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Scholars and dancers further differ in what they admit under the label of folk dance. One may see folk dance as the traditional dances of a country that evolve spontaneously from the everyday activities and experiences of its people. Another may define it as embracing only dances with magical and economic functions, or as comprising all nonprofessional dances.
The discussions dwell on the confusion between such terms and concepts as folk dance, ritual dance, ethnic dance, and stage dance and on the distinction between folk dance and modern recreational forms of ballroom dancing.
Remnants of ritual dance persist in Africa, Oceania, and South America, among peoples who have retained some degree of their traditional religion and ways of life. Such dance throws light on the origins of dance of the Western world. In its retention of its original functions, ritual dance is distinct from the dances of more developed cultures, which may fluctuate between ritualistic and recreational purposes.
The term ethnic dance seems flexible. Some authorities see no difference between the terms ethnic dance and folk dance. The eminent American dancer Ted Shawn, however, would have ethnic dance subsume folk dance as a subspecies. He considered pure, authentic and traditional national and folk dance to be "ethnic"; he called the theatrical handling of them "ethnologic," and he referred to the free use of these sources of creative raw material as "ethnological." Although these distinctions are not hard and fast, they reflect the trend of much ethnic dance toward professionalization. In still another view, folk dance is the dance from which the art dance of a nation inevitably grows, both in technique and in spirit. This concept is particularly applicable to such nations and regions as Japan, India, and Andalusia, where art forms of the dance were a natural outgrowth of the traditional dances.
Purists are disturbed by a trend toward the deliberate "staging" of folk dances and especially by their increasing professionalization: they might call the adaptations folkloric. Professional dance and secular folk dance have been distinguished as one might separate art from craft, even when the scenarios and choreography of modern dance and ballet adopt materials from folk dance or the larger field of folk culture. Most scholars, however, exclude from folk dance the dances of the commercial theatre, television, and film. Though they generally consider jazz dancing an American folk style, they would exclude formal choreographies in jazz style.
These selected points of view indicate the fluctuating boundaries of folk dance, especially in reference to its functions. Although patterns and movement styles are significant, the function and locale of folk dances have greatest weight in distinguishing them from ritual and theatrical manifestations. Frequently the dances of rural peoples reveal their ritual origins on certain occasions, though they also serve recreational purposes. The origins may be very ancient. Generally, but not always, dances favoured in urban centres have secular purposes and may be of recent, perhaps consciously creative, origin. As in the case of folk song, the origin need not be anonymous, though usually it has been lost in the passage of time. Folk dances have grown out of creative inspiration, and they continue to sprout from the imaginations of individuals and groups, people of all classes who sense the traditions and the aspirations of their environment.
Many folk dances best reveal their ancient functions when performed in their native habitat. Outside this context, in a school gymnasium or on a stage, they lose their aura, but on the village greens in Britain the Morris dances and the Abbots Bromley horn dance speak of renewed May Day vegetation and of Paleolithic elk worship. Again, some dances serve various functions. In the Aragon region of Spain, the jota is best known as a rural entertainment for men and women, but it may enliven funerals or appear on American stages.
The British examples above reflect the transition from pagan to Christian religions and, in more recent times, the change from the attitudes of village and agriculture to those of town and industry and the consequent changes in social relations. As the English scholar Douglas Kennedy pointed out, when the originating religion weakens, some of the mystery and the magic departs from the dances that express it. The dancer becomes less a medicine maker than a performing artist as ritual changes imperceptibly into art. In short, human social adjustment to the environment, for purposes of survival, created both the original dance rituals and their subsequent functional or formal changes. Vestigial animal dances echo ancient animistic rites. The Ainu of northern Japan still mime bear and fox hunts, portraying the animals very realistically. In West Africa an antelope hunt in dance has ritualistic overtones, while monkey mimes are for entertainment alone.
The Balkans and Central America represent a far-reaching example of adjustment and change. These far-removed parts of the world share ecological circumstances, notably a basically agricultural civilization. Geographically, both narrow into bottlenecks connecting two continents; both combine high and rocky mountain ranges with agricultural lowlands and uplands; both bulge into peninsulas rich in culture. Both have submerged their ancient religious customs to innovations, those of Roman Catholicism and, in the Balkans, of Islam as well. Yet both have maintained their ancient native customs with such compromises as those to the events of the Christian calendar, Christian names, or Islamic styles. Both areas have been receptive to the influx of 19th-century secular European dance forms and have transmuted these importations to suit the native styles.
In both areas three dance types show varying degrees of modernization. One type, which takes the form of combat, remains highly ritualistic, albeit with a mixture of pagan and Christian elements. A second, agricultural in function, involves more of the community than the combative type and fluctuates between celebrations of sowing and harvest and of social festivities. The third type, derived from central and western Europe, is completely secular and social.
Male combat dances of the Balkans echo ancient pre-Christian rites for initiation into brotherhoods, the heralding of spring and of animal fecundity, and healing. Fierce battles ensue at the seasonal rituals of the Macedonians, of the Slovenes, and of the Romanians. Animal maskers and buffoons enact resurrection dramas. Along the coasts of Croatia and Dalmatia the battling factions have, under Christian influence, been renamed Moors and Christians or Moors and Turks. These battle dances have related forms and styles in other European countries, from Spain to Great Britain. They also have relatives in Central America, where early Spanish missionaries introduced Moors and Christians to replace the earlier ritual combats of the Indian populations.
Rural celebrations of planting and of harvests feature communal round dances, such as the kolo of the eastern Balkan region, the horo of Bulgaria, the hora of Romania, and a variety of Greek chain dances. The celebrations include vestiges of ancient vegetation festivals, impersonations of fertility deities, and "rain magic." The same rounds, however, appeared also at weddings and other secular or semisecular gatherings. Such rounds survive in the mountains of Mexico as mitotes. Although they concluded most Aztec and Maya ceremonies, they have become scarce since the Spanish conquest. They are still performed to procure rain and an abundant harvest.
Rural and urban gatherings include the social square dances and couple dances for men and women. Within the last century the Bohemian polka, the Austrian waltz, the Polish mazurka, and the Hungarian czardas have appeared in the northern Balkans. In Central America similar social and courtship dances have become increasingly popular. Each region has a version of the dances known as jarabe or huapango. The jarabe tapatío of Jalisco, better known as the Mexican hat dance, combines steps from many European nations. All regional dances use polka or waltz steps and European music. With their lively and showy styles, these couple dances are suited to stage performances and occur as such.
In other parts of the world, folk dancers are shifting from a human-deity and human-nature purpose to a male-male or male-female attitude. This is noticeable not only in adaptations of former dances of supplication but also in dances miming agricultural and other occupations, as the Polish sowing of rye and oats, the Hungarian hay making, the Swedish flax reaping, the clothes washing of Denmark, and the spinning mime of Spain. Some of these occupational dances derive from enactments by medieval guilds or from the mime in medieval branles. They survive as entertainment in adult couple dances and in children's games, often in settings remote from their origin.
In the course of centuries, changes in the beliefs and in the methods of producing the essentials of life have produced numerous adjustments such as the adaptation of the calendar from a basis in agricultural ecology to a basis in Christian festivals and the resultant shifts in the organization of dance groups.
