MomoButoh Dance Company

snowdream

2012-02-25T07:57:00.004-08:00

Recently my dear friend Kat and I spent a day outdoors immersing ourselves in the dreamlike snowy landscape near Mount Shuksan. The elements present here were so strong it would have been hard for us not to dance. The wind spoke loudly, causing a magical rhythmic music...it felt to me as if the mountains, the snow, the trees, and the birds were all trying to tell us something.

Coronado Dream

2012-01-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

You know how when you just wake up and know you have been dreaming but can not quite recall what? This happens to me A LOT. I often miss being able to have & hold the richness of this dream material as enjoyment, insight, material for creative inspiration and contemplation. There are lots of folks that will teach you how to recall night dreams more easily, and what do DO with them when you do. But that is not what happened this past week. Instead, the waking life I experienced became a vivid dreamlike journey of learning and discovery.I had the pleasure of a series of teachings that relate to this "dream" we are living and dancing daily. The first was from a beloved wild woman Tibetan Buddhist teacher named Lama Lena. Each time I am in her presence she rocks my world in a most appreciated way. This time, she shared teachings about the way humans experience reality; often mentioning that this transitory & spontaneously arising dancing dream of life that we think we are experiencing is utterly empty in the most alive and brilliant way. She pointed to the mistake of dualism in a way that I could glimpse, and it felt both satisfying and disturbing. What are we do DO with this realization? Among the suggestions she offered, what struck me most keenly concerned why we make ART and why we PRACTICE to grow. Of course, this is what I THINK I HEARD HER SAY. Who knows really? She puts forth that there is NO THING to change or make better, to fix or understand. Art is a function and celebration of the spontaneously emerging RICHNESS of a creation that is ever arising from and dissolving into VAST LUMINOUS SPACE. It is delightful to engage in this richness, just as long as you do not try to KEEP it. That is where our suffering will begin. Enlightenment is and always has been and is already always present....and, if you do not see that or are not satisfied with your current experience then some spiritual (or freely fleeting spontaneous dance) practice could be a way to possibly increase that satisfaction. Not much to grasp onto to in all that, eh?What I gathered is that our SPONTANEOUS DANCING FREELY & Embodied Art PRACTICES with nature (both human and non-human); can be an excellent way to promote being fully awake, engaged and perhaps even satisfied in this fleeting dream dance we call "life." Another way is to just simply NOTICE (and perhaps embody, engage with &/or experience gratitude in) the infinitely rich spontaneously arising dream dance that you are already, always engaged in....right HERE and NOW!! As I type this on computer I look out window and breath and relax my body noticing and appreciating the richness of many sensations. No matter whether you are "PRACTICING" or not. It appears, that our PRACTICES of letting go & dancing spontaneously tend to lead to more ease with dancing freely in every moment.Next, I went to see a well-done local play about Gertrude Stein (who appears as a ghost throughout most of the play) and Alice B. Toklas (who appears sad and elderly throughout most of play). If not for the days first event with Lama Lena, I would have been very emotionally drawn into the drama of the play and these women's considerable attachments to one another, their reputations, and their formidable collection of art & artists. Instead, I sat watching my patterned reactions of how heart strings are plucked by certain situations like death of a loved one, acts of betrayal, cruelty, injustice, kindness, caring and so on.Finally, we attended another inspiring/disturbing/hopeful talk by visionary economist Charles Eisenstein referring to his theories on how we got into this cultural & ecological nightmare of an economic crisis. He articulated the need for a GIFT based economy as a way to initiate and live in the world of our best dreams. I was grateful to have attended. It even shifted the way I request donations for Butopia's offerings at this point. It is preparing me to host our first Butopia Film Night at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Clinton, WA... We will show the documentary movie "Living Without Money" about one woman who chose to live without money for over 15 years in Europe. I hope this will help instigate a local conversation about the possibilities and difficulties of a gift economy here. I also hope it will stimulate more participation in a wider range of volunteer gifting of goods & services locally. Life without money could be a dream come true, or it could be a nightmare...what do you think? Come join us on Feb 12 at 2-4pm. Bring something to GIVE AWAY!Next, on the suggestion of a fellow MomoButoh Dance Co. member Melinda Harrison of Nautre Moves in Boulder, I went to San Diego to attend the Life Force International's first ever DREAM ACADEMY. That is California Dreamin' for sure! There are loads of folks living and wishing they were living their dreams everywhere! There were many people who have made small or large fortunes by referring others to the Life Force products, by enrolling others to become business parters and so on in this Network Marketing company that is now poised to explode with growth under the helm of MLM guru David Colister. having pictures taken with the sports cars and Rolls Royce in the parking lot, others of us gasping in awe at the grand opening of the MASSIVE new facility to hold future Dream Academies. Melinda's dream is that dancers will be healthy and financially independent and well provided for. Hope her dream comes true!http://youtu.be/q3CbcS8z4SM In a parallel universe in San Diego, I came down with a nasty flu. In the delirium, I lost my glasses so I could no longer see clearly or drive. Along the way, I met an exceptional cast of characters who live and work with butoh, local churches and the erotic dance business. I danced freely on the coastal beach and made the film below inspired by dream-like images in nature that struck me particularly strongly. The shadow of my body on the firm, flat sand, the roar of surf and ripples of waves spreading over the shoreline, a spontaneously knotted strip of kelp, the tiny bird footprints, flecks of gold dust in the sand, sculpture-like seaweeds dried & twisted, the sparkling shells, rhythms of footfalls and fingers dragging in sand.....all felt as reflections of an emerging dream dance life that I could only witness and be moved with gratitude and awe at the GIFT of it all.Then today, I went out to dance on our local dreamy beach, Double Bluff. I was playing with as stone and seaweed when a private helicopter flew at me and started circling low just over my head, heading back and forth down the beach a ways and then returning to me. I spun and danced while it spun and danced overhead. Very surreal. Very much like a dream and certainly nothing I have ever experienced before. Life is but a dream dancing itself awake!Thank you for reading, watching, dancing and dreaming. Hope you can come attend an event at Butopia soon. Love, Momo.

dancing Our dreams

2012-01-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

dancing

reading

eating

acting

moving

in the spirit of light, in the spirit of We

distance

rowdy

eternal

action

multiply

reaching for my own ambitions eyes to the sky, feet on the ground

connecting to the Inside

the Soul language

and Higher Purpose

I dream of eliminating that which hurts myself and others

I dream of walking my path with Courage and Humility

I dream of creating and living Freely

I dream of connecting to my fellow dancers and the ripples we have made, are making, and will come to make

I dream of peace and a good nights sleep

I dance to re connect to the pulse

that I am so often distracted from

by the mundane workings of every day life,

the seemingly important

but seriously trivial.

