The Art of Flouncing…
MASQUERADE JAMBOREE/Festival of Guyana Masquerade: Post# 2
In this series of posts, we are going to identify and reflect on some of the elements in Guyana’s masquerade tradition.
• Flouncing
• Characters
• Costumes
• Music
• Toasts
Since the “Masquerade Lives” symposium in 2012 important work has been done to document the folk art. One example of this type of documentation is the DVD “Movements of the Masquerade Dance.” This 2013, UNESCO/Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport DVD was produced by Ms. Linda Griffith, M.S., Director of the National School of Dance. The DVD identifies eleven (11) flouncing movements in Guyana’s masquerade dance:
• Lady Going to Market
• Breast Plate
• Back Walk
• Heel and Toe
• Boy Robin
• Scottish Highlander
• Toe Tip
• Donkey Parade
• Shuffle
• Stumble 1
• Stumble 2
Here are some of the flouncing movements from the 2013 DVD–“Movements of the Masquerade Dance.” Recorded at the National School of Dance, Guyana. Congratulations, Linda Griffith.