Notwithstanding the trend toward sociable and theatrical objectives, many folk dances celebrate original festivals. In Europe and Europeanized America, however, they show many adjustments to the Christian feasts. In the Balkans, Austria, and other countries the long series of dances for renewed vegetation and life now celebrate Epiphany (Twelfth Night), Carnival, Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and St. John's Day (June 24). As noted previously, the midwinter dances emphasize male combat and animal impersonations, whereas the springtime dances dwell on new vegetation and, in southerly climates, on first fruits. Two festivals are particularly spectacular—Carnival and Pentecost.
Carnival festivals of Europe and the Americas precede Lent, filling the three days before Ash Wednesday. In Austria they perpetuate many pagan dances, particularly in Innsbruck and Imst, with the masked and ghostly phantoms and witches and noisy processions with songs, bull-roarers, drums, and whips. In Spanish and Latin American villages and towns the unruly characters enact a more orderly "combat of winter and summer," in the guise of the ancient Moors and Christians, with the obvious victory of summer. Devils and deaths (diablos y muertes) are also on the loose in the role of buffoons. Morality plays are relics of medieval ideology, with speeches in the local vernacular and decorous steppings of Sin, Death, the Devil, Pastorcitas (shepherdesses in white communion dress), and masked animals from the Garden of Eden or bears or tigers.
Urban carnival celebrations bring out animal maskers, deaths, and devils, without ritual connotations in, for instance, Munich. The famous Carnivals of Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans draw huge crowds of tourists to observe the masking, competitive parades of floats, and street and ballroom dancing. In the Brazilian medley the street and ballroom dances show interesting contrasts: the samba in the streets is ecstatic, improvisatory, and disorderly, whereas the samba of the ballrooms is more sedate and has set steps. Such urban Carnivals have lost sight of the original ritual purpose.
On the other hand, the observances of Pentecost, the springtime Christian feast that falls 50 days after Easter, fit the dances into a framework that meaningfully combines Christian and pre-Christian, New and Old Testament, forms. The Jewish Shavuot festival follows by the same period the Passover, which often coincides with Easter. The Pentecost, known also as Whitsunday, has since AD 200 commemorated the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, and the Shavuot, originally a feast of thanksgiving for first fruits, has been associated by rabbis with the giving of the Law at Sinai. Both express the joyous resurgence of animal and spiritual powers and of new vegetation.
In the southerly climates the festival may already celebrate the first fruits. Everywhere Jewish celebrants bring offerings of fruits and flowers to the temple, with chanting and prayers. In Haifa, Israel, white-clad youths and maidens dance and sing. In the Balkans girls dance for Pentecost, and the community winds in snakelike kolos. In England the community circles around a tree, then around the church, or it holds a Maypole dance. In some villages, such as Bampton-on-the-Bush and those of the Cotswolds region, "Morris men" dressed in clean white, sometimes decorated with ribbons and bells, caper and leap in a procession or in double files, waving white kerchiefs or green branches. The dancers may have the company of clowns, a Jack-in-the-Green clad in greenery. In some English villages and in British-inspired American locations, such dances take place on May Day rather than Pentecost.
Agricultural festivals, especially harvests, may adjust their dates not only to the local climate but to the particular year's weather. The Iroquois of New York and Ontario adjust their calendar to the ripening of the crops of berries, beans, and corn. They may hold their thanksgiving rounds for green corn between the third week of August and the middle of September. The square dances of the American farmers were held on the occasion of husking bees—before combines took over the work—whenever the corn was ready. Farmers continue their square dances, or "country dances," in barns or in grange halls at odd times or even weekly. Their urban imitators perpetuate these dances assiduously when square dance and folk dance societies, often mingling the traditional American dances with those of immigrant peoples, meet in national halls or centres, school or college gymnasiums, or other locations. The gatherings of these enthusiasts and analogous groups on both sides of the Atlantic are legion.
Certain secular or semisecular celebrations adhere to a definite date. Such political holidays as Bastille Day (July 14) in France and Cinco de Mayo (May 5) and Independence Day (September 16) in Mexico feature regional dances outdoors and at indoor balls. The Guelaguetza at Cerro Fortín, Oaxaca, formerly a ritual festival, now combines religious and regional dances for the general public on July 16. Such festivals attract vast numbers of dance teams, native visitors, and tourists.
Although attendance at such public fiestas is haphazard, the participants in many dance gatherings observe closely knit organization and definite rules for the individual's place in the community and in the communal dances. The men in European combat dances belong to a sworn brotherhood of ancient origin. The male and female members of a Mexican votive society, the Concheros, have an intertribal hierarchy paralleling that of the forces of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, headed by a capitán general. In second rank are the officials of each local group, first and second captains, sergeants, standard bearers, each with specific duties, followed by the common rank of soldados and, finally, such attendant characters as Cortés's interpreter-mistress Malinche, the Devil, sorcerers, and mythological figures. They do not regulate their rituals according to the calendar, though their ancestors probably did.
Although such societies cut across family ties, other organizations are based on descent, especially among American Indians. Iroquois and Pueblo Indians group their clans into two moieties, or halves, of the entire social scheme, matriarchal and patriarchal respectively. In their ceremonies and social events, the Iroquois stress the interaction of moieties, with the alternation of moieties in the dance file. However, the New Mexican Pueblo Indians usually feature separate dances for the two moieties and even assign festivals of the two seasons to the summer and winter moieties.
These same groups also observe strict regulations according to sex. Iroquois women manage the summer rites for agriculture; the men manage fall and winter ceremonies for animals and cures. Among the Iroquois as well as the Pueblo, men and women hold esoteric dances separately, or men occupy one-half of the dance line and women follow in the second half. In less sacred dances and always in social rounds, men and women alternate. Observers report similar customs not only among the natives of the New World but also in the Old World, as in Serbia and Great Britain. Men perform the traditional Morris and sword dances, but the sexes mingle in country dances, reels, and quadrilles. The solos in Scottish sword dances are traditionally male performances, but, as a nonauthentic deviation, girls may now execute the tricky steps of the dances.
The traditions of age grades are also becoming diluted. From Greece to New Mexico, almost universally, the older, experienced men and women are the leaders, while the children bring up the rear of dance lines as apprentices. Warrior societies of Great Plains tribes of the United States once observed strict gradations of dance rituals according to age. But these societies are all but extinct, and public war dances admit males of all ages, with females in the background. With the dissemination of folk dances into the schools, children are learning adult routines. However, in remote villages of Europe, youngsters have their special dances, and adolescents may enter the adult circles modestly.
Generally, the individual is submerged in the larger society and must fit into the dance group harmoniously. Some peoples—the Pueblo Indians, for example—uphold strict standards of restraint, and, within the natural variations of greater or less energy, a member of a dance group should not show off. However, other peoples, such as the Iroquois, appreciate improvisatory clownery or virtuoso display by talented males. In the Balkans the male leader of a dance line may engage in acrobatics—crouches, leaps, or pivots—while the rest of the group adheres to the traditional steps. In the Basque Country, in Ukraine, and in Poland male experts have the opportunity to display high kicks or spectacular leaps. The improvisations of these privileged experts have often led to the introduction of permanent new elements into the dances.
