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Show ETHNIC TRADITIONS INTHE SALT LAKE VALLEY Carol Edison, Craig Miller, David Stanley Folk Arts Program, Utah Arts Council The Salt Lake Valley has a wealth of artists who rarely come to the attention of the general public and seldom receive coverage in the popular media. Not far beyond the concert halls, art galleries and other institutions of formal learning, these talented artists dedicate themselves to maintaining traditional community values through folk and ethnic arts. Although well known within their respective communities, they are relatively unknown to the general public because they do not compromise their art forms to appeal to popular cultural taste. Instead, they perpetuate the traditions that have been passed down from earlier generations and, at the same time, express and reinforce their own cultural identity. Music and Dance Throughout the Salt Lake Valley there are dance bands, choral groups, dance groups and individual performers who daily fill an important need for members of their respective ethnic communities. For people immersed in modem American society, these groups serve as cultural anchors holding centuries of heritage and tradition, providing a foundation upon which ethnic Americans can build a contemporary identity. To take the example of choral groups, ethnic choruses are perhaps most often heard in conjunction with religious services but they commonly participate in a variety of secular activities and civic functions that are open to the public. Gospel groups ranging from large choirs to small ensembles like Full Joy and the Utah Travelers can be heard regularly in the Salt Lake Valley, as can Polynesian groups such as the Tongan United Methodist Church Choir. Although the old German-language LDS Ward was dissolved, the German Chorus Harmonie still provides an artistic and social expression for those of German descent. A similar group, the Scandia Mens' Chorus, is still heard at local Swedish functions. The Hellenic Mens' Chorus, like many of the others, provides an important service. The members travel to isolated communities beyond Salt Lake where Greek families settled after leaving their homeland. At informal gatherings and senior citizen centers they sing the old songs and soothe the hurt caused by leaving family and friends in the old land. For more than a half century, the Swiss Chorus Edelweiss has been the heart of Utah's Swiss community. Founded in the strong tradition of Swiss singing societies and fortified by nostalgia for their homeland, the chorus has expanded to include dancers and several small instrumental groups. The chorus is an exceptional example of how ethnic art forms can nourish a community. Recently they compiled a poignant booklet of "stories, recollections, impressions and testimonials" that reveals how their love of music and respect for their Swiss heritage have enhanced their lives in contemporary America. Still other ethnic performing groups are like mirrors, reflecting the changing values and aesthetics of immigrant communities within mainstream American culture. The music they play and their total repertoire have adapted to fit the community's changing tastes and occupations. Often, the result is a band providing "music for all occasions." Because Utah's Mexican-American community shares some of the same social environments as other Hispanic groups, ensembles such as the Grupo Tropical Maya and El Quinteto Latino play a broad range of Latin- American music. Their repertoire is widely varied both geographically and in time, so they can please any Latin- American audience by playing old standards as well as more recent hits from numerous different countries. One can find ethnic bands at a variety of events, including weddings, graduations, church socials, Christmas parties and, of course, ethnic holidays and festivals. (What would "Cinco de Mayo" be without a mariachi band or the Scottish Games without bagpipers?) But few page 5 people realize that many of our most prominent local bandleaders also play ethnic music. The leader of the Jerry Floor Big Band, for example, also plays Greek clarinet at private functions; Roland Gustavson, who regularly plays for social dances at the Palladium, also leads a group that performs for the Swedish Heritage Society dancers. He happily plays hambo or gammal schottis as easily as a fox-trot or jitterbug. Many ethnic bands are also family bands comprised of immediate family members, cousins and close friends. Their repertoire generally includes some very traditional material that has been passed down from older generations. The New Mexican music played by James Romero y los Amigos at wedding celebrations or the Lebanese music played by the Anton Family Band at the annual St. Jude's dinner dance are prime examples. Dance is of great importance to ethnic communities, too, but in two very strong traditions-performance dance and social dance. Both function very differently in the ways they serve the community's