Title: Men’s Handshake Ritual

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Tradition, Ritual

• English

• USA

Informant Data:

• Dami Apoeso is 21 years old and was born in Hartford Connecticut. He grew up in the Bronx, New York City and currently lives in Spring Valley, New York. He is majoring in computer science. He danced for approximately 6 years in a summer camp before joining Sheba his sophomore year at Dartmouth.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context

All male members of Sheba know and use the handshake. The handshake is used before performances, during practices, and any time one male member sees another male member around campus. The informant created the handshake two years ago.

• Cultural Context

Sheba tries to be an inclusive group and considers itself a family. The handshake has helped strengthen the bond between male members of the group.

Item:

All male members of Sheba know and use a special handshake. Any time a male member sees another one around campus they use this special handshake. Specifically the handshake is used before performances. A video of the handshake is included below.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Handshake

Informant’s Comments:

The informant believes this handshake has really strengthened the bond between the male members of the team and created the feeling of a “brotherhood”.

Collector’s Comments:

When collecting this folklore, the group wondered if this could possible be considered fakelore. The informant explained to us that the reason he created the handshake was because female members of the team had their own rituals and the male members wanted their own as well. However, once enough time has passed, if the handshake continues then this ritual can truly be considered folklore and not fakelore. The creator of this handshake is graduating this year, and if the handshake continues after he is no longer a member of the team, this will indicate that the handshake has truly become a valuable tradition on the team.

Collector’s Name: Marcus Reid

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Dance
• Team
• Ritual
• Handshake
• Tradition

Title: Sheba Huddle

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Ritual, Tradition

• English

• USA

Informant Data:

Contextual Data:

• Social Context

All members of the group who are present at the time participate in the huddle. The team does a huddle before every performance and at the end of every practice. Even if a member is present but not dancing they participate in the huddle. The informant does not remember when the tradition started but believes it has been happening since he joined the team.

• Cultural Context

Sheba tries to create an inclusive culture and treat the team as a second family, and doing a huddle at the end of each practice and before performances allows the members to bond with each other. Sheba is also a high energy dance group, and they purposefully do the huddle loud enough for the audience to hear them even though the team is backstage. This helps Sheba get the audience excited and energized before they have even begun dancing.

Item:

Group members get in a circle with one hand in the center of the circle. A member, usually the captain or director of the team, will lead the team in chanting, “1, 2, 3, Sheba!”. Sometimes the person who leads the chant may say a few words first.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Sheba Huddle

Transcript of Associated File:

“We would do our Sheba huddle. We make sure we do it loud enough so that the crowd outside can hear us and know that we are about to perform. And we do this at um we do this before every show and we do this at the end of every practice”

Group: “1, 2, 3, Sheba!”

Informant’s Comments:

Informant believes that the huddle is a ritual that gets the team energized and excited before a performance, and a way to connect with other members after a potentially tiring, or difficult practice.

Collector’s Comments:

Many teams and groups have huddles, but it is very interesting that Sheba purposefully makes their huddle loud enough for the audience to hear. This reflects on the high energy culture of the group.

Collector’s Name: Marcus Reid

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Dance
• Team
• Tradition
• Ritual

Title: Rhyming Games

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Ritual, Tradition

• English

• USA

Informant Data:

• Connor Lehan is 21 years old and was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and currently lives there. He has been a member of Casual Thursday since his freshman fall. He had no experience with improvisation before joining Casual Thursday.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context

Casual Thursday plays rhyming games before performances and often during practices. All members of the group who are present at the time participate. The group began playing rhyming games in 2001 when the group was founded. Playing the rhyming games gets the group members thinking quickly and increases their energy without tiring them out.

• Cultural Context

The rhyming games are extremely spontaneous and often silly, and this reflects the carefree culture of Casual Thursday.

Item:

Casual Thursday has many pre-performance songs and chants that rely on spontaneous rhyming. These games rely on group participation and have the participants rhyme and sing on the spot. An example of one of this games is “My Mother Don’t Wear No Socks”. A video is included below demonstrating this game.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Casual Thursday Rhyming Game

Transcript of Associated File:

“One that we did last night was, the song is called ‘My Mother Don’t Wear No Socks’. ‘Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum ba bum bum bum bum bum bum bum ba bum bum’. And during that, whoever is up, the person next to them whispers a word into their ear. Say the word is, house. So ‘bum bum ba bum bum bum’.  And the person goes, ‘my mother don’t wear no socks, ba dum ba. I was there when sh took them off, ba dum ba.  My mother lives in a house, ba dum ba, and she shares it with a mouse, ba dum ba’. And then they whisper to the next person and you just go around and everyone has a verse.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant believes that this game as well as many of the other spontaneous and silly rituals Casual Thursday have help group members become confident with being spontaneous and carefree in front of groups of people.