Function, sex, and age all have an effect on a dancer's style of movement. Other psychological factors of group and individual temperament and mood have, for untold centuries, determined the quality and the type of steps and gestures. The climate and topography may have had an effect on the development of regional styles.
According to Douglas Kennedy, the ideal of English folk dancers is to hold the body in a straight line from head to toes, creating a vertical equilibrium that makes the dancer light on his feet. This uplifted carriage allows him to reach out and form the contact essential for a unified dance ensemble. This ideal would apply to many folk dance types of Europe, the United States, and Canada and to some Asiatic round dances, but it does not fit the more dramatic dances of the British Isles nor myriad dances in other parts of the world. Even within England, Kennedy points out the frequently bent-up position and the power of male sword dancers.
In Spain the erect ease of Aragonese line dances contrasts with the swaybacked incisiveness of Andalusian flamenco dances. In the eastern villages of Serbia and Montenegro, dance styles have acquired the vibrations typical of Turkish dances, and the Roma (Gypsies) use more undulating movements than the Serbs about them. In India such hill tribes as the Toda circle with simple steps and an erect posture, whereas demon dancers of the pariah caste stamp and leap, and the practitioners of the ancient Natya style combine elaborate, symbolic hand gestures with body sways and stamps.
Although India's caste system produced extreme contrasts, differences in occupation and social class have everywhere affected the spirit and quality of movement. In Europe during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, courtiers who borrowed such rural dances as the branle and the bourrée watered down their rustic vigour. In 19th-century colonial California the descendants of upper-class Spaniards performed the polkas, mazurkas, and waltzes with an elegance that contrasted with the rowdy renderings by the gold miners.
In modern square dancing the difference between male and female styles is negligible, but in most folk dances the women move more gently than the men, with smaller steps, lower leaps, and less raising of the knees or feet. The women dancers have a more sinuous, alluring style in southern Spain. They spin gently in the Austrian and Bavarian Schuhplattler and the Caucasian lezginka, while the men jump, clap, and shout. Among American Indians the women have a more subdued style and often special, tiny steps except in couple dances that have been adapted from the mainstream of Western social dancing.
The setting affects the movement style. Joan Lawson suggests differences related to the natural environment—a theory that will need more investigation. She maintains that in rich agricultural plains or river valleys, such as the Danubian plains and parts of France, and Denmark, movements are accented downward as if the body were being drawn toward the soil. Dancers perform in large groups, using the same step, closely linked together by fingers, hands, elbows, or shoulders. By contrast, in mountainous areas there is a good deal of leaping and individual display, especially among the males.
Regional variations include preferences for mime or for abstract movements. India's folk dancers and, half a world away, those of Scandinavia favour mimetic gestures, respectively graceful and comic. Serbia's peasants are interested in purely decorative steps, and Ireland's experts are fond of tricky solo steps or complex group patterns that are in no way imitative of outside phenomena. In general, the mime of folk dancers is stylized, having lost the realism of the primitive animal impersonators and of actors in folk dramas.
Opportunities for mimetic dancing are drastically reduced when the hands are required for other formal patterns of the dances. Most folk dancers use their hands and arms for contact in circles, lines, or couples; they wave kerchiefs, as along South America's Pacific coast; they swing soft balls in complex patterns, as in the poi dance of the Maori; the women swirl full skirts, as in Spain and Mexico; or everyone lets the arms hang loose or places hands on hips, thus emphasizing foot and ground patterns.
In India, dance-dramas based on the life of the god Krishna are enacted in Manipur by young women who use simplified gestures descended from the large, complex system of hand gestures known as mudras. The basic gestural symbols derive from the wrist position, the position of the palm, and the poses of the fingers. Each gesture has its prescribed musical accompaniment. A trembling leaf, for example, is symbolized by the alapallava, a rotation of the wrist accompanied by a folding and unfolding of the fingers. In Hawaii, hula gestures clearly descended from the mudras have been largely diluted by the introduction of purely decorative gesture.
In Scandinavian countries male and female imitators of occupations likewise stylize their harvest motions. The youths who portray rough-and-tumble fights, as in the Swedish oxen dance, duel good-naturedly, pull each other's hair, and pretend to box one another's ears. In this last gesture, as in the German Watschenplattler, the aggressor merely pretends to touch his opponent, who claps his hands to simulate the blow.
Slavic men and some other skilled performers use steps recalling animal mime, as the goatlike caper or cabriole, the pawing horse step or pas de cheval, the side-kicking, cowlike rue de vache, and the feline pas de chat leap. But folk dancers of many nationalities exploit the imageless mazurka or variants of the polka, waltz, and two-step, all in appropriate rhythms. The walking, running, sliding, skipping, or jumping movements are so universal in folk dance that they cannot, by themselves, be considered mimetic.
On the one hand, line dancers of a single region may develop intricate variations of a basic step. Lawson identifies 15 ways of performing the basic kolo step, a step-to-the-side and close. The variants include gliding, swinging of the free leg, crossing, jumping. On the other hand, a widely disseminated step may appear in many forms in different regions. The triple-time waltz is step-together-step in Austria, with pivots at specific times. As the Mexican atole step, it is forward-back-forward; in the Venezuelan joropo, every first beat is heavily accented. As a ballroom dance, it reveals diverse patterns: as a propelling step in Spanish and New Mexican quadrilles, a light-footed waltz may balance from side to side, progress forward or backward, or go round and round.
The type of step depends also on the purpose of the dance, whether a solemn processional or an exhibition of skill in leaps or crouches; on the sex or age of the various participants; and on the type of ground plan.
Simple circling leaves the dancer's attention free for elaborate steps, whereas complex ground plans take the mind away from stepping and necessitate the simplest kind of progression by walking or running. Throughout the world the erstwhile ritual dances may involve a simple run, as in the Iroquois corn and bean dances and the serpentine stomp that spread from the ancient Aztecs to Indian agriculturalists of the United States. Choreographies may combine complexities of step, of rhythm, and of ground plan, like the "game animal dances" along the Rio Grande, but, as a rule, they emphasize one or another factor.
The Balkan chain dances feature intricate steps and rhythms but simple formation of closed or open circles. During closed rounds the men and women remain within the same spot as they inch along counterclockwise. Likewise, participants in French branles circle on location, usually clockwise—the typical direction of northwest Europe. In chain dances the circle is not closed. A leader guides the line, linked by hands or a prop, in meanders and spirals perhaps across open fields. On reversal a tail man will guide the meanders. Such serpentines, of ancient origin, are favourites in the Middle East; throughout Europe, especially as the French farandole and the Catalan sardana; in North America, in both native and Europeanized dances; and in such regions of Asia as Manipur, in northeastern India. They predominate among agricultural peoples, for they originated in chthonic symbolism.
A specialized form of meander is called the hey in England. Two lines of dancers weave past each other in opposite directions. In a circular formation this is known as the square dance Paul Jones or, if the participants are attached by ribbons to a central pole, as a Maypole dance. In this dance the two opposing groups are or should be male and female. The most elaborate form akin to the hey is the kolattam, a stick dance of South India. In the pinnal kolattam the dancers weave in and out, at the same time striking short sticks in precise patterns. (The intricacies were diagrammed by Hildegard L. Spreen; see Bibliography.)
