Sorry if the title is a bit shocking, I wanted to convey the shock I feel from what you are about to see.
This is off of our current dream theme, but I feel it is very relevant as Friday is Mother Earth Day.
This billion dollar Gateway project is but a drop in the bucket of all the affronts against the Earth that are taking place. But we have to start somewhere. This is in my backyard, even though it is taking place across an international border it is something that affects everybody.
I'm going to copy here the comments I wrote on this video on YouTube.
North Delta, British Columbia, Canada. Approaching Earth Day 2011.......
I, Rev, am saddened and disgusted to witness the wholesale desecration of some of the last remaining stands of trees along the urbanized area of the Fraser River; the purpose of which is to build a new carbon-monoxide spewing highway.
The ecological damage caused by this assault upon Nature, the destruction of ancient aboriginal sites, and the robbing of taxpayer pockets that this project involves is nothing short of criminal.
After the dance, saw a coyote trotting along the railroad tracks below; probably wondering where his forest has gone. Shortly before filming, met a man who had grown up in the house that once stood in the pit you see in the video. This poor fellow was on the verge of tears seeing the view shared here. I commiserate and would like to offer hope that we can make a difference; that we can put our energies together and stop these things from happening if we are able to make our voices loud enough to be heard by the short-sighted profit-mongers responsible.
http://stopthepave.org/
Such a potent and fully embodied way to explore and promote your feelings about an issue that means a great deal to you. Activism is one way that butoh practice has always manifested. One significant development I see with this dance Rev is that it has a very clear intention and tighter choreographic score that was devised entirely on your own. This is unique from the many of the other more spontaneous dances you have offered up to this point. What a year it has been, eh? As we approach the first anniversary of you joining MomoButoh, I see such growth; even in the light of this devastating loss. I am sorry for the loss and and also heartened that you chose to continue on this path with us as a way to offer your truth to your community. Keep dancing freely!
ReplyDeleteI agree there is a powerful motive behind this dance. And it creates that pregnant emptiness in space. With moving along a specific and small area, compared to the available space. You charged the ground around you.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't tell if you planned it out, or if you were tuned especially into your intentions, and driven only by subtle impulses to move. Which I find creates magic because it brings about an over arching concept of growth and wonder at the growing rather than anticipation or attempting to predict your next move.
Whatever you did, or however you felt inside while you did it, it worked.
very moving, rev... very intense to witness... the background 'music' of traffic, planes, truck beeping as it backs up... and the weaving of delicate bird song amongst it all... the clear-cut hill, the scar in the land, the sawed-off tree...
ReplyDeletewhat looks like fern frond in the process of unfurling beside the 'murdered' tree... powerful images... and the striving in your dance of balance... with the inevitable 'fall'... the descent... the despair... dancing what so many of us are carrying... the sadness... thank you for your dance 'offering' and making a difference... feel especially sad as canada is my homeland... and i had hoped canada would be more considerate of the natural world and our connection to it...
thank you for inspiring...
We have been discussing intention a lot lately; in light of that I'd like to expand upon my intentions in this dance.
ReplyDeleteOf course there was the strong heartfelt desire to express my anguish and concern over the events described.
But as far as my focus during the dance itself goes, my primary intention was to duplicate the life and death of a tree; to be that tree. From the dropping of a a cone to the rooting in the ground. To rising upwards in growth...and to the moment of a sudden and final fall.