Festival Performance Research Articles

Eurocentric(ism) and Folk(ism) in Edegborode Festival Performance

This article explores the Edegborode Annual Festival Performance of Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria, as one of the dramatic performances in Africa, with the possibility of defining the festival as a contemporary folk drama using Sam Ukala’s Folkism eight (8) Laws of Aesthetic Response. Adopting traditional African performances into modern African folk drama is a challenge. I adopt the qualitative methods of research in collecting and analysing data on the festival. My aim is to examine and measure the number of Eurocentric dramatic elements like plot, character(isation), music, song, performance arena (stage), and the audience in the Edegborode Annual Festival Performance, and how these aesthetics fit into modern African folk drama using Folkism. The study shows that the Edegborode festival performance provides entertainment to its audience. Also, its ability to attract local tourists within Delta State adds economic value to community development. Most importantly, when subjected to the aesthetics of Folkism, the Edegborode annual festival is viable source material for modern folk drama.

قيم الأدب الشفهي في المجتمع الأفريقي: حالة من أغاني اليوروبا الشعبية والمهرجانات التقليدية

Folksongs and traditional festivals are central to almost every activity of the Yoruba people. The contemporary world is full of pains, worries, sufferings and despair and various anti-social activities, in spite of pompous claims and glaring efforts of science and technology in solving old problems to create many new ones. Hence, every individual needs to relax, amuse, and get his or her mind off the dull struggles, worries and sorrows of life through folksongs and festivals. The Yoruba folksongs and festivals as soul-searchers and soul-menders therefore, serve the aesthetic, therapeutic and communicative purposes as tension relievers as well as elixir through which individuals are firmly reassured that there is still hope for humanity. Folksongs and traditional festivals, as manifestations of oral literary genre, possess the remarkable ability to simultaneously entertain, educate, heal and provide solace in individuals. Through them, virtues of the community are upheld and cultural values are projected. It thus concluded that Yoruba folksongs and festivals are a vital communicative instrument for pleasure and a therapy to heal and soothe individuals. Therefore, it is recommended that the Yoruba people continue to utilize folksongs as a means of entertaining, educating, consoling, and comforting themselves as the need arises. Additionally, the study underscores the importance of preserving and perpetuating traditional festival celebrations in Yoruba society, as they serve as a unifying force among the people and a potent platform for showcasing the rich culture and traditions of the Yoruba people to the wider world. Other African societies should also intensify efforts in employing folksongs and festival performances to project their respective cultural identity to the wider world.

Exploring the Impact of Event Organization on Visitor Satisfaction at Theatre Festivals

Visitor satisfaction at theatre festivals refers to the positive experience and enjoyment that attendees derive from well-organized events. This study evaluates the impact of various organizational factors on visitor satisfaction at theatre festivals, utilizing comprehensive data collected from 250 visitors and 250 event organizers. The research design incorporated detailed questionnaires and demographic data to assess key aspects such as programming and scheduling, venue management, ticketing processes, customer service, facilities, safety, and transportation. SPSS software had been used to implement factor and regression analyses were employed to determine the relative importance of these factors. The findings reveal that programming and scheduling significantly influence festival success, while venue management and ticketing also play important roles. In contrast, transportation, amenities, and facilities had minimal impact. The cumulative variance analysis confirmed the comprehensive influence of all factors combined. These insights suggest that future improvements should focus on optimizing programming and scheduling while addressing the broader range of variables affecting festival performance and attendee satisfaction.

Commemorating festive performances in popular print in sixteenth‐century Italy☆

AbstractThe aim of this article is to show that the popular print sold and distributed during and after festive events, such as Carnival, had an impact on the commemoration and shaping of festive culture in early modern Italy. That is, the mass medium of print that had begun to shape European cultures, especially in Italy where Venice was one of Europe's first major printing centres, created festive pamphlets and small books that were attractive for individuals in various cities in Northern and Central Italy. This becomes apparent not only from the sources themselves but also from the connections that exist between these sources and historical and theatrical contexts. A study of popular print related to festive events addresses the most important criticisms of festival studies, namely that festivals were primarily local affairs, which would prevent researchers from making a meaningful contribution to festive culture studies on a larger scale. This article aims to overcome this by studying a selection of affordable pamphlets and small books, presenting the Carnivalesque text La guerra di Carnovale contro la Quaresima, which was intended for large audiences.