Collector’s Comments:

This game is another one of Casual Thursday’s traditions that really captures the culture and essence of the group. Not only does it play off of the group’s carefree culture, but it also helps members get excited, warmed up and ready for performances.

Collector’s Name: Shinar Jain

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Improvisation
• Comedy
• Game
• Ritual
• Tradition

Title: Llama Llama Game

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Ritual, Tradition

• English

• USA

Informant Data:

• Connor Lehan is 21 years old and was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and currently lives there. He has been a member of Casual Thursday since his freshman fall. He had no experience with improvisation before joining Casual Thursday.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context

This game is usually played before performances. All members of the group who are present for the performance participate in this game. Sometimes the game is played during practices or any other time a group member may request to play it. The informant cannot remember where exactly the game originated from but believes it is a modified version of the game “Bunny Bunny”.

• Cultural Context

The game is very silly and carefree as it requires players to sing funny words and make animal hand signs. The game is representative of Casual Thursday’s carefree and fun culture.

Item:

Members play a game called “llama llama”. One person starts out with the llama, and passes the symbol around the group while a beat is clapped out. As the person passes the llama they point at themselves and then the other person saying “llama llama llama llama”. After another person receives the llama they pass it along by saying “llama llama llama llama” and pointing at themselves and then another person. People adjacent to the person with the llama do a small dance and say “toki toki toki toki”.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Llama Llama Game

Transcript of Associated File:

“There’s a beat. And then basically the idea is that you’re passing the llama around. So you go llama llama llama llama. And whoever is receiving it goes ‘llama llama llama llama’. And that keeps going on while the beat is continuing. And then whoever is the people adjacent to the person who currently has the llama, because they are so excited about being next to the person who has the llama, are going ‘toki toki toki toki'”

Informant’s Comments:

Informant believes this game is useful because it keeps people on their toes, increases energy and gets members excited and focused before a performance. It is also a fun game and helps members get comfortable and confident with being silly in front of large groups of people, as this is very important in the comedy work Casual Thursday does.

Collector’s Comments:

This game seems very similar to “Bunny Bunny”, but it is interesting how Casual Thursday uses it to prepare themselves and get ready before performances.

Collector’s Name: Shinar Jain

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Comedy
• Improv
• Game
• Tradition
• Ritual
• Group

Title: Huddle – “Go Bayside!”

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Ritual

• English

• USA

Informant Data:

• Connor Lehan is 21 years old and was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and currently lives there. He has been a member of Casual Thursday since his freshman fall. He had no experience with improvisation before joining Casual Thursday.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context

The huddle takes place right before members of the group perform, and after other pre-performance rituals such as “llama llama”, and rhyming games. All of the group members are present for the ritual. The informant believes the ritual has existed for a few years.

• Cultural Context

Informant is not sure why the group says “Go Bayside!” as the phrase has no particular meaning. Often times group members say phrases that sound like “Go Bayside!” as a joke. The humor and carefree spirit of this huddle reflects the culture of Casual Thursday. Casual Thursday is a very spontaneous, and carefree group.

Item:

Before performing, all group members get in a circle and take a knee. One member (usually the President) gives a short, impromptu speech in which he usually yells at the members. After, the entire group chants “Go Bayside!”. Some members chant a phrase that sounds like “Go Bayside!” such as “Go Gay Guys!” or “Go Grapevine!”.

Informant’s Comments:

Informant believes the tradition is not intended to make sense or have a deep, and significant value. He believes the ritual probably originated because someone thought the phrase “Go Bayside!” was funny at one point. He explained that it is fun that no one knows what the phrase means, but everyone still participates in the ritual. Many of Casual Thursday’s rituals and traditions are fun and silly, and not necessarily serious – but the informant believes that as long as they are getting the group excited and focused, they are working.

Collector’s Comments:

Casual Thursday’s huddle is unique because they get down on one knee. It is interesting that they have been using a phrase for years, and no one knows the meaning or significance of the phrase. This reflects the spontaneous and silly culture of the group.

Collector’s Name: Shinar Jain

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Comedy
• Improvisation
• Huddle
• Group