My ethnicity is Jamaican and the genre that is associated with it is dancehall music. Similar to reggae music, the instruments that are involved in dancehall music are the drums, bass guitar, drum machine, synthesizer and the electric organ. It originated from Jamaica in the 1970s and it is performed worldwide. Dancehall was influenced by reggae and hip hop. Some artists that perform dancehall music are Buju Banton, Alkaline, Beenie Man and Vybz Kartel. Some well known artists even have dancehall songs like Drake and Rihanna. A unique musical characteristic is that it has a fast rhythm and the instruments involved. 

Dancehall has become popular worldwide due to companies starting to sign these artists and showing them to the mainstream. Similarly, western artists have begun to make songs that fall into the dancehall genre. Songs like “One dance” or “Controlla” by Drake or “Work” by Rihanna. Drake and Rihanna are not dancehall artists but you can hear the dancehall sound in their songs. Dancehall songs are usually heard at parties because they are easy to dance to and you can have a good time. Dancehall has gone through many changes from the early 1980s to now. Popularity has grown and many western artists have been influenced although they may not be from the Carribean. 

In Chinese culture the Lion Dance is a traditional folk dance that is performed during Lunar New Year. The origins of the Lion Dance are debatable, but most see it as originating from the folk story of Nian Shou or Nian. Nian was a monster who would terrorize villagers during Lunar New Year celebrations. But the villagers fought back by creating a beast of their own, as Nian came “two men wearing the beast costume came charging out while the rest of the villagers created a racket by banging on pots and pans” (Yap, The Origin of the Lion Dance and Legend of Nian). Which lead to Nian being scared off and started the tradition of performing the Lion Dance during Lunar New Year celebrations.  

The Lion Dance is performed generally with two people who go under the heavy costume and perform acrobatic dances, like jumping onto each other’s shoulders to display the fierce movements of a lion. During the Lion Dance performance there would be multiple different kinds of lions that were different colors such as red or yellow which symbolize luck and wealth in Chinese culture. During the dance, musicians would follow the lions into the street, stores, or restaurants and play traditional instruments such as drums, cymbals, and gongs. All these instruments reflect the loud banging that had scared off Nian. Firecrackers were also used during the performance to add more flair and loudness to the performance.  

I think the Lion Dance is still very much tied to my culture, but it’s also growing towards popular culture. This is because many people can enjoy the performance without knowing the specific cultural history or traditions it’s a part of, where they can have their own kind of appreciation for the performance.  

Both of my parents are from India. The most famous dance is bollywood dance. It is a mixture of numerous styles. These styles include belly-dancing, kathak, Indian folk, Western popular, and “modern”, jazz, and even Western erotic dancing. Some of the main instruments used are Piano, Tabla, Guitar ( electric ), Synthesizer, Keyboard, Trumpets, Saxophonesetc. In my culture we still use these dances, but now there is a mix of bhangra even in hindu culture. Bollywood dance originated in India, around Bombay, in the 20th century and is dancing that we now see in Indian films. By the 1980s Bollywood started to incorporate Western dance styles such as Hip – Hop Dance, using bigger troupes, more intricate costumes and dancing in many different locations. The purpose of Bollywood dance is to tell a story or send out a message. Bollywood dancing is mostly in Bollywood movies because the dance adapts to the story line. For example if a girl falls in love with a boy, the dance will be about a girl chasing around a boy, while she is dancing. The style of dancing in earlier Bollywood films was based on Indian classical dance or folk dances from various parts of India. In the late 50s & 60s, group dances began to evolve in Bollywood as films and choreographers started managing larger groups of dancers with influences from folk dances.

Bhangra music originated from Punjab, India. Bhangra is a type of folk dance music. Bhangra dancers would sing songs to the rhythm of the dhol, which is a drum. These songs were used to celebrate annual events, such as marriages, anniversaries, and many other types of main events. Since Bhangra was originated it has been changed drastically. Whether the changes be major or minor. The 20th century has brought the most amount of changes to the instruments that define “Bhangra”, which include but are not limited to the tumbi, sarangi, dholak (smaller than the dhol), flute, zither, fiddle, harmonium, tabla, guitar, mandolin, saxophone, synthesizer, drum set, and other Western instruments.

When thinking about my russian background I often think about the classical music / composers that associate with it. Some famous composers from the Classical period (1750- 1820) would be Tchiakovsky, Rimsky- Korsakov and others. These are classical artists who played and/ or wrote music for various instruments. However, traditional russian music is Kalinka. Although Kalinka may not be known a lot of artists from the classical era played music that may be more well known. A lot of this music is played on the piano, violin (orchestra setting), and the russian guitar. I personally have played some of Tchiakovsky’s sonatas and loved the sound and beautiful dance rhythm it had to it. 

My parents come from China and in their culture, a folk culture dance is known as the Lion Dance. It is a very well known dance within the community and has been brought to many other places in the world. This performance is typically performed as good luck and wealth for the people during Chinese New Years. There are normally two performers, one at the head and one at the tail of the lion. The performance gets played along with tanggu (drums), cymbals, and gongs. The lion dances to the tune as if it is a real lion. This originated during the Tang Dynasty, where the emperor had a dream and a creature that looked like a lion saved his life. Since then it became a symbol of good luck and is performed times like opening ceremonies and businesses. Yes I feel like the lion dance is connected to my ethnicity, the reason being that every chinese new year we would always go out and watch the parade and then go to the temple and pray at the temple for good luck.

When I was little my mom made me and my brother learn korean traditional music. There was this one song that every korean person knew while growing up called arirang. It is one the most popular korean traditional songs. It is usually played with the Korean instrument the gayageum. It is a Korean board with 12 silk strings, 12 movable bridges, and a convex upper surface. Not many people know how to play this instrument because it is very hard and difficult to carry everywhere since it is very heavy. The song arirang originates from Jeongseon, Gangwon Province in the mid 19th to 20th century. Most of the time when people perform arirang now, it is usually for Korean new year parades you see in like Korea town and in the city, and they wear Korean traditional attire and makeup. Although the gayageum is usually played by itself, however there are many other korean instruments that can be accompanied like the jjanggu, and buk. They are like drums and are very traditional and different from the drums you would see normally. The genre is definitely still tied to my ethnicity because no matter how modern it gets changed to, it will always sound like traditional Korean folk and nothing can change where it originated and how it is perceived and sound. 

https://www.britannica.com/art/kayagum

http://123.141.57.30/Homepage_Eng/contents/arirang/history