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Arts
Thursday, October 12, 2017 — 5B
COMMUNITY CULTURE PROFILE
COURTESY OF CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE STUDIES
CWPS: Travel, art and
the shaping of an identity
The Center for World Performance Studies provides a
space to delve into rich performance traditions globally
Sometimes, you have to
travel far to understand.
The
Center
for
World
Performance
Studies
is
a
multidisciplinary
program
that offers a certificate to
graduate
students.
CWPS
collaborates with the College
of Literature, Science and
the Arts, Rackham Graduate
School
and
other
schools
within
the
University.
It
teaches its students how to
engage in theoretical and
aesthetic issues that stem
beyond the performing arts.
As part of the certificate,
students
receive
funding
to travel abroad to do their
projects.
For graduate dance student
Fabiola Torralba, the program
allowed her to reconnect with
her culture when she traveled
back to Mexico. She went last
summer to the region known
as the Costa Chica, which
encompasses
Oaxaca
and
Guerrero. Not only did she
visit her family, but she gained
the opportunity to question
more about her heritage.
During this trip, she asked
her
grandmother,
“What
are we?” She remembered
her
grandmother
saying,
“We’re mestizos,” meaning
of mixed race. After that, her
grandmother was unsure of
what to say.
“I do remember was what
wasn’t said,” Torralba said.
“I wondered, ‘What about my
aunts and cousins who look
black?’ — not knowing that
there was a name or a way to
identify that. There was no
word that I knew of.”
Torralba later found out
that there were articles and
photographs
covering
the
people in these communities
of
the
coastal
region
of
Mexico. From here, she was
able to gain a sense of self-
identity
that
was
lacking
earlier.
“I
think
that
as
an
undocumented
immigrant
growing up in the U.S., I
didn’t have many models or
many people to talk to about
my experiences, and this was
during the time before there
was
immigration
reform,
before it was a popular issue on
a national level, before there
was the word Dreamers,”
Torralba said. “People didn’t
really talk about immigrants
in the years that I was
growing up, so I looked to the
stories of African-American
experiences and slavery and
colonialism. They anchored
me in some way, and gave
me something to familiarize
myself with.”
Not only has this experience
allowed Torralba to explore
her culture, it allowed her to
connect with other family
members and teach them more
about the heritage. When
Torralba went to Mexico in
the summer, her cousin, who
is also a dance student, joined
her.
“When my cousin first got
off the bus ... she was stunned
because it was the first time
she saw so many people that
were like her,” Torralba said.
The first time Torralba’s
cousin heard the term “Afro-
Mexican” was through dance
itself. By learning about the
story of Afro Mexican dancing,
her cousin was able to learn
more about herself, Torralba
said.
This
recognition
of
cultural diversity within art
is what has been lacking in
education.
“To
me
this
is
new
information,
but
this
community
has
been
organizing for 30 years, and
that kind of shows how out of
touch or disconnected I have
been, and we have been, in
academia, and maybe in the
US in general,” Torralba said.
Another
important
discovery Torralba made was
the injustice the community
has been facing. She realized
they have been hiding their
research,
because
outside
artists have come, imposed
their gains and left without
ever coming back.
She hopes to give back to the
community, as a researcher,
a dancer and as a someone
that
is
highly
committed
to social justice. Torralba
believes that she should use
her resources at the CWPS
and the University, as well as
her medium of art, as a way
to develop relationships with
these communities and raise
awareness about the existence
of these communities.
While the program allows
students to travel back to places
of their heritage, it also allows
American students to explore
other cultures. This can be
an invaluable experience to
students for their artwork and
understanding of others.
“We try to foster a sense of
finding roots,” said Michael
Gould, Director of CWPS. “For
example, it might not be a place
of direct cultural connection,
but if you have a connection
to another culture, we give
the opportunity for people to
have a deeper experience in
another culture.”
Gould himself lived in Japan
for three years while playing
for a band. The experience
informed his art making, and
he wants his students to be
able to see the richness in art
abroad we don’t always have
in the U.S.
But
sometimes,
the
complete opposite can happen
too.
Professor Anita Gonzalez
teaches classes in CWPS and
heads the Global Theatre
and Ethnic Studies minor.
Through
these
programs,
she has taken many students
abroad.
“What I’ve learned from my
international experiences is
that when American students
travel over to other places
they learn more about their
own cultural roots,” Gonzalez
said. “Often they’ve been
just caught up in their own
lifestyles,
and
when
they
travel away, or go into another
cultural
community,
they
suddenly realize more about
who they are and where they
came from and how they’re
connected to either race or
geographical space, or even to
a type of family.”
When Gonzalez wants to
connect back to the Cuban
grandfather she never met, she
turns to writing. Eventually,
she made her first trip to Cuba,
which allowed her to finally
see the place she has so often
thought about.
“Sometimes going back and
finding your roots can be a
life-changing experience, as it
helps you see where you came
from,” Gonzalez said. “And
sometimes it’s a frightening
experience, because you see
that you’ve already been living
in another place for a while, so
you don’t have the connection
that you would like to have.”