I dance for my Grandmother

running across a bridge- fully aware of every moment - the joyful working of my still youthful body.

One of the first questions Momo posed to me at a Butoh workshop was "WHO or WHAT do you dance for?"

I Dream that we can all Dance for what matters to us most, as individuals and as a beautiful community.

I have just reached a new city in pursuit of my Heart's dreams, and I find that checking in with my daily dance, and the Dance of Life, is helping me adjust to this huge transition with more Strength and Grace than I previously dreamed possible.

Isn't that the great thing about Dreams? They can keep evolving, growing, stretching, expanding. . .

Me dancing with Lightness & Dali's Alice in Wonderland

january dreaming

2012-01-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

notes from MomoButoh Dance Company conference call

Sanctuary and the Heart-Fire

2011-12-31T23:11:00.000-08:00

An angel told me, "The only way to walk through fire without getting burned is to become fire." Drew Dellinger

It seems there is so much peace within our hearts and at the same time such a passionate and wild fire.

While care-taking for my elderly mother, who is recovering from a femur fracture and surgery in her nursing home, I am reminded of the necessity of an open-heart of compassion while holding onto an inner fierceness while being her advocate.

There is such a tendency, it seems, to over medicate seniors with morphine so they will not experience any pain. But how is the pain determined and what is too much medication? How do you determine pain when the patient is unable to speak because there is too much medication? If there is too much medication, my mom is 'snowed,' as they call it, so she can not eat or drink - which would mean a certain dwindling into dying.

This dance was inspired by the challenge I have been having of finding balance for my mom's well-being so she could move into a place of healing and so she would not pass away because of a broken leg - from the reprocutions of being overly medicated.

This dance was a prayer for her, and for all the elders who are in pain, as they move closer to their end of life, towards the realm of light, spirit and the realm of mystery... May they find inner peace on their journeys...

Here, at my childhood home, building a fire in a rusted old steel drum I found in the garage, on a frosty star-filled night in the woods behind the house - dancing the wildness of the inner flame - the fire of the soul's inner sanctum.

Grateful for our dancing journey here with Momobutoh Company...

New Years blessings to you all!

Lee

to breathe in small spaces

2011-12-30T17:17:00.001-08:00

"I'm sttttttttttrechinnnnnn

now I'm breathing, sweet releasing

yes, to remember.

now I'm giggling cryin laughin

m o v i n g

a simple sacred danceofbliss .....just bein"

I was walking around Paris with my family a few days ago. It was very crowded and some what of a tense day. shoving, language barriers, traveling difficulties, grey weather. after a few failed plans, my family settled on visiting Notre Dame. we waiting in the long line that was moving rather quickly. it was cold. no one in line with me was chatting or joking. we were tired. as we approached the Church, there was a sign: "no flash photography, no talking, remove your hats" we all obeyed. upon entering the church I immediately felt it- SANCTUARY. i sat by myself in the back of the dark church and released. cried. sighed. i admired the beauty of this place and the candles flickering in the glow amidst the expansive architecture and stained glass. This church was filled with tons of people, a lot of the very same people I had been sharing my day with on the crowded trains and streets, but the energy was so totally different. Sweet Peace. I collected myself and found my family. The energy between all of us had changed. We had needed that moment of Sanctuary, as we all do from time to time. How simple, and yet how powerful sacred space can be. Its funny how we can forget that, or refuse to acknowledge it, or even fight it. Sometimes Sanctuary is given to us, but sometimes we must seek it out, or create it.

I have been creating sanctuary for myself wherever I am by lighting a candle. Sometimes I make a ritual out of it, creating a lot of space and time, burning sage, and performing other rituals...but other times just the act of flame to wick is enough. I find that no matter what state I am in or what little space I have available, lighting a candle helps me to center myself, to quiet, and to realign. To breathe. Perhaps I'm reconnecting to my fire essence. . .

i am very thankful for the Dance of this passing year and all it has taught me.

So many Gifts and Challenges.

2011 was a year of fighting, growing, searching and moving. Of adventure, freedom, and being humbled. i danced fast, i danced hard, i danced for the show of it, and then finally i danced stillness. gratitude.

as i move forward into 2012 I am focusing my practice more on drawing, writing, and scoring.

and of course, learning, expanding, being, playing, sharing, staying.

i look forward to sharing images of my current practices very soon, once I return to the U.S. next year!

I wish you all Love and Blessings for the New Year. I look forward to moving and sharing with you all.