Dances in two parallel lines have a more limited distribution. As in the case of rounds, the performers may start shoulder-to-shoulder or aligned in the same direction. The lines may cross over or circulate in opposite directions, or pairs of dancers can cross directly or diagonally. Morris dancers use a large vocabulary of interlacings, which resemble those of the American Virginia reel; respectively, the participants are men only and men and women. Multiple parallel lines of men and women are customary in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific: Cambodian girls display elegant poses, Balinese men carrying spears mass together in the baris dance, and Maori men remain in one spot while executing the warlike gestures of the peruperu.
As noted previously, ritual principles often dictate that in more sacred dances the sexes be separated, whereas in more secular dances they usually alternate or are aligned face-to-face. In modern folk dances, couples circulate within circular formations, as in Moravian rounds and American square dances or in the extremely elaborate Irish reels of eight couples. In ballroom dances, couples generally ignore any geometric designs, and individuals ignore the rest of the group.
In the "possession rite" of Ghana's Akan society, circle dances by devotees, frenzy dances, and circling by everyone alternate with prayers, chants, offerings, and speeches. A similar structure is evident in the possession dances of Brazil and Trinidad and of the Christian Holiness services in the United States.
In the course of history, the general trend during secularization has been toward increasing complexity, from round or double file to quadrilles and then from cohesion to a breakup into couples and solos. This disintegration is distinct from the individualism that may be present in ritual dances, for there the soloist had a mimetically compulsive, even priestly, function and was the focus of group activity. Concurrent with the elaboration of patterns, the symbolism has been disintegrating. The vegetation symbols of meanders and arches have been lost, but the designs remain. Face-to-face formations and couple arrangements retain meaning as courtship actions, and, despite the loss of the modern folk dancer's relation to, or attempt to act upon, the physical environment, the social contacts between dancers remain.
The type of ground plan affects the contacts not only between the dancers but also between the dancers and the spectators. Square dances offer the maximum possibilities of intermingling within a formation, but they exclude spectators. Chain dances lack the give-and-take, but they may wind about or through the spectators, who may enter at any time. Contact, whatever form it may take, is essential to folk dance.
The evolutionary process in the relations between the dance and other arts is very similar to the development of the dance itself. From the nearly total integration of dance and life in ritual to modern rock-and-roll, many factors—the passage of centuries, the change from animism to Christianity, the shift from hunting, agriculture, and handicraft to industrialization, the trend from country to city, from sanctuary to village green to stage—have exerted a profound influence on the totality of dance experience.
In the esoteric dance rituals of Australia, in the mythological dance enactments of India and Indonesia, in Nigerian practice and such of its distant New World derivatives as Vodou, dance is immersed in the larger drama of the rite. The symbolism of the movement patterns is locked into the symbolism of song texts, the traditional music, and the meaning of masks and costumes, not to speak of the setting in a sacred grove. Here and there the decorative invocations to animistic spirits have survived, mysteriously, in the masked animal ghosts of the Austrian Alps, as well as in the "game animal dances" of New Mexico's Tewa people. Perhaps these vestiges are not really folk dances. Perhaps folk dances—that is, dances of the people—do not require the integration of all the arts for gatherings or programs.
In general, the musical accompaniment to folk dances has persevered fairly well. In the village and urban hall the devotees use the tunes intended for particular routines, though these tunes may be played on modern instruments. Morris dancers usually preserve the traditional order of a suite—Laudnum Bunches, Bean Setting, Rigs o'Marlow, Shepherd's Hey, Constant Billy. In the execution of isolated kolos, ländler Ländler, or country dances, natives and imitators fit the steps to traditional tunes—live music, piano, or recordings, which may feature old-time clarinets, tabors, drums, and even band arrangements or accordions.
The coordination of tempo and rhythm between dance and music is rarely problematic. It is easy to follow the slow and the fast tempo of a set like the Norwegian gangar and springar or the acceleration of an Israeli hora. It is easy to follow the metres of the polka, of the waltz with its accent on the first beat, or of the mazurka with its accent on the second, although the melody may have independent rhythms. It takes more skill to follow some of the Bavarian tunes that shift their metres, and it takes an expert to follow the unusual metres of Greek and Serbian dances, especially when the phrases of the tunes overlap the phrases of steps.
It takes practice also to provide self-accompaniment in rhythm or melody. Rarely do folk dancers provide their entire self-accompaniment, as do the Mexican viejitos who play small stringed jaranas, or Hawaiian hula dancers who chant and shake rattles. Frequently the dancers add percussive effects to the accompaniment by special musicians. They stamp on the ground, on the floor, or on a resonant platform with bare feet, boots, or high-heeled shoes, sometimes in complex counter-rhythms. Hungarian men click spurs; Russians click the heels of their boots as they leap. Austrian and Bavarian Schuhplattler males swat various parts of the anatomy in set rhythms. Sword dancers click swords: stick dancers click sticks in Spain, Portugal, England, Mexico, Brazil, and India. Andalusians punctuate their incisive foot rhythms with crisp sounds of finger castanets; Greek males click spoons in their zabakelos; and American Indians sometimes shake rattles. In such secular dances as the Cuban rumba or Argentinian carnavalito, accompanists use rattles. Sound makers may be attached to the costume, as the bell pads of Morris dancers or the ankle bells of India's nautch dancers. In many parts of the world exuberant dancers dispense with instruments and clap or shout at specified times or whenever the spirit moves them. They may also sing to various instruments or without instrumental accompaniment.
Self-accompaniment by song is significant for several reasons. First, it is probably one of the most ancient forms of accompaniment because of the independence from any instruments. Second, it is aesthetically pleasing. Finally, the songs have texts of historical, sociological, or ecological importance. Such singing may be in unison, with women's voices an octave higher than the men's; it may employ harmonies characteristic of the region, with intervals of a third or a fourth, and it may involve antiphony between a leader and the dance group or two groups of dancers. Such antiphony occurs in widely separated parts of the world, frequently in connection with serpentine chain dances as in Manipur, India, and in North America's southeastern woodlands. Frequently the responses use nonsense syllables, and they may involve gestural responses, as in the Cherokee stomp dance and its predecessor, the ancient Aztec serpent dance.
The song texts are varied. The most frequent topics are courtship, as in the Llorona of Mexico's Tehuantepec, or sheer joy, as in the German Freut euch des Lebens. In the Faroe Islands the topics are narratives from legends, which are mimed by the round dancers. Sometimes the topic refers to agriculture, as in the French Canadian children's round Avoine ("Good Grain").
The previous remarks mentioned the sound-producing items of costumes, as boots and bells. Visually effective items worn by dancers include kerchiefs and female full skirts, which permit numerous manipulations. Other visual effects are the designs of regional dress in the various countries, from the flouncy flamenco skirts to the white trousers of sword dancers. In the United States square dancers sometimes affect full skirts for women and plaid shirts for men.
The revived interest in national folk dances is generally dissociated from tradition, unless a folk dance group has a leader with folkloric knowledge. Folk dancing inspires the weekly gatherings of groups in civic centres, colleges, and other centres, even the entire schedules of summer folk dance camps. Congresses sponsored by the Folk Dance Federation of California produced a uniform repertoire for groups throughout North America. In addition, new immigrants introduced occasional new dances. Most of these groups dance for the sheer pleasure of dance, and more expert ensembles stage programs and enter contests, in both the New and the Old World. But although such revivals and the consequent preservation of traditions were heartening and brought about good fellowship, healthful exercise, and, avowedly, international understanding, such dancing had no connection with the aboriginal purposes of folk dancing, which continued only in villages or on Indian reservations.