Restored Behaviour and the Formation of Ethnic Identity: Critiquing the Rai Youths’ Sakela

This paper examines four YouTube videos on Sakela, a dance performance of the Rai community, in two major contexts: enormous shifts and deviations in the performances of youths and the signature of unique ethnic identity. Sakela in its primitive art form of Rai culture has a ritual connection with the transcendent forces for human health and agriculture. However, there have been many deviations and changes in its highly contextualized aesthetic manifestations like festive performances, ceremonial presentations, recreational activities, political demonstrations or urban, and diasporic discourses. Against this backdrop, the paper addresses the primary questions of why these performances recur in different forms and what role the restoration of behaviour plays in forming the ethnic identity. The study approaches these questions with the objectives of analyzing the restored behaviour in the Rai youths’ Sakela and identifying the performances as preserving the signature of ethnic identity. The examination of primary data in the qualitative study includes the analysis of selected YouTube video contents comprising Sakela performances, using the content analysis method. Primary data are selected to quantify the phenomena of Rai youths’ restored behaviours in Sakela dance, their cultural meanings, and their relationships to ethnic identity. To validate the collected data, the study draws theoretical insights from Richard Schechner’s theory of restored behaviour. Schechner's theory promulgates that people are always performing anew out of old in a continual rehearsal. The behaviour is replicated and thus performances gradually emerge. Such behaviors ranging from small gestures to ritualistic performances become part of lives but they are no longer sticking to the original source. Pursuant to this conceptual framework, the paper argues that Rai youths’ Sakela demonstrates the signs of restored behaviour, the symbolic and coded aspects of their culture. It also posits that embodied ethnic traits evident in the performance ensure the persistence of membership in their community. Thus, Sakela continues to be the signature of ethnic belief system and unique identity in the lives of Rai youths. In all its aspects of the repetition of never the same, the embodiment of ethnic identity keeps on sticking to youths’ Sakela.

IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGAL PROTECTION FOR SPECTATORS REGARDING THE CANCELLATION OF MUSIC FESTIVAL BY THE ORGANIZERS IN SURABAYA AREA

According to Law No. 8 of 1999, in music festival performances, the position of the audience is as consumers and the position of the organizers is as business actors. In conducting business relationships, organizers are required to protect consumers from all kinds of event problems, including from cancellations. However, in practice, legal protection for spectators has not been implemented optimally. In Surabaya, there were three music events which were canceled at the same time. One of the three has fulfilled the legal protection. The method used is empirical juridical with analytical descriptive method and uses primary and secondary data sources. The results of the research found that the implementation of legal protection for spectators for the cancellation of music festivals in the Surabaya area has been going well, but the benefits for the audience have not been maximized. Obstacles that are felt in its implementation are the lack of funds from the organizers and

Traditional African festival performances as a panacea for peace and security: the Obubra urban Ababum (cassava) festival as paradigm

ABSTRACT It has been asserted that some African and Nigerian cultural festivals are incapable of equipping community members with the requisite knowledge and skills to confront contemporary socio-political, economic and security challenges that hindered development in their communities. This paper serves as a rejoinder to enlighten the public on the powers of traditional festivals to forestall peaceful co-existence among people. The study seeks to determine whether African and Nigerian community festivals can be used as avenues for building peace, reconciliation and security development among embittered community members using the Ababum (Cassava) festival in Obubra Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria, as a paradigm. The study utilized the participant observation and personal communication research methods for data collection. Data obtained from these sources were analyzed using the textual method. The findings showed that the cassava festivals were avenues where the community members in the Obubra Urban Ward dialogued and exchanged public opinions on how to attain peace and stability. Findings also showed an increase in knowledge, added awareness of the imperatives of peace, reconciliation and security consciousness among members of these communities studied.

Review: Choreographing Mexico: Festive Performances and Dancing Histories of a Nation, by Manuel R. Cuellar

Review: <i>Choreographing Mexico: Festive Performances and Dancing Histories of a Nation</i>, by Manuel R. Cuellar

