Firstly, I am guilty, I have yet to post a meaningful blog on TIG after quite a few months of actually being a member.
The truth is, and this is extremely hard for me to admit, I am a serial blog creator, I quickly tire of the new fonts and funky colors and move on to my next cyber hookup. However, today I was reminded of its existence by the monthly newsletter, and sufficiently inspired to drudge up some Sunday enthusiasm (usually reserved for the weekly episode of my Hills Fix).

I feel like I owe a proper introduction. My name is Sara, and what sparked my interest was the emphasis on culture this month at TIG. Firstly, let me let yet another confession fall from my dry lips (caused by the pitifully chilly 'spring' Dublin weather), in the past culture has been one of my favorite topics. I have talked a lot, then talked some more about my culture, obnoxiously so, as I have attempted to come to terms with the fusion of my heritage.
A childhood spent in Southern Africa in a pale body scattered with freckles and topped with carrot hair has created many internal wanderings and countless words of contemplation. After exhausting myself, I felt ready to move on to needier pursuits like aids awareness, the key word being something which didn’t involve me.

However, recently, I watched a dance performance at the Abbey, as part of my internship with the Dublin Dance festival, which made me think once again about culture, and how we attach a homogenous notion of culture to a nation. The Germans are severe and punctual. The Irish are alcoholics. The South Africa is warm. I will be fair and admit I am choosing extreme discriminatory views, but to a lesser extent these prejudices exist with all nations.


Apocrifu, the name of the performance, challenged this view. It was incredible in its own right, as men sweated on stage, grappling with the concept of contrasting identities and words however it was the post show talk which really offered a lucid view of culture. The incredibly eloquent and vocal Sidi Larbi Cheruiou ( I hope I have spelled it right!) talked about his own background, equally fluent in English, French and finish, inspired by the music of Corsica and his quest of proposing the question of what moulds humanity.

He put forward a very simple argument which appealed to me as a simpleton art appreciator (still at the stage where the appearance of going to an artsy fartsy gathering is worth more to me then the actual artsy fartsy gathering! :))which was that each of us is the product of conflicting identities, because our parents, no matter the proximity of their backgrounds will hold different value systems, different trajectories of thought.

If you return to higher up in this convoluted post, you will realize this means that there is no homogenous culture in a nation, and that even if I do not travel I will present a variance of a culture.
Perhaps a simplistic assessment, perhaps not, it certainly transformed the way I saw post show talks whose main attraction had previously been the free cheese. :).

Let me leave it at this, because I fear I am falling too quickly, too fast for this blog which has made my deviating curser stay put. In any case, I now have to run after Sidi and ask him in english or my few words of Swedish (i.e none!)how a red head girl from Dublin Ireland knows how to swivel her hips and dance passada like a true Mozambican. I wonder which side of the family tree that comes from? :)

Ate logo.

Sara