a very Special Thank You to our Mentor Momo. . . <3

SOMA ~ Sanctuary Of Moving Arts ~ SONGS

2011-12-30T10:03:00.000-08:00

Voice and song are the newest conscious layers to my DailyDance practice at Butopia. This month I entered the space of SOMA (Sanctuary of Moving Arts) and/or the LAND here at Butopia to deepen my relationship and understanding of our plant relatives. The trees have been especially strong. Alder, Douglas Fir, Maple, Cedar, Madrona and Yew have all shown up to dance and sing with me during December. Today Aloe Vera and Sea Vegetables guided a student and I to learn more of the feminine/yin way of being in the body; with dance & voice. New songs and dances have emerged and always my deepest prayers, pains and joys of my heart are illuminated and given guidance. Whatever is "up" on a given day I can bring it into the Sanctuary of WildLife and ask plant relatives for witness and support. The two videos here reveal a peek into of what came to pass.
I have committed to many practices this year related to nurturing the WildLife Sanctuary here. My foundational practice consists simply of setting aside all the ToDo lists of life, all electronic communication devices and social engagements and going to practice on the LAND for 1 or more hours each day. I have never had a consistent PLACE of my own that is available 24/7 to support and uphold my butoh practice and Embodied Art journey. It is a dream come true that simply requires my embodied attention and presence and in return, I am healed. I receive songs, dances, insights, answered prayers, beauty beyond measure, deep connections with the heart & soul of myself & others. I am so grateful and humbled by this gift.
Still, there are days that are cold, there are resistances inside and out, there are distractions and pulls that I occasionally do allow to keep me from receiving this gift. Having YOU to witness and join me in this process gives me the strength to delve into that fathomless mystery of my body & soul. It supports me to follow my true nature and set aside the blaring never-ending drone of industrial-socio-economic conditioning that says: "don't let go" "there is nothing for you there" "who do you think you are?!" "that is dangerous, stupid & crazy" and all sorts of other negative messages preventing a life of DANCING (and singing) FREELY.
Thank you for your company, thank you for your witnessing, your love and your own commitment to showing up. See you in the Sanctuary.Thank you for reading, watching, subscribing and following our collaborative blog. If you feel called, connecting directly with me to explore whether this type of Embodied Arts practice might be something for you. MomoButoh Dance Company members and myself are always happy to welcome new community members.Sanctuary Songs http://youtu.be/qcw5ImP3uUM Wood Songs in SOMA http://youtu.be/0Nh7__cU7so

wild life sanctuary

2011-12-13T09:17:00.001-08:00

This is graphic recording of our 12/10/11 Conference Call with MomoButoh Dance Company by Patricia Kambitsch. So powerful to cycle through the word, image/drawing and then again into the body movement/dance when we connect and co-create with one another. I invite all members to do this consistently. Thank you Patricia for helping us Re-Member!

2011-11-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

PAPERBARK WONDERMENT/A significant other practice/to awaken wonder.

I have noticed over the past month or so a great sense of inertia, within mind, within body. A real resistance to what is, to change, to flow, to movement, to dance, to LIFE! This heavy sense of inertia, had me questioning the very essence of movement…movement is… movement comes from…goes to… unmoved mover..immovable..…will I move again…Did I ever stop? I long to find the wonder in it all again - Regaining a sense of wonder is surely key to unlocking inertia..?I took these questions to a beautiful old Paper bark tree at the foot of my mothers yard. The sunlight, peeping through her branches beckoned me to play...and finally... I was inspired to move…

I dance with Paperbark tree/she gives me her bark/floating through/spring sunlight skies/warm bones/twisting limbs/like twisting branches/we ARE seed/we ARE soil/we grow as tree does/rooted to earth/forever reaching to heaven/we ARE axis/divine conduit/Soul IS constant/Motion is constant/never ceasing/only passing through us/ without containment/Resistance IS DANCE

Wise paperbark/has seen me grow/knows all my stories/watches silently as the world changes/if I cannot dance with her/I cannot dance at all/if we must know what moves us/why we dance?/all we need to do is look at paperbark and listen/how then could we not begin to dance?/how could we not remember/ that to move/we must be moved/to be moved/we must first see the wonder!/the wonder of every leaf/every string of bark/every paperbark.

tar sands, pipelines and oil spills

2011-11-25T22:05:00.001-08:00

Britannia, B.C.

"...if you're a poor forlorn oil industry feeling unloved and under assault, what do you do?

There's really only one answer: Flash your wad...

The other side -- that is, scientists, Nobelists, and the kind of average people who went to jail in record numbers this summer to block the plan -- doesn't have that kind of money. We've had to figure out other currencies to work in: spirit, passion, creativity... But if money's the only thing that matters, we're done for anyway. So we'll keep using science and art and courage." Bill McKibben

Blog catching up - dance /photos from several weeks ago... I have been so deeply moved by the peaceful protests occurring in both Canada and the United States against the Keystone XL Pipeline, the Northern Gateways Pipelines and also, more importantly, the Alberta Tar Sands themselves. I have been feeling that as much as we seem, as a species, to be evolving in very inspiring ways towards a 'unity consciousness,' a sense of being related to not only one-another around the planet, but also to other beings, we are also moving towards a directly opposing, but just as strong trend, towards destroying our mama earth and all that reside upon her, at all costs.

"But it is hard to speak of these things / how the voices of light enter the body / and begin to recite their stories / how the earth holds us painfully against / its breast made of humus and brambles / how we who will soon be gone regard / the entities that continue to return / greener than ever, spring water flowing / through a meadow and the shadows of clouds / passing over the hills and the ground / where we stand in the tremble of thought / taking the vast outside into ourselves."

Billy Collins

When I feel overwhelmed with despair for the destruction of our world, and the wild beings that reside upon her, I dance... I wrote the following several weeks ago:

i am dancing because i have to... for the bears, the salmon, the caribou, the wolves, the migrating birds and all the creatures whose lives are being threatened from the increased pollution and habitat destruction... because i am canadian and it is unconscionable to me that the current government is supporting an oil extraction method that is the dirtiest energy project in the world, one that is devastating to all beings on our precious mama earth...i am dancing in solidarity with the indigenous peoples whose health and lives are being jeopardized by the alberta tar sands upriver of their communities... because human rights are being violated... i am dancing because i have to... because sometimes it feels my heart will explode with pain and anger at the lack of respect some human beings that run corporations have for all life and for future generations... i dance... i dance...

Thank you for viewing this post. I hope it may inspire you in some way. I am grateful for Momo and Company for being able to share our dance offerings here...

Lee

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

May all beings everywhere be happy and free from suffering, and may our thoughts and actions contribute to that happiness and freedom from suffering for all beings...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q4eLK35yAc

Music: Dean Evenson

Photos: Brooke

Visit Momobutoh collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Dance Company

integration

2011-11-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

Revisiting the 11/11 site, dancing as and with the salmon, the bear, the eagle, the human(s). Integrating them all into my own nature, my own place in the cycle of life. Looking into and forward to the future. I'm grateful for and to all of the beings I have communed with, especially to Momo and all those who shared this time and place and dance with me. Many thanks to all!