Audience of traditional art in Kazakh steppe

This article considers the evolution of the stage art audience formation in the traditional society of the Kazakh steppe civilization, linking it to the ancient historical, cultural, and ritual processes of our people, as well as to the very origin of the earliest form of stage art. We regard the future improvement of the artistic culture of today's spectator on the assumption that cultural and spiritual continuity between different generations of spectators of the Kazakh steppe will not be broken. Consequently, it becomes obvious that this position is a trend characteristic of the world history of art. For example, folk art activities in other countries are based on the traditional entertainment of the gathered audience. In general, the origin of art is closely intertwined with folk art. They are inextricably related and cannot develop without each other. This phenomenon is confirmed by numerous facts from the history of world theater. There is every reason to come to a scientific conclusion that this position is applicable to the formation of artistic public. We can say that various kinds of entertaining folk games and festive performances, originating in real scenes of nomadic life of the Kazakh people, developed on the basis of national customs and were the initial stage of formation of spectators and listeners of arts and crafts of the traditional Kazakh civilization. Examining the rich cultural history of the steppe, we believe that the study of the audience of the performing arts in the traditional Kazakh society is of great scientific theoretical and practical importance. This issue is still in the category of topics not considered in the framework of scientific research of the national culture philosophy. It is known from history that centuries-old cultural heritage of the steppe region and Kazakh people has a diverse and rich content, along with its own unique style. It is culture that plays a huge role in the vitality of any nation. If we consider the identification of a nation through the prism of its contribution to the development of mankind, then national art is just that distinctive feature that helps defining the nation. Thus, the spiritual contribution of the Kazakh people to world culture is determined, first of all, by its national art.

Choreographing Mexico: Festive Performance and Dancing Histories of a Nation

Choreographing Mexico: Festive Performance and Dancing Histories of a Nation

Social constructs of the coastal fante festival performance costumes and sculptural objects in Ghana: An indigenous knowledge system and practice

The focus of this qualitative case study was to explore the intricate relationship between Coastal Fante Festival performance costumes, sculptural objects, and the indigenous knowledge system and practices of the coastal dwellers, who reside in the central coastal regions of Ghana. To explore the social constructs of Coastal Fante Festival performance costumes and sculptural objects comprehensively, this study employed a multidisciplinary approach, combining ethnography, archival research, and artisan collaboration in the geographical context of Winneba and Cape Coast. The unstructured interview and direct observation were the instrumentations used for the data collection. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and visual data analysis tools garnered from sixteen (16) research participants using purposive (expert) and simple random sampling techniques allowed for a holistic understanding of the cultural, historical, and societal dimensions of these costumes and sculptural objects within the Central region coastal community, shedding light on their role as living embodiments of indigenous knowledge and cultural practice. The study revealed that these costumes hold profound cultural significance, symbolizing historical events, social identities, behaviour, codes and spiritual connections within the community. As a result of these social constructs, enculturation and inculturation were achieved, materialising cultural identity, defining mood (attitude), enhancing performer welfare, and addressing issues of history were addressed through performance costumes and sculptural objects. The generation should see these costumes with sculptural objects as a living embodiment of indigenous knowledge and cultural practice, enriching the understanding of Fante culture and its significance in a global context.

Choreographing Mexico: Festive Performances and Dancing Histories of a Nation by Manuel R. Cuella (review)

Choreographing Mexico: Festive Performances and Dancing Histories of a Nation by Manuel R. Cuella (review)

지역축제 브랜드자산과 축제성과의 관계에서 개최지역태도의 매개효과

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating effect of host region attitudes in the relationship between festival visitors' local festival brand equity and festival performance. The analysis results obtained in this study are as follows. First, among local festival brand equity, the higher the brand value and brand quality, the better the festival performance. Second, among the local festival brand equity, the higher the brand image, brand value, and brand quality, the better the attitude of the hosting region. Third, the host region attitude was found to have a positive effect on tourism industry performance, socio-cultural performance, environmental performance, political performance, and economic performance. Last, in the relationship between local festival brand equity and festival performance, it was confirmed that the host region attitude had a partial mediating effect.

Eurocentric(ism) and Folk(ism) in Edegborode Festival Performance

This essay analyses the Edegborode Annual Festival Performance of Sapele, Delta state, Nigeria, as one among the many dramatic performances in Africa, with economic values, vis-à-vis the possibility of adapting the festival into contemporary folk drama using Sam Ukala’s Folkism eight (8) Laws of Aesthetic Response. There is no doubt about the tourism potential and the economic values present in many Nigerian festival Performances. However, the question of whether traditional African performances can be classified as drama or not still lingers. Adopting traditional African performances into modern African folk drama is also a challenge. It is based on these that this study is carried out. I adopt the ethnographic method of research in carrying out this research. Participant observation and face-to-face interview method was explored. I aim to examine and measure the number of western performative elements like plot, character (isation), music, song, performance arena (stage), and the audience, in the Edegborode Annual Festival Performance, and how these aesthetics fit into modern African folk drama using Folkism as a yardstick. The study shows that the Edegborode festival performance provides entertainment to its audience. Also, its ability to attract over Four Thousand (4000) local tourists within Delta State every year adds economic value to community development. Most importantly, when subjected to the aesthetics of Folkism, the Edegborode annual festival is viable source material for modern folk drama. However, there is a need for a further critical study of the economic and health potentials of the use of traditional herbs and plants in traditional festival performances. Keywords: Eurocentricism, Edegborode, Festivals, Folkism Performances

