Tag Archives: dance

Jun3

tail, breath

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I took many, many pictures of Capprichio yesterday.  He is a black stallion, a Baryshnikov among horses and the love of my horse life.  He is also very equanimous about having his picture taken.

Some horses are not.  Sanne, the Lily of Holland, Pam White’s big Friesian, is very cagey, wary and not especially cooperative.  he is not exactly nervous, but he is an avoider (much like myself).

That brings me to another subject.  After a certain age, I did not want my photo taken. I am more than a little embarrassed about this.  I would like to be easier with it.

I got some significant help yesterday when I watched the film Breath Made Visible about the now ninety year old dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin.  It is stunning.  She is stunning.  There is a glory in her that is so rare, so unabashed, so full that I just sat in silence for many moments after the film.  (It is available on Netflix.)

What this has to do with for me (in part) is a willingness to be seen, to be witnessed, to be held in the attention of a single lens or a large audience.  These are the waters that I am stepping into again now.  At the end of the film, Halprin says that she wants her dances and her dancing to connect to something profound and shared.  (I am paraphrasing badly.)

That is true for me as well.  What I danced about before is not what I want to dance now.  In the past I made beautiful, feral dances that were like a Chinese sliding block puzzle:  you had to work hard to discover the order, the relationships and the meaning.  Now I want to dance you into the eye of the storm and into my wild heart.  I cannot wait to see what will happen.

Watch this film.  It is not to be missed.

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May22

sea serpent

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My friend Suzanne sent me this video. I found it both disturbing and irresistible.   It immediately set off a storm of video surfing on YouTube for more about Continuum. What I found was exciting.

For no particular reason, I have avoided Continuum Movement for many, many years. The founder of Continuum, Emilie Conrad  calls the movement a connection to our “spiritual bio-world.”  She says that the undulating wave movements that originate in the fluids of our bodies link us to each other and our environment. I think that it is time that I dive into those waters.

In the conversation about the text of the body, this has a place.  I wrote yesterday about Abraham Verghese’s experience of being massaged by a kalari practitioner in Kerala.  The post-massage state-of-body that he described feels like what I see in this video.

My appetite for movement has taken a big leap because I have started to prepare to perform solo for the first time in thirteen years.  I don’t know exactly why it has been so long.  But because it has been so long, I am voracious.  There is a ferocity and a clarity to this new work that I have not felt before.  You can see me next Tuesday evening, 8 pm at Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY.

 

 

Apr30

can you help? thank you!

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I don’t usually do an outright ask on the blog.  And I will not do it often.  This is an ask for help with our new horse dancing project, All the Pretty Horses.

Since I started working with rescued horses, it has been my dream to create a performance with these “throw away” horses and local dancers.  We have now found the perfect partnering organization, Little Brook Farm in Old Chatham, New York.

Little Brook has been saving horses for many, many years.  The unique part of their program is that these horses then become active, participating partners in a range of activities:  riding, performing, vaulting, jumping and teaching generations of children and adults about horses and all of the ways that we can connect with them.

A visit there is moving.  It is a humble place, staffed by passionate and dedicated volunteers.  The effort goes into the programs, into the care of the horses, and into sharing the joy of horses with humans from age three to the sky is the limit.

In order to bring the project to fruition, we need to raise $3500 to offset fees and travel for the professional dancers from my company who travel from Boston.  Those funds are also for publicity, costumes and modest administrative costs to assure that the event is a rousing success.

The performance will take place October 6 at Little Brook Farm in Old Chatham, NY.  Mark your calendars!!!

Please help us to whatever extent you can.   Dancemakers Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. To contribute, click on the link below or make your check payable to Dancemakers Inc. and send to the address below.

Dancemakers, Inc.

P.O. Box 773
Sharon, CT 06069