Love,
Rev

Spawning Practice

2011-11-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

"Butoh plays with time and also perspective....If we humans learn to see things from the perspective of an animal, an insect, even inanimate objects, the road trodden everyday is alive--we should value everything." --Tatsumi Hijikata

A surprise discovery on the wild Stehekin River--little Sockeye Kokanee Salmon are spawning freely! Such an inspiration in preparation for our 11/11/11 dance to honor the salmon life cycle at mile 11 on highway 11 at 11:11am. MomoButoh Dance Company members will gather from all over the continent at Oyster Creek for our 5th annual ritual butoh performance. This year we have 11 dancers working with live musicians, singers, story tellers and poets. We will offer 11 unique site-specific scores revealing 11 segments in salmon's life cycle:

1 ~~>))))> Salmon legends of seaside native people...

2 ~~>))))> Salmon struggling for survival with humans due to overfishing, dams & toxic spills...

3~~~>))))> Salmon "in between" moving up & down river, not knowing whether they will survive the journey...

4~~>))))> Salmon as prey for bears, eagles and other predators...

5~~~>))))> Salmon meeting a lone fisherman standing in stillness sensing the connectivity of the freely flowing current...

6~~ >))))> Salmon babies eating their egg sacs & everything else they can...

7~~~ >))))> Salmon struggling to return to their birthplace & home stream...

8~~>))))> Salmon eggs waiting to hatch, floating aloft in current...

9~~~~ >))))>Salmon males & females spawning...

10~~ >)))) Salmon dying & offering flesh to future generations.

11~~~~>))))>Salmon move en masse to swim freely in the open sea!

On the bank of the Stehekin, among the Kokanee, I discovered the ripples, the resting, the joy and pain of struggle against obstacles. The release of the body, the floating of the spirit! Thank you dear swimming relatives, it is for your life, your increase & your vitality that we offer our dance.

Our flesh is your flesh, our eyes are your watery eyes, our spines your spines, our struggle your struggle, our love & death is yours as well. May our dance reveal our deep gratitude for your beauty, presence & gifts.

http://youtu.be/Xgu84041PtY

From Point A to Be : aesthetic response to the aspen fall

2011-10-27T10:51:00.001-07:00

My dance of 28 min edited to 8 min. and with sound! Thank you to Azumi Oe, for helping me!

I moved from point A, on the Stairs that are brand new and look like an engineer built them (not a dancer) so I was making friends with them ... to to the bench I bought for my mothers memory, (I wore her dress here) sharing my sorrow and saddness with her; to the Solar Panels where I felt invaded by an unnatural structure until I chose to dance on it and again became friends ... to my "wishbone tree" a grieving tree for my giving spirit in black; to my burial in dirt and cleanse w warm water by women. This is apart of my Universal myth; my story of birthing my life from dance. Point Be is the place inside, imbedded, embodied, impacted, implanted ... I dance to BE.

From Point A to Be : aesthetic response to the aspen fall

2011-10-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

How do I see the universe? What is my creation story...

This is the dance of my self portrait drawing from the WilderDance Retreat.

I see a black widow spider in my drawing of the aspen fall;

relating to my own cliff fall;

I feel my head, I feel her pain.

I see my feet

I stand for Aspen trees

this only the beginning of

"From Point A to Be"

Scoring high

2011-10-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

Dancing through the changes.
Bringing in more presence.
Breeze is blowing, body's flowing
Humbled by the great full moon
Bowing to the elements

My struggle in finding my own home- That home that is constantly within myself. Struggling with the Maya- the outward distractions and suggestions of pre-judged life.
What obstacles am I swimming upstream against? My own angst, fears, and forgetting.
Forgetting that too my body will die, my purpose complete in this physical realm, releasing into the greater cycles of existance- exisDANCE.
So I seek to find connection in all of my surroundings. Where is my home? What is my bodily purpose? Won't I constantly be fullfilling this purpose by connecting to my own home within my center.
In someway our lives reflect that of the struggling salmon; swimming against all odds to find their original birthing place, only so many make it to then mate and release their physical bodies a few hours- days later.
How many of us are in a struggle to connect? To remember our true home- our birthing place. The place where the soul dwells, the place we all know deep inside our hearts?
And: when we find our home- will we remember it?
How many of us are willing to sacrifice our lives for the continuation of the life cycle?
What a beautiful release.... honoring our mother... allowing for our bodies to decompose in the earth they were created. Nothing is wasted.

I have been working on my score for 11/11/11...

I will be stationed by a tree. Representing the return home portion of the life cycle of the salmon-

Again trees have entered my life: representing the grounding of both earth and connection to sky.

LIGHT

desert weave dance

2011-10-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

For a Father

The longer we live,

The more of your presence

We find, laid down

Weave upon weave

Within our lives.

John O'Donohue

In the Yakima Canyon I was inspired to dance spontaneously wearing my recently passed father's hat (circa 1940's), embodying my inner feeling tones amongst the stark surroundings - barren but filled with light. I adore the desert landscapes as it is a place of wide open spaces that allows for such a feeling of connection to that which is greater than ourselves.

Wearing his woven, wool, plaid hat, I was reflecting also on the First Nations story of how Grandmother Spider wove the web of life that interconnects all beings - animate and inanimate.

"When the Universe was still so dark that not even shadows could be seen in the night, Grandmother Spider sat in her web in the Sky World, waiting and watching. No one knows how old Grandmother Spider is, or how long she sat waiting for the Universal Mind to awaken. But, every Creature Being who has ever lived knows her song and dance as the weaver of the Web of Life.

From her web, Grandmother Spider observed the first thoughts as the Universal Mind awakened from the dream... Grandmother Spider took a very deep breath and softly began to sing her weaving song while she danced across the Sky. As she spun her thread, Grandmother Spider envisioned the Web of Life.

Dancing with the colored light, shadows came into being as the darkness took form. More thoughts flowed from the Universal Mind, entered through the Doorway of the Seven Stars, and took their places in the Sky World. These became more stars, suns and planets. Then, many other thoughts entered the Universe, each one taking a specific place according to the universal dream of harmony.

Each thought was a spirit essence who dreamed an individual dream for manifesting life. Grandmother Spider spun her web around each new energy being and the Universal Web of Life shimmered in the reflection of Great Mystery's light."

