Bob Travel

Tap dancing my way through life has brought only interesting experiences. ‘Winging it‘, might be another term for what I do, but I prefer the term ‘Tap Dancing’ because it’s more accurate. While a spin a tale of false information, I, at the same time, entertain. This technique impresses some friends and some of my business peers and has kept me from ever having to really do due diligence. I know, I should be more studious and really learn about the things I’m researching, but if I’m being truthful, what I really care about is the creations of the story I’m going to tap dance about, the beauty of executing of a finely tuned embellished truth. If anything, ironically, I don’t tap dance the tap dance.

I call it an art form and a craft that I have perfected. Where as, I don’t have a passion for perfecting someone else’s dream, someone else’s idea to make his or hers riches. One example of how well I can tap dance my way through life: I met a guy at a local coffee shop that I frequent and he really captured my heart. So, I causally walked past his table to see what he was reading, it was a travel brochure from a Mauritius Luxury Hotel.  I plopped myself down on a sofa that was right next to him and proceeded to tell him about the wonders of a place I’ve never been to.  I held him captivated for 20 minutes without ever once telling him that I have been there. Needless to say, I impressed him with the art of the story and not with the information I was giving him. Impressed him so much that we are now married and have still to this day never gone to the Island Mauritius. And he has convinced me to actually take up the art form of Tap Dancing which I will, if the situation calls for it, tap dance while I’m tap dancing.

Many wonder what Mauritian Sega is.  It is both dance and song combined.  There are many instruments that accompany the dancers including the ravane, the maravane, and the triangle.  The ravane is a drum, covered with the skin of a goat and very wide and thin.  The maravane is also a percussive instrument, like a maraca, it is a box filled with stones and musicians shake it created much the same sound.  And the triangle is that standard metallic ‘triangle’ used by many bands in many countries.  Singers sing songs that span the spectrum of emotions.  Subjects and stories from everything to the funnier happenings in life, to songs about the difficulties in love and other relationships.  The singers are the only melodic aspect of the songs, as all of the instruments are instruments of percussion.

The dance is a shuffle, a series of steps with no set choreography nor patterns.  The arms are stretched and the hips are swinging.  This resembles a dance of courtship as the dancers move around each other, then come together, face one another, and then move to the floor, sitting.  They then bend back and forward, towards and away from each other.  Many companies perform for tourists in the resorts and best hotels. Mauritius nightclubs often accentuate the eroticism and the air of suggestiveness in the performances.

This is all not set in stone, as the versatility and diversity of the African tribes is immense.  Occasionally the music is performed by guitarists or trumpet players, or sometimes with no musical accompaniment at all.  Or, just anything, any object that will make noise, and old can, sticks, or a coin tapped on the side of an empty bottle.  That is usually how the Sega beach parties begin.  And although this is sometimes thought of as a dance of sensuality, families participated as well.  This is an African tradition that is participated in during festivals, weddings and birthday celebrations.  This has become part of the cultural identity on the island.  Sega began on the mainland, and was transported to the island via the slaves during the colonial period.  This was a form of expression for those homesick for their homeland.

The government of Mauritius unveiled a 6 month plan a few days ago, a plan to bolster the faltering economy.  The Minister of Finance stated that there must be a balance that will stimulate economic growth as well as controls on spending, in order to prevent the acquisition of a deficit that is in danger of hitting levels low enough to prove unsustainable for the island nation’s economy.  Growth on the island has continued at the rate of approximately five percent in the last four years.  Many companies had been thriving due to the immigration and to the tourism industry such as the five star hotels.  Mauritius relies however on business and trade from Asian and other European markets, which have not escaped the effects of the worldwide economic depression.  Inflation has slowed from almost the ten percent that it was at the end of 2008, to about eight percent the rate it is currently, and is predicted to fall to four percent by the end of the year.

Many businesses have begun diversifying in order to survive.  Once the economy had relied on the production of textiles and sugar, however the island has now begun to expand into the industries of banking and tourism.  This has resulted in Mauritius becoming one of the prosperous and stable economies in Africa.   And the forecast suggests that this will provide beneficial to the yearly incomes of Maurtians.  Tourism has been affected however.  Just about two thirds of those traveling to the island are from Europe, and during the past few months of 2009 the number of arrivals has fallen close to ten percent.  Stocks had fallen for the various hotel and resorts chains as well.  However, these two industries have been marketing aggressively with the hopes that this will soon change.  This island is the perfect vacation destination, with palm tree lined beaches surrounded by the beautiful Indian Ocean, and hopefully the second half of the year will prove to be financially more successful than the first half of the year.