heeeeeaaaaaaay, it's pata pata time

Sadly, on Sunday the South African singer known as “Mama Africa”, Miriam Makeba, collapsed on stage in Italy. She later died of a heart attack at a nearby clinic. Just before her stage collapse she had finished singing her best known song, Pata Pata. I would guess that many Americans have never heard the Pata Pata. But for many summers thousands of campers have danced the Pata Pata in Harbin Hall at Camp Loucon. Makeba had an amazing voice. Here she performs with Paul Simon on his Graceland Tour. And here is the original Pata Pata recording that we dance to at Camp Loucon. I haven't found any videos of the dance being done quiet like we do it at Loucon. But it's somewhere between this line dance and this call and answer version that I find kind of odd yet endearing. Then there is this crazy belly dancing shake it shake it aerobics instructor version that I am so glad I never had to teach to anyone when I was on Loucon's summer staff.

Not long ago Jerry Reed, who sang Amos Moses, another Loucon folk dancing song, passed away. They say they go in threes. So, you know, just a little warning for whoever came up with The Chicken Dance...