The modern style of costuming is an extreme departure from the masks for spirit impersonators and the symbolic designs painted or woven on all costumes of the ritual dances. Such paraphernalia survived in some dances that straddle ritualism and folk dance, as the animal and corn dances of the Pueblo Indians. But the trend was increasingly toward contemporary dress. Even the Iroquois ritualists usually wore ordinary clothes. Members of folk dance clubs rarely wore traditional costumes at their informal gatherings, although these clothes were customary for staged programs.
As a contrasting trend, professional folkloric troupes exaggerated costume effects, doubled the volume of skirts, added spangles, and increased the instrumental volume and the tempo. Frequently the directors composed scenarios, as in the reconstructions of Aztec rituals by the Ballet Folklórico de México. Their spectacles have a great audience appeal, compensating in part for the nonkinetic and the prosaic in modern folk dancing.
The folk arts are by and large expressive of traditions that are deeply rooted in the lifestyles and in the social organizations of peoples and cultures throughout the world. But as those styles and organizations change over time, in response to environmental, economic, technological, and other factors, so do the concomitant artistic expressions evolve in terms of function, form, and mode of existence. But change has been brought about, too, by the creativity of individuals and of cohesive groups.
Professional dancers found folk materials a rich source of inspiration that they used in several ways. Authentic dances were intensified for the stage by such companies as the Philippine Bayanihan troupe and the Ceylon National Dancers. The sophisticated dance-dramas of India's Uday Shankar, who performed widely in the West, often contained folk dances. His work with the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova in Radha and Krishna showed, too, the rich potentialities for East-West collaboration. A folk atmosphere can be evoked without using folk materials, notable in La Malinche by José Limón. Finally, seemingly incompatible styles were fused: Mary Wigman was among the first to blend the rather stark idiom of modern dance with the ornate and exotic styles of the Orient.
Although the origins of many traditional dances are lost in a nebulous past, the observed emergence of new forms may give clues to the age-old processes of change. Inspired individuals may have molded the patterns of the ancient round-dance figures much as numerous leaders of dance in the 20th century invented variations on the steps or devised steps and patterns to fit new rhythms, passing on their innovations by teaching or imitation. Again, creators have developed entire new dance structures from traditional materials, as the choreographers of modern Israeli dances have done most skillfully.
Another inevitable process is that of crystallization. For various reasons—sanctity, nostalgia, or whatever—groups tend to maintain routines through time but not forever. If a dance does not die of old age, of having totally outworn its function and of having a form or spirit out of tune with a new age, it will continue to gain new life from improvised variations on basic steps or ground plans or from conscious elaborations of its forms by professional directors of ethnic dance groups and programs. Such kinds of creativity, individual and group, contribute to that constant cycle of orderly change within traditional parameters that accounts for the rich variety of the dances of the people.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Thursday, March 1, 2012 - 12:00
Preparing for the GT Open Round 1 PORTIMÃO
The Lotus Sport Italy team prepare for this weekends GT Open at Portimão. They will take part in the Super GT - GT2 FIA category in the Lotus Evora GTE. Drivers Johnny Mowlem (GB) and Marcello Puglisi (IT) will take the wheel.
40 cars are entered for what promises to be an exciting weekend of racing.


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Sunrise, Fla. -- Ikea on Wednesday officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its store in City of Sunrise, Fla. It is the largest solar installation in South Florida and, when combined with Ikea projects already completed atop stores in Orlando and Tampa, will make Ikea the state's largest non-utility solar owner.
Ikea contracted with REC Solar for the development, design and installation of the Sunrise store's customized solar power system. The 101,774-sq.-ft. PV array consists of a 1,057-kW system, built with 4,368 panels. Ikea Sunrise's program will produce approximately 1,554,600 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 1,181 tons of carbon dioxide.
This installation represents the 35th completed solar project for Ikea in the U.S., with four more locations underway, making the eventual U.S. solar presence of Ikea nearly 90% of its U.S. locations with a total generation of 38 MW.
Ikea owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) – and globally has allocated $1.8 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015. Consistent with the company's goal of being energy independent by 2020, Ikea has installed more than 250,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns/operates approximately 110 wind turbines in Europe.


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ID misuse: Dh50K fine, jail and deportation
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WASHINGTON -- What you pay at the pump to gas up route vehicles could soon be based on mileage. With highway infrastructure badly in need of repair, Congress is looking at a program that would calculate gasoline tax based on mileage using GPS data loaded into gas pumps.
A pay-as-you-drive levy is not as farfetched as it sounds. Nevada and Oregon have already tested such a program that adjusted fuel prices based on how far a vehicle was driven.
With 4 million miles of highways in need of upkeep at an estimated cost of $123 billion, the program makes sense to many lawmakers desperately seeking funds. The alternative, say proponents, is an across-the-board tax hike that would boost the federal gas tax, which has been stuck at 18.4¢ a gallon (not 18.4%) for two decades. (The Clinton administration's budget package in 1993 raised gas taxes a mere 4.3¢ to 18.4¢ per gallon.)
Proponents of the program point to the fact that, since 2008, Congress has been forced to add $52.8 billion a year to highway maintenance. That could rise to more than $100 billion over the next decade to maintain the nation's highways while states facing budget problems have resorted to "graveling" some rural roads to avoid maintenance costs.
The pay-as-you-drive proposal is one of many revenue sources being examined in Washington as a way to cut the budget deficit.


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MICHAEL MULCAHYAffiliation:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra - 2nd Trombone
Artist's BiographyChicago Symphony Orchestra trombonist Michael Mulcahy has appeared as soloist and teacher in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Japan, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia; and as soloist with the CSO and Daniel Barenboim, as well as the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Hilversum Radio Symphony, and the Melbourne Symphony.
Michael is the winner of several international competitions, among them the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Instrumental Competition, the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, the Viotti International Competition in Italy, and the International Instrumental Competition in the former East German city of Markneukirchen.
Active as a member of the Chicago Chamber Musicians, his work also includes collaborations with Barenboim, Boulez, Joseph Silverstein, Christoph Eschenbach, William Bolcom, and Yo-Yo Ma, as well as appearances at Chamber Music Northwest and the Grand Teton Music Festival, where he has conducted for many years. He has worked with the world's most prominent composers, including John Adams, Elliott Carter, Luciano Berio, Iannis Xenakis, Olivier Messian, Krzysztof Penderecki, and as a member of Karl-Heinz Stockhausen's performance ensemble.
Sir Georg Solti appointed Michael Mulcahy to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1989. He also is Principal Trombone of Chicago's Music of the Baroque and the Grand Teton Music Festival. His orchestral career began in 1976 as Principal Trombone of the Tasmanian Symphony. A year later, he attained the same chair with the Melbourne Symphony. He left Australia in 1981 to pursue a career in Europe, where he became Solo Trombone with the Cologne Radio Symphony.
