02 April 2007

C a m a i

(A Yup'ik greeting, meaning 'what can I do for you?')

Even though the weather was just above freezing (ie. the snow begins to melt & is slushy in spots) Jenny & I headed down to Bethel for the famous Camai dance festival. Yup'ik Eskimo dancers from all over the state join. As well, folks from St. Lawrence Island (near Russia), Hawaii, Arizona, & Mexico came to share different styles of dancing, including Flamingo (Spanish), Hula, modern narrative contemporary. We even had a local tap team from Akula, our neighbors. A friend, Sara, danced with some family from Kotlic also. It was great fun seeing these live performances from such talented, in tune people!

Here is the link so that you can see the Nunapitchuk dancers:
http://www.bethelarts.com/2007/photos/NunapitchukDancers/index.html


Once I figure out how to use this Dell with photos I'll post some.