Told by Susun Weed

Dancing with so much gratitude in my being for the beauty of our Mama Earth / Ocean home...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7sUUqaXgaM

Music: Philip Glass

Cathedral

2011-09-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Recently I spent several days trekking around in the North Cascades mountains. This is something I've been doing for over a decade now. Every summer this feels like a cleansing, or a renewal process to me. Both in the shedding of day-to-day concerns (which for this time in the wilderness become mostly irrelevant to me), and in rediscovering my connections with nature.

On this trip I revisited Upper Cathedral Lake, near Cathedral Peak in the Pasayten Wilderness. I find myself repeatedly drawn to this location over the years. It's hard to describe, because I am not sure exactly what it is I am describing, but this place in particular has always felt to me like a place where the Earth's power and energy was concentrated and focused.

I started this dance without a solid intent other than to let the place move me, I became a being emerging from the earth, somewhat intimidated by the huge empty world it saw, pushing against something, excited by the wonder of it all, considering jumping out even further.

seven seven eleven moon

2011-09-08T11:35:00.001-07:00

"Heart is like the moon. Don't keep sorrows in it. Cast them off in waters deep." Rumi

After spending a few days alone in my childhood home one month to the day after my Dad passed (7/7/11), I could feel his presence as I left. Unexpectedly, the motion detector lights at the far end of the house turned on mysteriously as I was packing up my car. I was reminded of the ritual Dad and I had of him standing at the door, waiting and waving as I backed out of the long driveway after visiting with him

Missing him, tears began to flow and I felt inspired to dance my grief, so I threw on a sweater and hat that belonged to him, and just as I set up the camera, a thundercloud overhead began to send rain to the earth - the hugest drops I have seen in a awhile, feeling like they were my tears, washing my spirit's grief...

Driving home, I was inspired to pull off the highway onto a deserted country road to take a photo of the moon, which suddenly appeared through a crack in the clouds. As I pulled to the side of the road, a white barn owl flew across the moon's light and onto a nearby barn roof. Once again I felt insipred to dance, feeling my Dad's presence in the infinite night sky, reminded of the connection I felt with the moon and his passing...

Right after Dad passed in the hospice a visitor in the lobby began to play Debussy's 'Clair de Lune,' a song that I remembered hearing waft through our home as a child. Hearing the song so soon after he passed, felt like Dad was being serenaded into the spirit realm with the sounds of the moonlight...

Connecting to my Dad, the moon, the owl, the cosmos and the mystery...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQUO9fsJM

Music: Clair de Lune

Grateful for our deepening connection here to one another... dancing our souls... thank you, Momo, for bringing us together in this most meaningful way....

Lee

Sunrise Progressions

2011-09-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

I camped out on top of a mountain on Saturday.
I hiked up with a friend of mine- then we set up camp apart from eachother to do a "solo nite" in silence!

The following morning was full of butoh inspiriation moments.
Originally I had the idea to start off before the sun hit my side of the mountain, when it was still super cold, and as the sun progressively rose I would take off layer after layer-
The video snapshots kind of show that but not in the ideal way I would have imagined.

My idea was to meditate for hours on the mountain ridge....
HAHA that went well.
First there are wayyyy tooooo manyyyyy mosquitos for one's comfort-
Second I have a really hard time sitting cross legged because I have this wierd thing where my limbs fall asleep really quickly.
Third- There was just no way other than to lie down in my tent, to get comfortable to sit without moving for hours on an end.
So thus we revert back to butoh.
Moving in the midst of nature- being comfortable- and attempting to be still.

I found a really helpful way to quiet the mind is to just walk ultra ultra slow- it begins to feel like you are moving at the pace of nature, not at humanities insane speed walk pace

Bliss and love- I like this video- first time I added music

Feet and Face at Lake Tahoe

2011-09-05T15:27:00.001-07:00

OK- here we go with the help of Lorenzo!

Sharing online is fun, right!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I love feeling my feet in fresh water

I touch the softness of wet wood

Strong toes and high arches carry me thru life

My face in the sunset

My feet in the water

Sand and Rocks are hot and cold

My sternum to the sky

I rest on rocks up high

Thank grace for the act of completion...

The God's are Laughing

2011-09-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

I had just written an incredible post.... it got deleted.
So here is my second attemt. This goes to show how nothing is ever permanent- change is constant.

My creation story is BLISS.
I realized this
I choose to expand
Opening my arms to welcome space into my hands

My body moves in the way it chooses
In the joy of spontaneous eruption
My soul can taste ecstasy in the simplicity

Bliss is our inherent birthright
To follow, breathe, and be it
Her laughter tickles my belly
she moves me

Inside the vortex of creation
There sits a dancing God
laughing hysterically

Be bliss
In your experience
Let yourself be moved by it

REcognizing my own creation story...
I was birthed from bliss, I was created by bliss, and I will die in bliss

So when I move I can tap into my most raw state.
Presence.
Awareness
Freedom of self expression
It doesnt matter to me what anything may appear to be
Rather, I feel what the dance wants to express though my body
There is no seperation between divine intention and human dancing
Or I'd like to believe that
But it is true, the deeper I surrender to the flow the more bliss I find
The more bliss I find
the more I can hear god laughing

momobutoh meeting minutes august 30

2011-09-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

I doodled while members of the MomoButoh Dance Company met via Skype on August 30.

The inspiration to co create our creation stories spins in my head and my heart. Thank you to all for your contribution to my life.

consciousness stream

2011-08-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

...dancing with MomoButoh Dance Company 11 /11 /10

Photo: Susan Elizabeth Cowperthwaite

'stream of consciousness' installation by katherine kerr

Momo and I... 11/11/10

Spontaneous dance exploration of connecting to the infinite cosmos / consciousness in the finite - in urban North Vancouver with Katherine Kerr's stream / bridge / installation... feeling connection to the life cycles of the salmon... and nostalgia and excitement for Momobutoh's upcoming 11/11/11 dance dedicated to the wellness and survival of the salmon at Oyster Creek... and throughout the Pacific Rim....

Momo and I... 11/11/10 Oyster Creek

Momobutoh Company at Oyster Creek 11/11/10

i dream of salmon coho crisis sockeye collapse bear scat food web tear i marvel again rest its time now nowhere deep...

Thank you for viewing... feeling grateful for this connection with you all... here... Thank you Momo for bringing us together in the dance...

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg9E_JZ0RfA

Music: Mountain Man

butterfly metamorphosis

2011-08-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

During the weeks of my Dad's passing there were so many images of metamorphosis that kept appearing, including the card that was placed on his door by the hospice staff right after he passed - two butterflies in flight.

So many times I reflected on how in life we have to surrender to the natural cycles of life, no matter how desperately we may may want things to be a certain way... life, and death, unfolds in a way that ultimately, we have no control over.

Since then, I had been wanting to honor his passing with a dance of metamorphosis... of honoring his transition from this realm into the realm of spirit... and the courage required to enter through the doorway into the greatest mystery of all...

After dancing spontaneously in this Mazama field while hiking amongst butterflies, I found this poem recently from Mary Oliver, and once again, as she often does, felt so moved by her sentiments... providing such inspiration for my imagination and nourishment for my soul...

One or Two Things ~ Mary Oliver

Don’t bother me.

I’ve just

been born.

The butterfly’s loping flight

carries it through the country of the leaves

delicately, and well enough to get it

where it wants to go, wherever that is, stopping

here and there to fuzzle the damp throats

of flowers and the black mud; up

and down it swings, frenzied and aimless, and sometimes

for long delicious moments it is perfectly

lazy, riding motionless in the breeze on the soft stalk

of some ordinary flower.

The god of dirt

came up to me many times and said

so many wise and delectable things, I lay

on the grass listening

to his dog voice,

crow voice,

frog voice, now,

he said, and now,

and never once mentioned forever,

which has nevertheless always been,

like a sharp iron hoof,

at the center of my mind.

One or two things are all you need

to travel over the blue pond, over the deep

roughage of the trees and through the stiff

flowers of lightening—some deep

memory of pleasure, some cutting

knowledge of pain.

But to lift the hoof!

For that you need

an idea.

For years and years I struggled

just to love my life. And then

the butterfly

rose, weightless, in the wind.

“Don’t love your life

too much,” it said,

and vanished

into the world.

Mary Oliver

Feeling grateful for this practice of dance / embodiment as taught by Momo and for our connections here. I hope this dance of metamorphosis may inspire you in some way...

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggn-rJIdJjY

Music: Stefano Bataglia

Photos of dance by Brooke / photos of nature and edits by me :~)

flying into the cosmos

2011-07-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

last night's sliver moon was held in the mauve twilight sky above the silhouetted north shore mountains... has time stopped? days have become hours... hours have become minutes... just this... holding my father's hand, stroking his forehead, face to face with impermanence... the challenge of surrendering to the unknown with trust, boundless love, forgiveness, and gratitude.. breathing in, breathing out... just this.

- from notes I took during the weeks of my dad's passing.

Being with my sister, my brother and his son while my Dad passed was such a sacred gift. Because the process was one that extended for 3 weeks, it enabled us to be with him in such profound ways and to be by his side as he took his last breath.

During the weeks prior to his passing we all felt like we were in another plane of reality where time literally stopped, as we were so present with him breath by breath, moment to moment... listening, being, and speaking only that which felt important to say - expressions of forgiveness, gratitude and love.

When we felt like we had opened our hearts fully to one another, and the days continued to pass, we children just kept saying to each other, "Okay, lets go deeper, what else needs to be said to Dad? Let's peel back more layers..." Although Dad's words were very few at the end, he continued to respond with big smiles, sparkly eyes and by squeezing our hands.

In the last five days of his life he was in the hospice where we were able to camp out with him in his room day and night. The last three nights were quite sleepless as it felt like we were getting so close to his last breaths. We sang songs from our childhood camping days for him - so many old campfire songs, accompanied by my brother playing my Dad's old harmonica.

Dad from the 1940s

One of our favorite songs that we sang with our Dad playing harmonica was 'Swing Low' which we sang several times to him in his final hours and at the time of his passing.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Swing low, sweet chariot,

Comin' for to carry me home;

Swing low, sweet chariot,

Comin' for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan,

And what did I see,

Comin' for to carry me home,

A band of angels comin' after me,

Comin' for to carry me home.

If you get there before I do,

Comin' for to carry me home,

Tell all my friends I'm comin' too,

Comin' for to carry me home.

My brother took this film of my dance in Vancouver close to the airport after dropping my sister off there a few days after my dad's passing. I am wearing Dad’s hat from when he was a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

When he was in the hospital suffering with pain, he told us at one point after he was given morphine that he was ‘flying’ and that he saw heaven and that it was beautiful... Years ago he had shared that he used to have dreams of flying, too... that it was a place where he felt free.

Inspired to dance this dance of grief at the loss of my Dad and to embody the experience of his passing - the acceptance of his transition into the great mystery, the realm of spirit... out of his body and his suffering and into the realm of light... to embrace the feeling that he has transcended into a higher plane that exists beyond the physical realm, but that connects us all to the great unknown and the cosmos.

This dance also embodied for me the challenge of witnessing his struggle - his relentless holding on... literally, too - to the bed rail, to the catheter tube, to the blanket, when we were not present, and to our hands when we were. His grip was so strong...

Dad as a pilot with his RCAF hat.

Goodbye Dad... I love you.

Mom and Dad... 1940s

Dad pointing the way to their future... Touches me deeply to see this photo now... pointing the way into the heavens and the great mystery...

Thank you for viewing this most personal blog post. I hope it may inspire you in some way.

With gratitude to Momo and all in Momobutoh Company for all your inspirations...

Lee

I was thrilled to find this version of Joan Baez's 'Swing Low' as our family had met her in the late 1960's while we were hiking in Garibaldi Meadows - she was camping in the same meadow - high in the alpine beauty of wide open skies and flowers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhZzQ4uc9gQ

Music: Joan Baez

During the time of Dad's passing the symbology of metamorphosis was very predominant... transitioning into a new 'being'... after the above dance I loved seeing these kites flying high into the cosmos... with the image of a butterflies upon each one... being flown by an elder holding the strings...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhX4hANKI94

for dad...

2011-07-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad, Manitoba, 1940's

A couple of days after my father passed, my brother, sister and I went for a walk to Rice Lake to spend time in contemplation - with my Dad's old harmonica, camping hat, and a camera in hand.

We had a collective memory of times with our family sitting around campfires listening and singing to my Dad's harmonica playing, and we thought Rice Lake would be a perfect place to let the sound of the harmonica resonate out into the cosmos across the still lake, in honor of our Dad.

I told my brother how my medicine ways teacher shared that native peoples created songs from the landscape in which they lived and we all loved seeing the waves of song / sound waves in the silhouette across the lake. And so the spontaneous dance began to my brother's harmonica improv, with my sister filming.

In my mind I had anticipated some somber funeral dirge that my brother would likely play. I was so surprised as I stood on the trail, wearing my father's camping hat, that the improv my brother created from the landscape was a joyful-kind-of-jig song ;~)

And so the spontaneous dance below resulted...

And yet, the lilt of the song seemed perfect in retrospect - a way of letting our Dad know we are alright and we will all be fine - all will be well...

For a Father

The longer we live,

The more of your presence

We find, laid down

Weave upon weave

Within our lives.

John O'Donohue

Thank you for viewing... it means a lot to me. I would love to hear from you if you feel inspired to comment.

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5snFhXUgus

Another harmonica improv by my brother.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO0LebhqIsA

DAnce DancE DANCe

2011-07-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

So. Here we are again. I am really attempting to stay in my creative flow here! YA. Bonus points!
In the cosmic theme of the month, I am recognizing many a shiftings- that are occuring cosmicly and translating through each of our individual bodies. How can we maintain our sense of balance in these ever shifting times? How can I express my cosmic dance through a human body bound by a heavy sense of gravity? I can play with what I have. The elements of creation. I can relish in my own divine feminine and shoot it out of each pore with each movement I make. I am embodying my own feminine creative goddess and using that as my cosmic antena. I don't know how else to embody the cosmic creation story other then to dance the moment as it expresses itself through this body. I am estatic. I am joy. I move because I want to. I am free. I can move because I am free. It becomes like an obligation to maintain my sanity.
Oh the paradox of finding my own cosmic dance in the midst of chaos in cosmic realms- and so it is only appropriate that I choose to dance and idealize trees! Cosmic rooted ANTENAS.... whooo breakthrough!

Art.

Is Life.

Is what we make of life.

with great Power comes great Responsibility

2011-07-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

sometimes i dance the dance of utter darknessssss
spewing vomiting it up
letting it all hang out
grinding my bones into dust
pounding the earth with my fists
letting rip a rebel yell

sometimes i dance the dance of light and sweetness
gliding flowing blowing on the wind
reaching for the light
basking in the warm glow
moving slow

and then there are rare moments when I dance the in between
heaven and hell
dark and light
pure and putrid

there are even rarer times when I don't dance the dance for me
I dance it for WE
all one
universal energy
channel of the universe set free

watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCKANiM9tUM

otherwordly

2011-07-14T23:16:00.000-07:00

every summer i venture for several days into the wilderness. one spot in particular the last few years has become very special to me, the summit of nanny goat mountain which is very lonely, very wild, and requires a fair amount of effort to visit.

when i am there i feel very small and insignificant, yet energized and gifted, awed by the vastness of nature and by the subtle yet strong power it exudes. while out there i feel as if i have been transported to a different world, one not often visited by man. when i arrive back in my normal world a large part of my consciousness remains back in the wild.

Grounding Cords to Galactic Center

2011-07-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Yay! it feels good to be writting on MomoButoh's Blog once more. Since the last entry I have been swept away in a frenzy of good times; road-tripping and finally settling into Salt Lake City, UT to start massage school. In our last phone confrence on July 9th- MomoButoh discussed our new theme... which pertains to the cosmic creation story, the macrocosom of things, the universe. One theme that keeps popping up again and again in my life is the theme of finding roots- being able to ground out my physical body and emotions. So part of my new moon cycle's exploration will be the theme of gravity, grounding, and through finding gravity allowing the expansiveness to take flight. Also along the lines of not being grounded whatsover physically- I have mostly let my butoh practice slide except for a few precious days when my traveling partner Shelly and I danced in the woods and in downtown Bellingham, WA. I have let myself slide, let myself go---when I know that my practices are what ultimately will keep me in a centered, grounded place.
The great thing about life is that we can always start anew each day!

I would love to share some of the dances that did happen in the last month... but that feels like old news now.
Instead I will share my rather particularly strange dance that came through today.

Because today has been a day filled to the brim with all sorts of energies.... Because our life is ENERGY.
I sat in a garden. Called the garden of Eden. (This is my creation story. I began in paradise and my way of being with earth was through dance.)
I brought in the awareness of gravity. I felt indifferent. Like glazed over, not able to focus on any one thing in particular. I tried moving but it just felt better to be. I didn't feel authentic if I tried really dancing. I was able to just honor the space I was at.
I sat. In this garden.
I was the only one alive, I and the plants. I wanted to sink deep inside the earth. Let my invisible cords root themselves to the center of Gaia- the center that only gravity knows about, the center that only gravity would let me reach.
I just didn't feel much motivation for expression. Rather my motivation stemmed from a deep desire to sink, to go deep within; myself, cosmos, earth, my heart.
So eventually I stumbled out of the garden.
Feeling statisfied I made that time for myself to connect with me, myself, and I!
It feels like one of those days.
Energy twisting and shaping and reconfiguring my whole DNA structure. I feel like I am feeling- deeply, strongly, truly.

I want to be like a tree for at least a little bit.
With my crown open and extending towards the heavenly cosmos and my roots stretched and burried within my mother. To feel a needed sense of balance and stability. I recognize the need of grounding and having some sort of stability in my life in order to feel like I can really expand artistically. But non-the-less I can allow myself to create from any point in my life. This is the challenge and the beauty. This is the blessing of having a community or company of like-minded artists, we can all lift eachother up and create individual grounding cords through our intimate connections.

white spirit bear

2011-07-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I found it difficult to read three news articles while in Vancouver at my childhood home.

