The Old (And New) East

On This Day In History
1940: Silent film star Tom Mix dies in Arizona car wreck

Quote Of The Day
"The Old West is not a certain place in a certain time, it's a state of mind. It's whatever you want it to be."
(Tom Mix)

I had a lovely afternoon at the Indian Mela in Meriken Park this afternoon. One of my current pupils told me she would be dancing so I went along to watch. I also saw a few of my former pupils dancing, too, and sat with one of them and her mother. Her mother explained that the Kalbeliya Gypsy Dance from Rajasthan, which is performed with a range of items including a bicycle wheel (which the dancer balances on her head), cups, trays, swords and broken glass (which the stands on as she dances) is a traditional dance emphasising the poverty of the dancers who are forced to perform with scrap material. 

Kalbeliya Gypsy Dance