDT many times over the years and is credited for setting the Chinese classic "Red Ribbon Dance," an audience favorite, for EDT in 1991.

The festival judges and the audience of nearly 3,000 people enjoyed our performances;  we were awarded third place behind Brazil and Russia out of an overall festival competition of 14 groups.

We also had the good fortune to meet Shi Dali, one of the competition judges, who holds a prestigious position as the president of the Chinese Dancers Association at the Chinese Ministry of Culture. She is influential in promulgating and preserving dance as an art form as a valuable part of Chinese traditions.

We consider the Chinese experience a trip of a lifetime and are very grateful for the wonderful and unique memories we have.

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