He was Head of Brass of the Canberra School of Music at the Australian National University in 1987. In 1999, he was appointed Professor of Music at Northwestern University. He also has been an artist-in-residence at Indiana University and Wiley Housewright Scholar at Florida State University, and he regularly appears at universities worldwide. Mulcahy has taught and conducted at Daniel Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Workshop for young Arab and Israeli musicians in Seville, Spain.
Michael Mulcahy's interest in conducting was sparked by an invitation from West German Radio in 1987. Since then, he has been active in conducting a wide variety of works with an emphasis on the twentieth century. In 1988, he formed the Canberra School of Music Chamber Players and the Orchestral Repertoire Ensemble at Australian National University. Shortly thereafter he was appointed assistant conductor of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. He toured Japan as guest conductor at the International Youth Musicale in Shizouka and Denmark for the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen. He also has worked as an assistant for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He has conducted for Music of the Millennium and composer-perspective festivals at the Museum of Contemporary Art, served as music director for National Music Camp in Australia, and he regularly leads the Chicago Chamber Musicians.
Michael Mulcahy was born in Sydney, Australia. He began studying trombone with his father Jack Mulcahy, and completed his studies with Baden McCarron of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and with Geoffrey Bailey at the State Conservatorium of New South Wales.


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Wildlife Lenses: telephoto-zoom round upBy Kevin Carter - Wednesday February 13 2013 Lens Recommendations
With the vagaries of photographing wildlife, the flexibility of a telephoto zoom would appear to be an attractive solution. However, image quality is often a compromise at the maximum aperture and longest focal length, typically the most crucial settings. We've pulled some lens data from our database and put together a round up of popular zoom lenses over the years (and made some comparisons with high performance primes). Read on to find out which models have the best image quality.
Wildlife photography: what do I need?
Photographing wildlife successfully doesn't necessarily depend on having the longest and fastest super-telephoto lens available in a manufacturer's list, in fact it requires a good deal of skill and patience, but there are some lenses that can help improve your chances. A telephoto can be of benefit when photographing shy and small creatures/animals, but while offering high image quality, a fixed focal length telephoto can be restricting.
A zoom lens, however, is much more flexible and by carrying fewer lenses, can save weight and be real blessing while travelling on airlines and public transport not to mention allowing considerable freedom in the field. The trade-off for this convenience is often lower- lens speed and -image quality. Having a lens with a wide maximum aperture is often essential to prevent subject blurring but high-speed telephoto zooms are pricey and fixed focal length telephoto lenses aren't really any more affordable either.
We've put together a review of telephoto zooms and fixed focal length lenses that encompass a focal length of at least 300mm. However, bear in mind, even when used on an APS-C cropped camera this focal length is considered too short for smaller animals, birds especially. Lenses that exceed that focal length are fewer and more expensive but where possible we've included them (from our database of 22 lenses and more than 400 camera/lens combinations).
Lenses that fall firmly into this particular category in our test database include:
- Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5 56 USM (1990/06/01)
- Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM (2004/06/01)
- Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM (2004/06/01)
- Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG APO OS HSM Nikon (2008/01/01)
- Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF Macro Sony (2004/08/01)
- Panasonic LUMIX G VARIO 100-300mm f/4.0-5.6 MEGA OIS (2010/09/01)
- Pentax smc DA Star 300mm F4 ED IF SDM
- Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM (2010/08/01)
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4 5.6 III USM (1999/04/01)
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (1995/09/01)
- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG MACRO Canon (2008/01/01)
- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS Canon (2009/09/01)
- Tamron AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC LD Aspherical [IF] Macro Canon (2007/01/01)
- Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 LD Canon (2000/01/01)
- Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 ED VR (2010/09/01)
- Nikkor AF-S VR Zoom 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF ED (2006/08/01)
- Nikkor AF Zoom 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED (2003/09/01)
- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG MACRO Nikon (2008/01/01)
- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS Nikon (2009/09/01)
- Tamron AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC LD Aspherical [IF] Macro Nikon (2009/01/01)
- Sony 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G SSM (2008/05/01)
We are also aware that lenses like the high-end, full-frame Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-400mmm f/4G ED VR II (and the to be released Canon equivalent) are rightly popular (especially on an APS-C camera, where it becomes a 300-600mm f/4 in effect) and so this review will be updated when we've had a chance to put them through our labs.
Other lenses that are not yet included in our tested database but should also be considered include;
- Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II
- Canon EF 600mm F/4L IS II USM
- Canon EF 500mm F/4L IS II USM
- Sony 500mm F4 G SSM
- Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM
- Kenko Tokina 400mm F8 Mirror Lens
- Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
- Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM
- Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
- Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR AF
- Canon EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM
- Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S
- Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM
- Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM
- Nikon 400mm f/2.8 AF-I
- Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM II
Added by Bird201 | May 06 , 2014
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED
I've been looking forward to the test score for this lens for a long time! :)
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First replies for this comment
Added by Galerita | May 11 , 2014
Re: Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED
Hi Bird201, I think a lot of people are looking for the kind of thorough review that DxOMark do for the Nikon 3000f4, the 300f4 plus TC-14E ii, and the Canon 400f5.6. ::) There is no substitute for these lenses in the keen amateur ("prosumer") bird photography market. It's widely acknowledged that the long tele-zooms are not sharp where needed (at the long end), as DxO's own results show - something people usually find out too late :'( The exceptions are usually too expensive (eg 200-400 f4). Even professionals use the Nikon 300f4 plus TC-14E ii combo and swear by it (eg: http://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-300mm-f4d)
People often um-and-ah about whether to go Nikon 300f4+TC14 or Canon 400f5.6 (eg see: http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1067193/0).
The only review site I have found that allows a comparison of both on the same terms is photozone.de, where the 300f4+TC14 (and 300f4+TC17) results are included along with the 300f4 alone:
It would be a fantastic contribution if DxOMark could so an article comparing the Nikon 300f4, 300f4+TC14 and Canon 400f5.6 and asking what the best options are for amateur birders 8)
Added by Sophie - DxOMark | May 22 , 2014
Re: Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED
Hi Galerita,
Thank you for this interesting suggestion. We will keep it in mind.
Best regards.
Added by Galerita | April 28 , 2014
Minor corrections to list
Hi DxO,
Just some minor notes/suggestions regarding your "Other lenses that are not yet included in our tested database but should also be considered include" list:
The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM are each listed twice.
Both the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR AF (listed but with no hyperlink) and the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S (not listed) have been tested:
Maybe lenses already tested could be moved into the "Lenses that fall firmly into this particular category in our test database include" list.
Thanks guys, you do a fantastic job :)
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Added by Sophie - DxOMark | May 22 , 2014
Re: Minor corrections to list
Hi Galerita,
Thank you for contacting us, and for your support to DxOMark, and sorry for the late reply. We do not update all reviews but will add some links and correct the lens list.
Best regards.
Added by Galerita | April 28 , 2014
DxO Mark for Nikon 300f4 (plus TC-14E) and Canon 400f5.6
Thanks DxO team for this great collection! I am a keen bird photographer, so it is highly relevant.
Two VERY important lenses are missing from a keen amateur/portable professional view. There are no DxO marks on the AF-S Nikon 300mm f/4 - almost always paired with a TC-14E ii by nature photographers - and for Canon users, the Canon 400mm f/5.6L.
