Seattle Fandango Project, Claiming Space within the Expanding City of Seattle.

The Seattle Fandango Project is a small community of people who decided to use dancing as a tool of resistance in the face of oppressors around them. The community includes people from different races, ethnicities and religions. It is a way of people of color, especially the Chicanos and latinx, to say that we exist, and we claim our space here in Seattle. The stories of the origins of fandango are inspiring for those whose voice is not heard. The Seattle Fandango Project is a people’s movement that encourages people to express themselves through performance. The drumming itself is a way of resisting an old system of oppression that once prevented people from using drums to perform their music. Today, fandango is a way to empower participants to claim their space and raise their voices and the sounds of their drumming (Hardina, D. 2003).

The Seattle Fandango project aims at building a community among its participants. It is a community where everyone is accepted and heard, and everyone is allowed to speak and perform. It starts from the moment people jump on the “Tarima” and start dancing. It gives people a chance to connect, to try to make the same rhythm, and to try to make the same moves. It also provides them with a chance to express themselves where they improvise, make their own moves and show their partners who they are through their improvised moves. People also have to connect with others, like singer and musicians. The “Mudanza” is to show respect to the singers, to give them space to talk. Also, people tap each other from the “tarima,” and everyone is respectful enough to know that others are trying to claim their space, so they would help them.

Folklore dancing in general is considered to be a way in which people show who they are. They tell full stories, sing it and dance on it in a special way. As a Palestinian myself, I was able to relate to the messages of fandango. Our Dabkah, the Palestinian folklore dance, has similar messages of challenging the oppressors and resisting their oppression. It is a way for people to say that we still exist on earth, and we are worthy of sharing this space. The same goes with all types of performance for many of the communities like the Bulkan, the Irish, and the Finnish here in Seattle.

Any community practice that is designed to acquire power for members of an oppressed community is a form of empowerment (Hardina, D. 2003). Talking about empowerment as a concept, it means “confidence, control, decision, authority, influence, autonomy, and self-trust” (Hardina, D. 2003). The Seattle Fandango project is based on the idea that all members from all communities should be in the same place together, where everyone feels equal. Everyone would have the space open for them. People give space for everyone to dance, play music, sing, or talk to other folks. Everyone is talented in his own way. People are to lead in all aspects of the workshops. They can sing, dance, play music, or even clap and cheer for people. Everything that they do is empowering to them in a certain way.

References:

Hardina, D. (2003) Linking Citizen Participation to Empowerment Practice: A Historical Overview. Journal of Community Practice. The Haworth Press, Inc. CA.

Seattle Fandango Project. (Retrieved on May 25th) from Seattle Fandango Project website: http://seattlefandangoproject.weebly.com/about.html