It's nearly May so DANCE YOU CRAZY FOOLS! DANCE!

This weeks Sepia Saturday is an image of Maypole dancers. I have fond memories of being a child in Hawaii taking part in the Maypole dance at school. The colorful ribbons, the kids trying to weave in and out, up and over, around and around. Our parents were invited to come watch. It was a dance, though I can’t recall what music was played.

I have decided to choose dance for this weeks images. All of the following were purchased at one estate sale a few years ago. I know nothing about any of the dancers; I also have no idea when these shots were taken. I do wonder if these ladies were influenced by the dancer Isadora Duncan. I’m fascinated by the gypsy influence.

Is the woman in this final shot posing for an artist? Was she the subject of a painting? There is something romantic about her pose, a light step within a gentle dance. I almost expect to see her in a Vermeer painting.

As a child I took dance, but then I started growing and was told by a relative that I looked clumsy. Those few words have stuck with me and now I only dance when no one watches.

Let's hear it for the beauty of the coming month of May and the beautiful Vanessa Redgrave in Camelot.

Click on the label "dancer" below to see more images of dancers.

Gypsy SHOPPING

Click on image to see it larger.

They have now been named, from the left to right: Cleo, Dolly, and Gypsy.

This time we have a photo of Gypsy aboard ship in the gift shop; this is how I've determined she's cruising the Pacific. The dolls in the shop are dolls that were very popular in the late '50s to late '60s, especially in Hawaii. The ones on the bottom shelf are Japanese composition dolls with faces coated with gofun (ground oystershell and glue). The ones on the top are Chinese.

I've got quite a few old, mid-century, Japanese dolls that my folks bought me when we lived in Hawaii. I know collectors pretty much ignore Japanese dolls, I guess thinking of them as just souvenirs. If I had the money I'd be buying them all the time. I love dolls from Asia. The colors, the clothing, the simple beauty draw me in. I'd much rather have a beautiful old Japanese Ichimatsu than a Jumeau in their ruffled finery. The little ones below are from my collection; still in decent condition considering how much I played with them.

I do recall running by the gift shop on the Matsonia. There was also a beauty salon. You didn't have a huge array of shops as current ships do (which are nothing more than shopping malls). You really weren't expected to spend your time shopping. There was too much to do outside on the deck in the glorious sun as you headed to Hawaii.

When I came back from Hawaii it was aboard a Navy ship. There were no fancy shops, movie theater, or beauty salon. There was a shipboard geedunk stand that was open for a short time each day. It was a narrow room with a walk-up window and counter. You bought candy and such from a sailor. They might have also had comic books and magazines, I don't recall. The photo here, of the Goofy comic, was aboard Gypsy's liner.

I do remember going to the shipboard library every day. It too was only open a short time and was very small, but it kept me amused for the 5 day journey. It would be nice to be in one of those old berths, the ship cutting through the waves, rocking from side to side, me reading and falling asleep. I could use a bit of that right now.