Movie Monday: Everybody dance now!

from a festival in Michigan (of all places) here is video of a traditional Kazakh dance.  I scoured the interweb (for all of 10 minutes) looking for an explanation of meaning or symbolism but didn't find anything, so you will just have to wait until I get there and can ask someone.  I know you are on the edge of your seat about this...more suspense than waiting for the 7th Harry Potter book...(or not).

and for fun...the peace corps:

Friday Photo - well, not exactly a photo...just something really cool

One of my favorite creative responses this year:

and now... back to packing

Goodbye Overbrook

Today was my last day at Overbrook High School.  Looking back, I find that while there was certainly frustration and sometimes chaos, my memories are overwhelmingly positive.  Here are some of my favorites:

Soul Christmas Carols played on the loudspeaker in the weeks before the holiday.

Erv showing our principal how to count rhythm and then entertaining the class with a Hart impersonation.

Rhythm composition projects - wtg team Marquita T.

Shawn getting tickets to a Flyers playoff game last season - NO FAIR!

3rd period class of 2010 (you know who you are) singing along with Dream Girls so loudly that it attracted an audience in the hall.

Diontai H. knuckle bumping me every time he saw me...even if I was telling him to "get out of my corner."

Alvan and Kamarria practicing the pianos...all the time...and then some more.

Mr. King...slouching in his desk with his eyes half closed: too cool for school but way smarter than he ever let anyone see.

Steffie working on his Art Music Beat so meticulously that I still dream Queen of the Night from time to time.

Keon smelling paint...what was up with that?!

Ms. "I've never been suspended at Overbrook, help me get in trouble" Robinson

T and E. Rapping in the back room to Pachelbel's canon.  T: I'll never forgive you for deleting that video.

The art club (you know who you are - and you had better stay in touch or I'll come back to Philly expressly to kick your butts) - I won't share their antics here but perhaps there will be a cameo in upcoming video.

7th period philosophy with Sam and Kareem - change the world, gentlemen.

The 3rd floor "breakfast club": Nothing like comedy and coffee to make the day brighter.

So OHS family, I will leave you with the farewell that Keon gave the graduating class last Friday:

Friday Photo - a picture of a museum I will probably visit

First of all, congratulations to all of my students who graduated in Philadelphia today!!!! I am very proud of all of you!

I wanted to do pictures of mountains (I LOVE mountains) but I think I will run a short series on the mountains in Kazakhstan later this summer (perhaps while I am amidst some of the mountains in North America).




Since I have been posting a bit about music in Kazakhstan, here is a picture of the museum that houses a collection of historic Kazakh instruments.

To the right is a picture of  the Abay State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (with some mountains in the background).  This theater was named after the Kazakh educator, philosopher, and humanist poet Abay Kunanbay who, among other things wrote:


"Man comes crying into this world and departs it in sorrow. Between these two events, without fully comprehending the value and uniqueness of the life bestowed upon him, he will burn it up thoughtlessly, squander it in petty quarrels and miserable wrangles, and never know true happiness. He will pause to think only when the sands of life are running out. Only then will he realise that no treasure on earth can prolong his life even for a single day."

Movie Monday: More of the Kazakh Dombra

While "Freestailo!" was fun, this video will show the more traditional Dombra tradition in Kazakhstan (oh, and the video has camels for Steph).

Dombra

The dombra is a pear shaped long necked lute of the Kazakh people of Central Asia. It has a slender long neck with fourteen gut frets and two gut strings. The dombra was traditionally used to accompany epic poems and folk songs, but now virtuosic instrumental pieces are also common. 

For more information about the Dombra, visit the following websites:

Asza

National Geographic

bukhara-carpets

Friday Photo - Zhetygen - a Kazakh instrument and its legend

The Legend (source)

"Many, many years ago, there lived an old man who had seven sons. It so happened that during the famine all his sons died. After the death of the first son, the old man single-stringed a gouged piece of wood and played the kyui-requiem (kyui - a piece of instrumental music). After the second son's death, he stringed another cord and played the kyui Broken Wings. He dedicated the following kyui to the sons who died in succession, each time adding another string to his instrument: The fire's Cone Out; Joy Has Left Me; The Sun Has Darkened; The Moon Has Disappeared. After the death of his last son the old man stringed the seventh cord and played the requiem After Losing My Seven Sons, I've Gone Blind for all his dead sons.'

The preceding legend is about the ancient musical instrument zhetygen (Zhety means seven in Kazakh).

More about the traditional culture and arts of the Kazakh people to come.

Tidbit Tuesday - and now, a phenom from Kazakh pop culture

In researching for future posts about Kazakh culture I came across the following clip and couldn't resist.  To read the whole story, click here.

and then later...

There have been countless remixes like this one...

Hope you had fun with that!

Movie Monday: Lonely Planet Cathedral of the Holy Ascension Almaty

I'm sure to have my own video and photos of this place in a few months.

Until next time...

Friday Photo - Map of Kazakhstan's 14 Oblys or Provinces

Please forgive my tardiness with this post.

I don't know about you, but I like to have a clear picture of the geography when I move to a new place.  Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world.  It is divided into 14 Provinces or Oblys as shown in the map.  Almaty, of course, is in the south-eastern-most province.

Study up, at some point I am going to post a quiz.

I also found this map of the geographical regions interesting.