The Sting of Bamboo

It all started with a challenge for the boys' school Fall Festival and a trip to the Filipino store. Then we stopped at the craft store to get cardstock and Riley found some bamboo sticks. "Mom," he gushed, excitedly, "I want to learn how to do the tinikling. Can we get these for the Festival?" Ummm...

As always, if my kids want to learn something, I support it. So, the sticks went into the shopping cart. And when we got home, he logged into YouTube and found different clips of actual Filipino people doing the dance. There were some that were incredibly complex; I told him to stick to the basics.

After a little while, he handed me this... In case you can't tell what it is, it's a foot diagram of where I'm supposed to put my feet so they don't get smacked by the bamboo. Yeah, right. I can't read that!

Then he demonstrated the steps with stationary sticks...

Then he showed us the rhythm of the sticks...without any dancers...

Dylan practiced, under Riley's watchful eye...

And, then, we had some fun with it. The funniest thing ever: Riley, declared, as I danced between the sticks, avoided the sting of the bamboo, and swirled my dress around as I moved, "Mom, you really are Filipino!"

I think we're just about ready for next weekend. Stay tuned.