One of the best things about New York is the summer stages. Last Sunday, the opening of the summer season was the Harlem Meer Performance Festival in Central Park. A cozy stage along the water, surrounded by large green trees on 110th Street between Lennox & 5th Avenue in Manhattan. According to tradition, the season was opened with an African band. African music is the cradle of contemporary American music. Not only Hip Hop and Gospel, but also Blues, Jazz and even Rock 'n Roll all find their origins in African rhythms.
The opening band was “African Blue Note”. This band led by Martino Atangana, a Cameroonian, plays not only their own composed songs from their own country, but also music from various other African countries. With Juju from Nigeria, Bikutsi and Makossa from Cameroon and Soukous from Ghana, the band makes an exciting tour through Africa. It is simply impossible to sit still when listening to the music. The dansbakroe (dance spirit) in me was nicely awakened after a dormant winter.
Do you know that feeling when you want to dance, but you feel a little embarrassed because no one is dancing and you don't want to be the first and the only one? Then you sit there for the rest of the song, shuffling a little bit in your chair while it BITES you to start dancing. Ouch, I know that feeling all too well. Maybe I invented it. I really have a dancing bug. Whether it's Kawina, Salsa, House or even old school Disco, when I hear good music I can't be stopped.
For this special occasion there was also a dancer. In beautiful traditional clothing she danced effortlessly along with the various rhythms. The weather was wonderful.
Fortunately, I have discovered that if you just start dancing, the rest will follow. At first, you may get a bit of disapproving looks. Stern looks that say “hmmm, some people just don’t know how to do it.” Others that say, “baja, she’s got some guts,” and “not for me.” But you are seriously shortchanging yourself if you let yourself be guided by these kinds of looks and comments. In fact, if you resist such a natural urge as dancing, I think you could even lose yourself. By getting up and dancing, especially at an open-air concert, you are actually doing exactly what you are supposed to do: Dancing! You are not hurting anyone if you can enjoy live music with your heart and soul. It is even a gift.
Unfortunately, some people have gotten stuck in a certain way of thinking, that you shouldn't be extravagant, for example. It's actually the same with frizzy hair. Fortunately, the number of people who think frizzy hair is bad and that it shouldn't be is rapidly decreasing. But if I had to take these people's comments seriously, I would never have gone frizzy. Then not only would the natural love for my own (hair) roots have died a frustrating death, I would now most likely be walking around with a permanent weave or wig, just like so many others who have fallen victim to this way of thinking.
Harvey from Suriname on drums & Mamadou from Senegal on bass
At this concert I was by far not the only one who was “plagued” by the summer dancing spirits. The audience was very mad. Young, old, from all walks of life and already at the first Soukous people started dancing. As stiff and cold as the hips are in the winter, so loose and warm they were turned in all directions. The ambiance with the music, the stage surrounded by the green of the trees with the brown water in the background, where whole families were sitting relaxed picnicking, could not have been better. The band could not have been more mad either. Every musician originally came from a different country.
Mihu from Japan on Keys & Mike from New York on Sax
The cart with the musical instruments – kids who continue to drum
All good things must come to an end, unfortunately this day could not last forever. The African Blue Note was scheduled from four to six and at the last song everyone was really swinging. After this climax some people stood there dazed for a while as if they could not believe it was over. Others stood in line at the water fountain to replenish the burned body fluids. After that it was time to enjoy and chat. If I can believe the dancing spirits I am going to have a wonderful swinging summer!