Cultural Night

Tonight was so neat! The University of Panama nursing students planned a cultural event to share various dances, songs, acting, and traditions of the Panamanian culture. They first performed what appeared to be a popular dance to modern music. They then acted out a mime-style play. The actors wore black, red, and white and had painted their faces white. The next couple acts seemed to be traditions of the people. Each act involved a single guy donning an ornate costume and dancing a unique style. The first guy wore an orange outfit with a dragon-like face mask and feathers. He had wooden shoes on and wooden clappers in his hands that he shook to the beat of the music. The next guy resembled a pirate figure and danced around with a cane. He was clearly the comedian of the group! There was also a traditional dancing involving a girl and two guys. The girl wore a hand woven white, flowy dress that was accented with green, red, and yellow. The two guys wore white long sleeved shirts with straw hats and black pants. They performed two dances that told a story. The first was of the two men vying for the attention of the lady. They ¨fought¨ for her affection by having a dance-off. After she had made her pick, the succeeding dance was of two intimate lovers. In addition to these acts, there was also singing and a slide show.
After their presentations, it was our turn to show them various dances that represented our culture. We started by explaining to them that the U.S. is composed of various cultures. There is not a single predominate culture with long standing traditional dances or songs. We then performed the electric slide which the Panamanian students instantly recognized and participated in. Next we did the cupid shuffle and encouraged the students to dance along with as well. I had so much fun. It was neat to experience the traditions of the Panama people and it was also neat to include them in on our dances. I enjoyed witnessing and partaking in the integration of two very different cultures.