Defending Ñöñhö identity and survival through festival performances and the affirmation of local cultural sovereignty in Querétaro, Mexico

ABSTRACT The festivals of San Miguel in the municipality of Tolimán, performed by the Ñöñhö (Otomí) indigenous community of the Querétaro Mexican state, include different celebrations. This article focuses on two such celebrations: the Danza de Conquista and the ritual of the chimal. I approach these two celebrations as elements of Ñöñhö identity making and as illustrations of the resilience of the people of Tolimán who rejected the proposal to have the festivals recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. In June and July of 2021, I interviewed participants in the festivals and representatives of cultural institutions that promote them. My fieldwork was guided by a series of key questions: (a) What are the meanings of the chimal for Tolimanenses? (b) How do Tolimanenses see emigration to the United States, and in what ways do people who emigrate there maintain links with these festive traditions? (c) what were the steps of the process that led to the proposal to have UNESCO designate the festivals as Intangible Cultural Heritage? My research reveals the festivals as having a transformative power of resilience, belonging, and identity validation.

Artifacts from the Perspective of Effutu Masquerade Performance: An Aesthetic Album

Artifacts from the Perspective of Effutu Masquerade Performance: An Aesthetic Album

Exploring the Costume Styling and Material Composition of the Effutu Festival Costumes

This study investigates the costume styling and material composition of Effutu festival costumes. It is delimited to Effutu festival performance costumes. The qualitative design was adopted. The ethnography approach was employed through narrative analysis and oral history. Unstructured interviews and on-site direct observations were the qualitative data collection instrument used for the data collection. The narrative analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that historically costumes are seen as relics that can tell the story about the exploits and traditional mythologies of the communities. Again, costumes that materialise culture and identities do not just mirror pre-existing sets of ideas or symbolic systems but facilitate values as ‘they form part of an ethnohistorical repository of knowledge. The findings further revealed that, costume styling could be categorised into Royal, Ritual, Asafo (war/battle), Generational, Women ensembles (Adzewa costumes) and Fanciful costumes. The basic material composition of costumes includes fabrics (both applied and structural designs), leather, horsetail, metal helmets, pillows, kaolin, beads (plastic and glass), mpoboa (shoes), symbolic colours and other material collaboration. It is recommended that costumes used for the Effutu festival be recorded and digitalised for future reference.

Manuel R. Cuellar, Choreographing Mexico: Festive Performances and Dancing Histories of a Nation (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2022), 372 pp.

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ПУБЛИКА И ЗРИТЕЛИ СОВЕТСКИХ ПРАЗДНИКОВ 1920-1930-Х ГГ.

This article attempts to consider the audience as a specific community of spectators, listeners, and visitors of various performances at the stage of its formation in the early Soviet period. Numerous means were used to form the ability to perceive and understand the language of arts, aesthetic ideas and social attitudes; among which public holidays were the most effective. The festive culture of the first decades of Soviet government was focused on the active citizens’ mass participation in the events. The public was not supposed to remain indifferent to the holidays held by the state, primarily revolutionary ones. The roles of the spectator and the actor/participant of theatrical festive performances united in the space of festive culture. The task of Soviet citizens’ ideological upbringing meant their involvement in mass action. Active participation was supposed to foster a sense of collectivism, to form social identity and spiritual values. The state and public organizations’ study of the festive audience composition and spectator interest contributed to the development of methodological recommendations for holding festive events. The article discusses the techniques and methods of studying the audience in the festive practice of social construction of a “new” person in the 1920s–1930s.

Czechoslovak Folk Music and Dance Ensembles and the World Youth Festival in the 1950s: An Ethnomusicology and Oral History Perspective

One of the most significant mass manifestations of the state-subsidised cultural expres- sions of the Socialist Bloc in the second half of the 20th century was “Red Woodstock”, the World Festival of Youth and Students. The first edition took place in the summer of 1947 in Prague. Incidentally, this festival featured Czechoslovak amateur and professional folk music and dance en- sembles in a preliminary line-up, which later became the most important established ensembles in the country. Some of these ensembles then appeared regularly at Youth Festivals. Such festival performances were considered very influential performance opportunity for ensembles of folk music and dance in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. The present article, based on data gathered through interviews grounded in oral history and archival research, explores the role of the World Youth Festivals in the process of foundation of Czechoslovak ensembles of folk music and dance and their repertoire negotiation of the traditional music and dance within the vague framework of socialist realism on the one hand, and an everyday-life perspective and ordinary desire to perform pronounced by the ensembles’ members on the other.