needs. Ethnic performing ensembles are usually presented as showpieces of their national heritage. Their function is to both teach and entertain spectators of two different kinds. For audiences comprised of members of the ethnic community, the performance reinforces ethnic pride. For audiences outside the community group, ethnic performers are ambassadors who present the heritage and cultural values of their entire community. Because of their responsibility as cultural ambassadors, the dancers may often present a more elaborate and more stylized performance than their counterparts who enjoy traditional kinds of social dancing. A revival of interest in performance dance has encouraged groups like the McTeggart Irish Step Dancers or the Tongan Friendly Islanders to import out-of-state or foreign experts to train their dancers. Some troupes like the Buddhist Taiko Drummers or the Utah 'Ko Triskalariak Basque Dancers perfect their performances by traveling to regional festivals in neighboring states. Still other troupes like the Gomez Mexican Folkloric Dancers have traveled abroad to learn national dances for local presentation. Several ethnic communities have also organized schools where instruction in language and culture as well as ethnic dance is provided for children. A traditional Hawaiian halau, or hula school, is provided by Salt Lake resident Kuuipo Enos, and Jung Hee Lovejoy and her fellow instructors provide classes in dance, customs and language at the Korean-American Community School. One of the most successful of local ethnic dance programs exists in the Greek community. From an early age, Greek-Americans can learn dances and can progress from the Junior to the Senior G.O.YA (Greek Orthodox Youth Association) performing ensembles, eventually to audition with the young adult Dionysius Dancers. Besides providing years of instruction in ethnic traditions, the program achieves its greatest success, perhaps, at informal occasions like the annual Greek festival, when hundreds of young people dance the syrtos and tsamikos in truly spontaneous expressions of community. Although these performing ensembles might be thought of as mainly "museum exhibits" that publicly display ethnic dance traditions, one need only search a bit farther to discover that ethnic dance functions on the social level as well. A visit to an ethnic wedding, a dinner dance or a church social can reveal the vibrancy of these living traditions. Polka bands like Horst Fiedel and the Bavarians or the Rocky Mountain Polka Express frequently play for communities with European roots. Their polkas and waltzes cross over national boundaries, providing enjoyment and cultural reinforcement for people from many ethnic backgrounds. Local Hispanics and Polynesians have their own unique styles of social dancing which have yet to appear on any performance stage. These styles often represent a mixture of the old and the new, the ethnic and the American popular dance. They may eventually evolve into significant cultural markers as they are adopted by a wider community. Many communities organize activities in which both performance and social dancing play a vital role. At the Indian Walk-In Center, members of more than 30 separate tribes converge monthly for pow-wows featuring performances of both "traditional" and "fancy" dancing as well as social dances for group participation. Dance is not only the major activity during the evening, but it serves as the forum in which traditional values are expressed and reinforced among community members. Ethnic arts exist all around us and it is in the ordinary places-at private parties, at church gatherings and in neighborhood establishments-that they flourish most abundantly. And it is because their existence is common to all of us that it is so dear, for in their richness and diversity, Salt Lake's ethnic arts enhance our larger community and give expression to our own community identity. Crafts In much the same way that ethnic choruses, bands, performance ensembles, and dancers reflect the cultural traditions of Salt Lake's residents, folk crafts also function as artistic expressions of ethnic identity and cultural heritage. Within the population of the Salt Lake Valley there exist a surprising variety and number of traditional communities or "folk groups" whose members share a common nationality, ethnic background, occupation or religion. Among some of these groups strong and viable craft traditions have been maintained. For practitioners of these craft forms, their knowledge and skill in creating works of folk and ethnic art represent both the inheritance given them by their parents and the legacy they will leave to their children. (continued on page 10) Rosalind Upp and her son, Gerhardt, are practitioners of Austrian decorative painting. Before coming to Utah, they were appointed "Folk Art Ambassadors" by the Austrian government and in this capacity taught painting, carving and restoration techniques to many of their countrymen, (photo: C. Edison) |
