Friday, July 13, 2007

If it were up to me...

Somebody should combine Japanese drums (Taiko):



with Stepping:



What a great new artform that would be.

It should probably also include some of the facial expressions of a Maori Haka:



I checked to make sure that such a thing did not already exist.

I found the Awa Odori:



But no, that's not it.

I'm afraid it will just have to be invented.

Oh, and I also think that all professional sports teams should be required to do it before games.



Better choreograph your own, though. The All Blacks don't like it when you steal their Haka.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

But did they win that match?

Anonymous said...

would it be a bit like zulu dance?

-bill

Rurality said...

Pablo, I'm not sure on that one. But they win a lot, apparently! Another cool video on youtube shows the Tonga team doing something similar, the Sipi Tau. They didn't even wait til the All Blacks were done with their haka though, which if you ask me is kind of rude. (Samoa has a Siva Tau, also similar.)

Ooh Bill, nice one! Getting closer. But, instead of holding shields the hands should be clapping or doing something more artistic. And no whistles or sitting down during the middle!

Bobby said...

Just watching that Haka gets you psyched up. That beats the hell out of an NFL end zone dance if you ask me.

Omelay said...

i wish i could write you a glorious haiku for your new art form. i like taiko much better than stepping though.

Rurality said...

Bobby, yeah I watched almost all the All Blacks haka videos on YouTube, so I am pumped for anything now. :) Even watching a rugby game.

Karl, I like them both. But the I like the old-fashioned Stepping better than the more modern stuff.

Ontario Wanderer said...

What a fantastic set of You-tube videos. Even better was the discovery that we could play at least two at the same time to get our own combinations.

Help, get me away from this machine . . .

SantaBarbarian said...

I LOVE Taiko!

Rurality said...

OW, heh. When I do that it causes everything to shut down on my computer!

Jill, I loved it from the first time I heard it. Actually that's the case with all these videos/artforms. :)

katefear said...

You HAVE to rent *Zatoichi* and check out the dance number at the end... I think it will be just what you're looking for.
The movie's not bad either...

Rurality said...

That is kind of surreal, tap dancing in kimonos! Now I want to see the movie.

Susan Gets Native said...

I watched the Haka twice and the All Blacks clip twice.
Now I feel like I could go out and stomp someone to pieces.
I would LOVE to see the NFL do something like that!
The last clip (Zatoichi) was pretty close to all three...but the video was too fuzzy for me to see if there were any facial contortions.

Rurality said...

I won't even admit to how many times I've watched that All Black haka. I love it! There are videos of the other one they do on youtube also.

Rurality said...

Well dang, they replaced the sound in that last video, so you can't actually hear the haka anymore. Google "All Blacks haka" to find other versions... sadly, not as great at this one was.