The intersections of art
and culture are fundamental
for many in understanding
and reconnecting to their
cultural heritages. Just as we
learn about others and their
backgrounds in their artwork,
we often also learn about
ourselves.
NITYA GUPTA
Daily Arts Writer
Herzog’s ‘Bells from the Deep’
in this series, three daily arts writers in
varying states of mind visit the same
place and write about their experiences.
baked.buzzed.bored.
this week’s destination:
Well, this is off to a promising start. There’s Mon-
golian throat singing, for one. But I really wish this
had closed captions. I can’t even identify the language
they’re speaking, let alone understand it. Oh wait, good
ol’ Werner is translating for us now. That’s good. Man
this singing is really fucking cool. I want to be able to
do that. Those overtones, man. Also there’s like this
banjo or something similar. That’s neat too. This lady
in a white coat (not medical) is going on about like the
earth and the foolishness of humanity. Something about
a redeemer. I’m not really catching it all tbh. Oh my god,
baked has churro ice cream. Update: it’s delicious.
“He thinks he’s jesus,” says baked.
This redeemer guy has some interesting things to
say. Love thy neighbor, and all that, which honestly i
can get behind. “I am the blood of the father, and I and
the father are one.” That’s a bit more dubious. This all
reminds me of the 19th century slavophile conception
of the russian people as being uniquely religious, the
true heirs of orthodoxy. This baptism honestly looks like
child abuse to me.
I think I like gin less than i used to. Huh.
God, this choir is great. This is really cool. They’re
just like a regular congregation tho. And they’re good.
That’s neat.
This guy Yuri is introduced as a sorcerer and exorcist.
That’s hardcore. This exorcism is really intense tho.
Like, the screaming is kind of freaking me out.
I think i’ll just watch for a bit. There’s a bell ringer
and I like it. Him. Man. Whatever. His parents probably
were killed in the war or Stalin’s purges, he says. I sup-
pose it makes sense that he has found a form of solace in
the ringing of the bells. Russian religious music is really
nice. I think that’s the big take away.
—DAILY ARTS WRITER
So far I’ve seen two men crawl over a frozen lake and a man
throat singing, what is going on?
Now we’re in a home and are witnessing an elaborate
blessing of some sort over food. The person perform-
ing the blessing is a shaman. The family asked him to
come so that they could ask which way to take their
herd of cattle.
More throat singing by a frozen lake, this time
with a banjo? This is fucking wild. I should be
high for this.
There’s this man named The Redeemer who
thinks he is some sort of Russian Jesus. “Man-
kind is headed straight towards the abyss”
he says. “I am the word of the father, and the
word of the father is one.” This dude really does
think he’s Jesus.
A Russian Orthodox priest is cannonballing
a baby into a pool of water. Child abuse?
There is an entire audience for an exorcism,
and the women being performed on are scream-
ing, how are people watching this for entertain-
ment? Do they not Game of Thrones?
Yuri Yuri Yuri rings the bells. I think Kanye
should sample this, the boys got rhythm.
It’s interesting that almost all of this mysticism
in Russia takes place within Christianity. These
traditions would seem so strange in any Western
Christian community.
A woman just asked a stump to give her bones and
muscles strength, I hope it works out for her.
I’m now much more motivated to visit Russia, almost
exclusively so I can witness the throat singing in person.
I would definitely recommend watching “Bells from the
Deep,” one of the strangest films I’ve seen in years.
—JOSEPH FRALEY
Editor’s Note: Werner Herzog’s documentary, “Bells from the
Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia,” is a gripping documentary
investigation of Russian mysticism, spanning all corners of the vast
country. In it, Herzog explores self-proclaimed messiahs, centuries-old
occultism and more — making for a rather memorable experience for
our participating staffers, inebriated or otherwise. Enjoy.
From there, she
was able to gain
a sense of self-
identity that was
lacking earlier
“Sometimes going
back and finding
your roots can be
a life-changing
experience, as
it helps you see
where you came
from”
Honestly, what the fuck is this? I was the one who had the gall to suggest this
and all I wanna do is slap the shit out of myself. I take a swig of Buzzed’s
gin because I don’t think one substance is enough to keep me at bay
right now.
At times you have to admire Herzog’s inability to
give very little shits about the content he creates.
He’s just piecing together vignettes of people
throat-singing and throwing water at
each other while singing hymns.
There’s no narrative here. It’s
just as if he’s trying to grab
you, the viewer, by your lapels
while forcibly peeling open your eyes
so you can witness the fuckery, good or
bad (or anything in between), he happens to
find on his global travails. Fuck you, Werner. I
wish Klaus Kinski was here to bash your head in with
a bottle.
This guy on the screen thinks he’s Jesus. He sort of looks
like him too. Maybe if Christ turned water into meth instead, more
accurately.
There’s a screaming baby being violently baptized. There’s a screaming
woman being exorcised. There’s more throat singing. I’m too high for this shit.
Goodnight.
—DAILY ARTS WRITER