Almost without exception the long telephoto zooms are not sharp at the long end (400-600mm) where amateur bird photographers are interested. The few exceptions are pricey (like the Nikon 80-400 f/4.5-5.6G) or out of reach of most amateurs (the Nikon 200-400 f/4). Some reviewers (eg Nasim Mansurov at Photography Life) even recommend the Nikon 300f4/TC-14E combination above the Nikon 80-400 f/4.5-5.6G.
I would dearly like to see you DxOMark the 300f/4 alone and in combination with the TC-14E ii - a popular combination seen as sharp and often used after amateurs who have given up on their third party telezooms reaching 500mm to 600mm after realising they are not sharp!
In anticipation...
Added by ajschot | June 25 , 2013
Miss some...
Hey guys,
What is alway the thing with this tests, which is a lot of times lately.
It looks like you guys have already favorites and push the 'test' in a direction.
Why al these really old rather crappy Tamrons? I mis the best ones! The VC versions are a lot better then these old versions of 2000 and 2004! Even if the have stabalisation and sometimes it does not work well because of the tripod or fast shutters speed, keep in mind you can always switch them off...
Then i mis a really versatile lens, the Sigma 50-500 OS HSM if you guys talk about reach in the intro you really have to put this one in the test because it has an amzing reach.
Also consider testing some of the faster lenses with tele converter.
I understand thatbit is a lot more work but with this short list I think you don't give the whole thing an objective look for readers.
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First replies for this comment
Added by Emilie_DxOMark | July 08 , 2013
Re: Miss some...
Thanks for your comment.
HI Arend,
As you noticed it is a lot of work and we had to do some choices…
For this article we try to highlight some good value telephoto zoom.
In this article we reviewed a lot of high end telephoto prime (Canon and Sony) and we should publish some results of famous Nikon primes very soon.
Your remark about extender is very relevant but we won't have time to measure it for now.
I you want to have an idea about the influence of an extender on image quality, have a look on our last review about the Canon EF200-400mm f/2.8 1.4x.
Best regards,
The DxOMark team
Added by fermanaman | April 05 , 2013
Wildlife Lenses: telephoto-zoom round up
How about adding the Pentax 55-300mm lens to the look at in the future list!
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First replies for this comment
Added by Emilie_DxOMark | April 10 , 2013
Re: Wildlife Lenses: telephoto-zoom round up
Thanks for your interest in DxOMark.
Your suggestion is very relevant. Currently this is not a priority but we will try to keep it in mind.
Best regards,
The DxOMark team
Added by AEH | March 21 , 2013
No mention of the Sony 70-400mm G ???
Not even in your "should also be considered" list?
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First replies for this comment
Added by Emilie_DxOMark | March 29 , 2013
Re: No mention of the Sony 70-400mm G ???
Thanks for your interest in DxOMark.
Thanks for your suggestion, we updated the review.
Best regards,
The DxOMark team
Added by Cris57 | March 07 , 2013
Bonjour. La nouvelle mouture du zoom 80-400 de Nikon, vient de sortir. À un prix exorbitant ! Plus de deux fois le modèle précédent ! Dans le même style que votre comparaison 70-200 f4, 70-200 f2,8 Nikon et Canon, je serai extrêmement intéressé par une comparaison des deux versions du 80-400 Nikon (ancienne et nouvelle), avec le 100-400 Canon.
Merci d'avance. Je brûle d'impatience !
Added by loic | February 23 , 2013
keep your money!
- weight make 2,8 impossible to use in wildlife without tripod!
- at 5,6, a 200 dollar lens is the same quality optically than a 1500 canon or nikon "pro" lense!!!!!
photographer, I successfully use a 200$ lens without stabilization:
- for "birding" speed is upper 1/500s
- in low ligth cndition
using a tripod is better than stabilsation.
prefer to use this money for the camera!!!
Added by loic | February 23 , 2013
en français!
Enfin un comparatif!
J'ai toujours affirmé:
- soit il faut acheter un 2,8 avec le problème de le porter (3kg!!!!)
- soit IL N Y A AUCUNE DIFFERENCE DE QUALITE OPTIQUE ENTRE LES MODELES CHERS OU NON
Donc en photographie animalière ALLER AU MOINS CHER les marques nikon ou canon font beaucoup d'argent avec des optiques quasi identiques, canon prétend meme que son zoom est "pro"....
J'utilise une optique à 200$ je suis photographe et les résultats sont très bons, juste un peu de retouche pour le 300mm!
Les optiques à plus de 1000$ n'apportent rien sauf léger mieux pour l'AF quand à la stabilisation elle est suvent inutiles:
- en "birding" on est à plus de 1/500e
- en affut, le trépied!!!
For my english readers : learn French it's a pleasure and the summit of the Civilisation too!
Added by forall | February 17 , 2013
please tests and reviews the lens Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD Canon! This product should be tested and reviewed on november 2012!
good lens.
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First replies for this comment
Added by Emilie_DxOMark | February 18 , 2013
Re: please!
Thanks for your comment.
The lenses you suggested are very relevant and we are going to add them to our list. In this regard, we welcome any suggestions of yours concerning other lenses we might include in ours reviews.
Best regards,


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- Osteoarthritis Overview Slideshow Pictures
- Osteoarthritis Tips for Living Better Daily Slideshow
- Exercises for OA of the Knee Slideshow
- Patient Comments: Osteoarthritis - Symptoms
- Patient Comments: Osteoarthritis - Treatments
- Patient Comments: Osteoarthritis - Share Your Experience
- Patient Comments: Osteoarthritis - Early Intervention
- Find a local Rheumatologist in your town
- Osteoarthritis facts
- What is osteoarthritis?
- What is the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?
- What causes osteoarthritis?
- What are osteoarthritis symptoms and signs?
- How do health care professionals diagnose osteoarthritis?
- What is the medical treatment for osteoarthritis?
- "If I have minimal or no symptoms with early signs of osteoarthritis, what should I do?"
- What is the prognosis for patients with osteoarthritis?
- Is it possible to prevent osteoarthritis?
- What specialists treat osteoarthritis?
- What does the future hold for osteoarthritis?
- Where can people get more information about osteoarthritis?
Quick GuideOsteoarthritis (OA): Treatment, Symptoms, Diagnosis
"If I have minimal or no symptoms with early signs of osteoarthritis, what should I do?"
The ideal steps to take should lead to a proper diagnosis and an optimal long-term treatment plan. While many steps are described here, the plan must be customized for each person affected by osteoarthritis, depending on the joints affected and the severity of symptoms.
An opinion regarding the cause or the type of the arthritis can often be adequately obtained by consulting a general family doctor. It is often unnecessary to see an arthritis specialist (rheumatologist), like myself, for this purpose. However, if the diagnosis or treatment plan is unclear, a rheumatologist might be consulted.
When I determine that a patient has a classic node formation from osteoarthritis (Heberden's node), I may make the diagnosis solely based upon the examination, without the need for any additional tests, such as blood or X-ray testing. Sometimes, testing can be helpful to better understand the degree and character of the osteoarthritis affecting a certain joint. It can also be helpful for monitoring and to exclude other conditions.
