Payakumbuh, Sumatra where children dance on broken plates. And where I dance on broken plates. There's a traditional dance here where one holds a plate in each of their open palms and waves them wildly in such a way that makes the plates look as if they're glued to one's hands. For beginners, it often results in broken plates which is how I imagine that dancing on top of the shards became part of the tradition. It didn't cut up my feet, but I'm sure it happens sometimes.
   I was here to perform in the 'New World Composition Festival' with two of from classmates from Solo; Noriko from Japan and Dilki from Sri Lanka. The coordinators were generous and during the day they took us to try out traditional dance, go hiking, explore a cave and sample the local cuisine. Food from West Sumatra can be summed up in one word: hot.