Title: Wake Ups

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Ritual, Tradition

• 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 members of the team participate in this ritual. New members are unaware of the ritual at first. The tradition occurs in the early morning, during the fall term, after new members for the team have been selected. The information says that his has been a tradition for a very long time and he first experienced it his sophomore fall when he joined Sheba.

• Cultural Context

Sheba tries to be a very inclusive group and form a close bond with its members. This culture is represented in this tradition, as it helps the new members form a connection with the other new members who were surprised by the wake ups, and with the returning member who they have breakfast with.

Item:

After new member are selected for the team, they are woken up early in the morning by returning members. The new members are told that the team needs another audition. The returning members take the new members from their room but then surprise them with flair(mismatched, odd clothing), welcome the new members to the team, take them to Lou’s Diner for breakfast and take pictures with everyone. Afterwards, the new members are allowed to go back to sleep.

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

Wake Ups

Transcript of Associated File:

“Since i was a sophomore when I auditioned, I only auditioned for Sheba. The process took about 4 hours. Once I was done I went home, went to sleep, received a knock on my door at 6 am saying that we needed another audition and when I got there they said, just kidding welcome to Sheba and they handed me these items of flair to wear and then we went to Lou’s and took some pictures and then had breakfast and went back to sleep.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant remembers his wake up as a great experience as it was his first real experience with Sheba after joining the team.

Collector’s Comments:

Wake Ups are another common tradition amongst various groups and teams across campus, and they do a good job of making new members feel included and special.

Collector’s Name: Marcus Reid

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Dance
• Team
• New Member Initiation
• Tradition
• Ritual

Title: Sheba Sign

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Ritual, Tradition

• 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 members of the team use the hand sign. The sign originated a long time ago and the informant is not sure when. The sign is used during practices, before, during and after performances, and any time members wish to use it.

• Cultural Context

Sheba is a very close knit group and this sign is a special tradition that represents the entire group. The group takes pride in its sign and this is reflective of the group’s culture – the team takes pride in its accomplishments and is like a family.

Item:

The Sheba hand sign consists of two hands placed in the shape of an S. The hand sign is used throughout many dances and it is a tradition for performances to end with the sign. The sign is also used during photos and any other time the group would like to represent itself. A video containing the hand sign can be seen below.

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

Sheba Sign

Transcript of Associated File:

“We also do the Sheba sign we like to incorporate it into many of the dances and we normally end with that as well and then we do it when we take photos of course. A lot of the times we do this thing where we complete someone else’s hands so ill like go like this and someone else’s hand will finish the s. So yeah thats like a symbol of our connection I guess.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant believes the sign is a symbol that represents the group and takes pride in the symbol.

Collector’s Comments:

It is very interesting because many dance groups and other groups have symbols, but from the informant’s description it seems as though members of Sheba take a large amount of pride in their symbol as opposed to many of the other groups for whom the symbols are not as important.

Collector’s Name: Marcus Reid

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Dance
• Team
• Symbol
• Ritual
• Tradition

Title: Women’s Pre-Performance Ritual

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore: Ritual, Tradition

• 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 female members of the team who are dancing in the performance participate in this ritual. The ritual occurs before every performance. The informant believes this tradition has been going on for a few years and the earliest occurrence of it that he knows of it is from 3 years ago.

• Cultural Context

Sheba is a close knit team and this ritual helps the female members spend time and bond with each other.

Item:

All female members of the team get ready for performances together. To elaborate, they do their makeup, hair and get dressed in a room together and spend the time talking, and bonding with each other.

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

Women’s Ritual

Transcript of Associated File:

“So usually the day of the show the guys normally just get ready by themselves, but the girls, they uh they tend to like go to some girls room and get ready together and do their makeup together and I don’t even know what goes on in there but i know that they’ve been doing this for as long as they’ve been on the team. Especially like the 18s, I know Emily said that the 18s used to always get ready together, the girls and they still do to this day.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant believes this tradition has really helped the female members of the team bond with each other.

Collector’s Comments:

This is a ritual that is similar to one in other groups and emphasizes that many performance groups strive to be inclusive and act as second families. Many traditions and rituals for performance groups seem to focus on creating a strong bond between members.

Collector’s Name: Marcus Reid

Compiled/Analyzed by: Sruthi Pasupuleti

Tags/Keywords:

• Dance
• Team
• Tradition
• Ritual
• Pre-Performance

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