Treatment may not be necessary for osteoarthritis of the hands with minimal or no symptoms. When symptoms are troubling and persist, however, treatment might include pain and anti-inflammatory medications, with or without food supplements, such as glucosamine and/or chondroitin. Furthermore, heat/cold applications and topical pain creams can be helpful.
As a first step, I recommend that patients go ahead and try the over-the-counter food supplements glucosamine and chondroitin. Each of these health supplements has been shown by some studies to relieve the pain and stiffness of some (but not all) patients with osteoarthritis. These supplements are available in pharmacies and health-food stores without a prescription. If patients do not benefit after a two-month trial, I suggest that they discontinue these supplements. Of note, the manufacturers sometimes make claims that these supplements "rebuild" cartilage. This claim has not been adequately verified by scientific studies to date.
For another type of dietary supplementation, it should be noted that fish oils have been shown to have some anti-inflammatory properties. Moreover, increasing the dietary fish intake and/or fish oil capsules (omega-3 capsules) can sometimes reduce the inflammation of arthritis. There is some evidence that vitamin D supplementation can reduce joint swelling of osteoarthritis.
Obesity has long been known to be a risk factor for osteoarthritis of the knee. I recommend weight reduction for patients who are overweight with early signs of osteoarthritis of the hands, because they are at a risk for also developing osteoarthritis of their knees. Foods to avoid include those that promote weight gain. As described above, even modest weight reduction can be helpful.
Pain medications that are available over the counter, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), can be very helpful in relieving the pain symptoms of mild osteoarthritis. I recommend these as the first-line medication treatment. Studies have shown that acetaminophen, given in adequate doses, can often be equally as effective as prescription anti-inflammatory medications in relieving pain in osteoarthritis of the knees. Since acetaminophen has fewer gastrointestinal side effects than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), especially in elderly patients, acetaminophen is generally the preferred initial drug given to patients with osteoarthritis. If symptoms persist, then I recommend trials of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, Nuprin), ketoprofen (Orudis), and naproxen (Aleve). Many patients do best when they take these medications along with their glucosamine and chondroitin supplements.
Some patients get significant relief of pain symptoms by dipping their hands in hot wax (paraffin) dips in the morning. Hot wax can often be obtained at local pharmacies or medical supply stores. It can be prepared in a Crock-Pot and be reused after it hardens as a warm covering over the hands by peeling off and replacing it into the melted wax. Warm water soaks and nighttime cotton gloves (to keep the hands warm during sleep) can also help ease hand symptoms. Performing gentle range of motion exercises regularly can help to preserve function of the joints. These exercises are easiest to perform after early morning hand warming.
Pain-relieving creams that are applied to the skin over the joints can provide relief of daytime minor arthritis pain. Examples include capsaicin (ArthriCare, Zostrix), salicin (Aspercreme), methyl salicylate (Ben-Gay, Icy Hot), and menthol (Flexall). For additional relief of mild symptoms, local ice application can sometimes be helpful, especially toward the end of the day. Occupational therapists can assess daily activities and determine which additional types of therapy may help patients at work or home.
Finally, when arthritis symptoms persist, it is best to seek the advice of a health care professional who can properly guide the optimal management for each individual patient. Many other prescription medications are available for the treatment of osteoarthritis for patients with chronic, annoying symptoms.
In addition to the steps described above, pay attention to joint problems elsewhere in the body if one develops early signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis of the hands.


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Directions • Cottonwood Narrows, in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, is a great, family-friendly hike to tack on to a trip to Bryce Canyon or Kodachrome Basin. The hike is a 20-mile drive from Cannonville.
Stop at the Grand Staircase-Escalante visitor's center in Cannonville to check road conditions and weather forecast (this canyon is subject to flash floods). From there, go south on Main Street, which becomes Cottonwood Road south of town. Stay on this road the entire drive. The paved portion of the road ends about 7 miles from the visitor's center. Continue south and east, noting the turnoff to Grosvenor Arch 16.5 miles from the visitor's center.
Just over 3.5 miles beyond the Grosvenor Arch turnoff, you will see a sign for "Cottonwood Narrows north" and a flat area for parking on the left side of the road. This is where you begin the hike.
You get into the canyon very close to the road. From the parking area, go across the street and follow the footpaths northwest to a little pass between the rocks. Hop down into the river wash. From here, just go west and then south, following the sandy wash through the deep, beautiful narrows. The hike is mostly level to the end of the canyon.
At 1.4 miles, just after the canyon turns back east, you will reach a rockslide. Pick your way over the rocks and back into the wash. At 1.5 miles, the canyon opens up. The south parking area is just above the wash; you will see footpaths on your left leading up to the parking area and road. There is a sign-in box at the parking area. Walk a mile north on scenic Cottonwood Road to get back to your car. Grosvenor Arch makes a nice stop on your drive back to Cannonville. Cottonwood Narrows
Hiking time • 2 hours
Round trip miles • 2.5
Elevation gain • 225 feet
Difficulty • Easy
Trailhead restrooms • No
Dogs allowed • Yes
Bikes allowed • n/a


text: The WNCRAQA is responsible for regulating all stationary and area sources of air pollution in Buncombe County and the city of Asheville. Regulatory activities include permitting, compliance inspections, and enforcement proceedings. Stationary sources are categorized into three groups: Title V facilities, synthetic minor facilities, and small facilities. Other facilities that are regulated by WNCRAQA include gas stations and dry cleaners. Gas stations are regulated through the Stage I Vapor Recovery program, and Dry Cleaners are monitored and inspected annually. Asbestos & Demolition Health Effects Asbestos Containing Materials Removing Tile, Linoleum and Transite Siding Facilities List Open Burning Paint Stripping & Misc. Permitted Facility Forms Regulations


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Stanley W. Galli Biography
Galli, Stanley W. Born California. Illustrator for magazine and advertising commissions, work in McCall's, True and did book covers. Studied at California Society Of Fine Arts.
Galli, a founding member of the San Francisco Society of Illustrators, was elected into the national Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1981.
GALLI, Stanley W. (1912)
Illustrator: Country Gentlemen, Sports Afield, McCalls, True, Reader's Digest, Saturday Evening Post. He has also designed 26 postage stamps for the USPO.
Stan Galli was one of United's more prolific artists, responsible for several series of images that are among the carrier's best known and most collectible. His realistic style was better suited for western destinations such as California, Las Vegas, and Hawaii, where the subject matter itself was able to inject a sense of romanticism that Galli himself often neglected. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Society of Illustrators in 1975. (We have conflicting information regarding this date.)


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Sensation announces 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' theme & lineup
Sensation has been "Into The Wild" and covered in an "Ocean of White," but now the event has reached a new high - "Welcome to the Pleasuredome."
The popular dance music event has just revealed the new theme set to take over Amsterdam this July - as fans will once again unite in white - along with a stunning lineup. Joining the face of Sensation (Mr. White) at the Pleasuredome this year are Chuckie, Nicky Romero, Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and NERVO.
The Sensation website describes the event as "the ride of a lifetime" which will "take you to the next level, through unbelievable special effects and our ground-breaking highest stage ever built at Sensation." The show also includes acrobatics, light shows, pyro artists, and more.
Check out the trailer and lineup announcement below: