Delhi 2 Dublin at the West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, Nov 22 2010

– text by eugene osudar/photos by Stephanie Willer

facebook
conversation

re,
delhi 2 dublin
last night,

I can’t believe I didn’t see you last night! she said/

yeah, where were you! me said.

dancing….she said.

me too. hmmmm. yay! me said.

all 90 minutes. me added,
a minute later.

sold out

West End Cultural Center
on a brrrrrisk

minus 20
windchilling
Novemberrrrrrr
Monday night

and a full moon
nearly?
mostly?
eerily.
ghostly.

one of the hottest
sweatiest
saltiest
tickets
in town,

friends working
facebook
the net
cell phones
looking for elusive
extras/

sold out weeks ago,

the last time
d2d played Winnipeg
it was the folk festival.

and they stole the hearts
and minds the souls in soles
of a few
thousand

delhi 2 dublin
cds flew away
money spent
credit cards
debit

everywhere
they played
men and women
boys and girls

DanceD.

grooving.
playing.
like Bollywood dancers
in an elaborate
dance number,

behind
Shahruhk Khan
and Kajol
in the 1990s.

moving
to the beat

children
of the earth
children
of the fields

the mud
on the soles of our
happy feet

our giggling toes

our faces
lightning
our hearts
thundering
our lungs
screaming,

Dance! me! to
the end
of rhyme.

Delhi 2 Dublin at the West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, Nov 22 2010. Steph Willer photo

Big Blu stage
no One
sat

everyone stood
and moved

i’ve never seen
anything
quite
like it,
except

yes, once
something more
amazing
at the Folk Festival

Bellowhead
on the main stage
playing English sea
shanties

a few years ago,

there,

1000s danced as one.
4,5,6,7,8
thousands
more
altogether.

jumping
pogoing
punking!

if,
they had known
delhi 2 dublin would have sold out
the Burton Cummings Theatre

1,600 people.

ah,
we’re the fortunate ones.

Delhi 2 Dublin at the West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, Nov 22 2010. Steph Willer photo

the 400.
the children
of dance
of pogo
of thunder.

the dancers.
the children.

we jumped as One.

we felt the floor shake.

we pogo/ed as One.

we rode the waves.

we kneeled
we prayed
as One.

we waited
and

we stood

as One.

we sweated
as One.

for 90 minutes/.

we smiled.
we laughed/
we roared/

as Lions
Lionesses
and Cubs

we didn’t
dare
let go and fall
until the curfew.

(Delhi 2)
bhangra
beats
meets
Bollywood
filmy music
meets
(Dublin)
Celtic
fiddle and stomp
meets
the punk
pogo

if only
if only
there were

bagpipes!

Beautiful!

Dancing!

delhi 2 dublin.
November 22.
West End Cultural Center.

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