[Dixielandjazz] Munich, Germany 7/7/09

[Katie Cavera]

July 7, 2009
Munich, Germany

Guten Tag!

We spent last week performing in Innsbruck, Austria.  Innsbruck is the capitol of Tyrol which from what I understand is the mountain region in western Austria.  The Tyrolean people are very proud of their heritage and eager to share it with visitors.  We found this out because on Friday they set up a ‘cultural exchange’ between the local Tyrolean band and dance company that was associated with the same theatre we were performing at.    We met with them in the afternoon and first the Tyrolean  dancers taught our dancers a traditional dance.  It was a kind of a cross between a square dance and a polka.  The boys and girls were partnered and did a sort of hopping walk in a circle.  And sometimes they’d move forward and sometimes they’d just stand in place and do these hopping steps depending on where the song was.  Then for the second part, the boys had to learn a complicated part where they kick their feet up and slap them with their hands in a
 particular pattern, and then stomp their feet on the ground and throw their hands in the air.  The girls felt cheated because while the boys do this, they just do little steps in a circle.  So the girls started trying this part too which made the Tyroleans laugh!  

While the dancers were learning this, the band was teaching us the song that goes with it.  Since there are no banjos in a Tyrolean band, I worked with their accordion player who was named Martin.  I don’t know the proper name for his instrument but it wasn’t exactly an accordion.  It only has buttons and as Martin explained to me, he gets a different note depending on if he pushes or pulls the bellows which sounded pretty complicated to me.  He led the song by playing a chord to let the dancers know it was time to start, and then played a short introduction.  The song had two parts: The first part was for the ‘promenade’ section, and the second part was for the ‘feet slapping’ dance.  Each section was in a different key and had a different tempo - we had to slow down for the feet slapping part.  I didn’t find out but I was wondering if they slowed the second part traditionally or as a courtesy to our boy dancers!  Anyway after working on
 this a bit we all had it down pretty good.  And I was very impressed by how fast our dancers picked up the routine.

So then it was our turn.  And we decided to play “Joe Avery’s Piece” and our dancers would have the Tyrolean troupe do a second line with them.  Martin picked up the song quickly and it actually sounded really good on his Tyrolean button box!  Of course the Tyrolean dancers got right in the spirit of it to and started shaking up a storm.  I said later that I wish we had beads to give them all.  

When we met for the 'cultural exchange' with the Tyrolean Band, Nicole wore a Dirndl she'd gotten. I mentioned to her that I had one too and she said, "Oh I'm wearing mine to the party tonight - you have to wear yours too!!" Well of course I wanted to wear it.  But the problem was, we were going to play the whole show and then at the very end after the curtain call we were supposed to march from the pit to the party room, playing "The Saints" and leading the crowd out.  So there wasn't really any time for me to change into it.  And I had to wear my Salvation Army costume for the show - especially the second half where the band appears on stage.  So at intermission I got the bright idea to wear my Dirndl under my Salvation Army skirt and jacket.  I tried it and it fit!  Barely...   I just looked strangely pudgy. There is a lot of material in a Dirndl but I somehow managed to stuff it all under my costume.  So towards the end of the show when I
 was back in the pit, I stripped off the salvation army costume and -Ta-Da! there I was in my Dirndl! Bunchie our drummer said later that he didn't know what I was doing and he tried to avert his eyes which is funny because he was stuck behind the drums and facing me in the pit!  Anyway I got a lot of compliments on the dirndl at the party, and the Tyrolean band thought it was great that I would 'dress up' with them.

I have to say that this was a real highlight of the trip for me.  Not only was it a wonderful way to experience a little of the Tyrolean culture, but I met some really great people, shared a lot of laughs, and had a blast!  That night the Tyrolean company came to see the show and afterwards there was a huge party in the theatre and we performed our new Tyrolean folk song and dance, and then did a second line through the crowd playing “Joe Avery’s Piece.” Being a participant in this exchange had a huge impact on me - so much more then if I had gone to see a local show and been a casual observer.  

Auf Wiedersehen!
Katie

http://www.katiecavera.com
http://www.youtube.com/kcavera