The first was the news about the starving bears and eagles in the early spring in B.C. - both starving due to the lack of pink and chum salmon returning to their spawning grounds last fall. Young starving bear cubs ended up in wildlife rehab centers and hundreds of eagles at a time were scrounging for food from a garbage landfill site near Vancouver, B.C.

I was also saddened and maddened by the second news I read of the proposed tanker route off the westcoast of B.C. that would transport oil from the Alberta tar sands. The projected route would take the tankers into the head of Douglas Bay - a pristine land and habitat to abundant wildlife including the black bear and the rare kermode or white spirit bears.

A disastrous oil spill in this region could wipe out wildlife in the area both directly and indirectly - indirectly, by destroying salmon runs, a spill would starve the ecosystems that rely on salmon for food - including bears, eagles, wolves, sea lions, orca and humpback whales... An online petition is available to sign: here.

I highly recommend the following film, describing the plans to try and save this unique ecosystem:

To top it off, the third news I read was about bear trophy hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest, located along Canada's Pacific coast, spanning 21 million acres of some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes. As one of the largest temperate rainforests on Earth, it's stunning mountains, forests, fjords, and waterways are home to thousands of species of birds, plants and animals – including grizzlies, black bears and also the white spirit bear. Although the spirit bears are protected, they are born from black bear mothers - it is a particular recessive gene that makes them white. Reducing the population of black bears in general could potentially wipe out the population of white spirit bears whose total number is less than 200. A petition is available to sign here: stop trophy bear hunting in British Columbia.

I have loved bears for as long as I can remember and feel a deep spiritual connection to them. When I lived in Whistler B.C. many years ago I had many close encounters with them while hiking in the wilds. Unfortunately, many bears began to rely more and more on garbage from the landfill site as their habitat was being developed into an all season resort. As a result, the bears were also coming more frequently into neighborhoods for 'garbage-food' where they were inevitably destroyed.

The more recent news of the bears and their habitat being threatened broke my heart. When it feels like I am carrying a lot of grief for the suffering of our world's wild habitats due to our actions, I feel like there is a mini time-bomb inside that is ready to explode... and it is what often is my inspiration to dance - to dance my grief, my prayers, my hopes, and my optimism...

When I met wonderful and talented Rex for a photo / dance session (see one of his sessions with Momo here: 'Tough Love in the Gravel'), he had no idea I had a dance of grief in mind, nor that I was prepared with a bag full of costumes and props! I was grateful for his willingness to capture this dance of connection to the suffering of the bears in film and to be my witness.

Spring

Somewhere

a black bear

has just risen from sleep

and is staring

down the mountain.

All night

in the brisk and shallow restlessness

of early spring

I think of her,

her four black fists

flicking the gravel,

her tongue

like a red fire

touching the grass,

the cold water.

There is only one question:

how to love this world.

I think of her

rising

like a black and leafy ledge

to sharpen her claws against

the silence

of the trees.

Whatever else

my life is

with its poems

and its music

and its glass cities,

it is also this dazzling darkness

coming

down the mountain,

breathing and tasting;

all day I think of her -

her white teeth,

her wordlessness,

her perfect love.

Mary Oliver

Thank you for viewing this post... I hope you may find some inspiration within it - to dance your own dance of grief, connection, optimism... Love receiving comments :~)

Heart-full thank you, Rex, for taking the photos and for your open mind and heart!

Grateful for this dance practice - thank you Momo, and the all of you who inspire so lusciously with your dances here...

(The above photos of bears are from the internet and I am sorry there were no credits to the photographers that I can share here).

momobutoh meeting minutes seven seven

2011-07-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

frogs, seaweed, birds, shells

2011-07-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

After completing a water ceremony at the delta of Oyster Creek just before the sun set, the frogs were croaking loudly in the nearby pond.

The sun had such an incredible golden glow, that I wanted to capture the inner feeling tone of interconnection to this magical place and it's inhabitants with a dance practice.

Connecting here to the earth, the seaweed, the shells, the sun, the birds... with the symphony of frogs to move my spirit into movement of body....

Toad

I was walking by. He was sitting there.

It was full morning, so the heat was heavy on his sand-colored

head and his webbed feet. I squatted beside him, at the edge

of the path. He didn’t move.

I began to talk. I talked about summer, and about time. The

pleasures of eating, the terrors of the night. About this cup

we call a life. About happiness. And how good it feels, the

heat of the sun between the shoulder blades.

He looked neither up nor down, which didn’t necessarily

mean he was either afraid or asleep. I felt his energy, stored

under his tongue perhaps, and behind his bulging eyes.

I talked about how the world seems to me, five feet tall, the

blue sky all around my head. I said, I wondered how it seemed

to him, down there, intimate with the dust.

He might have been Buddha— did not move, blink, or frown,

not a tear fell from those gold-rimmed eyes as the refined

anguish of language passed over him.

Mary Oliver

Grateful for this practice of deep connection to significant others... and for all the inspiration from Momo and Company <3

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmVuK3NBnFA

Music: Mountain Man

See our collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Dance Company

dance, prayer, ceremony, life...

2011-07-07T05:11:00.000-07:00

While dancing daily in 2009 inspired by Momo and her idea of a daily dance practice honoring her sensei, Kazuo Ohno, I realized and experienced deeply that there is the potential for no separation between dance and daily life, and daily life and dance... Whatever was being experienced internally or externally in the inner / outer environments could be sources of inspiration to dance. And often the practice became therapeutic, as an outcome, not as an intention.

The following three dances were water ceremonies. After the earthquake in Japan, Momo, several women and I took part in a water healing ceremony - sending prayers into water that was being distributed to rivers and ocean's around the world.

The first two offerings here were local - Skagit River and Oyster Creek. The third was Capilano River in Vancouver, B.C. - a dance offering with my sister.

After the earthquake in Japan, I read the following quote from Atsushi Takenoushi regarding the role of butoh dance from his perspective -

"What is dance for us? " It concerns a lot with prayer. A prayer is releasing and purifying our inner soul. A prayer is beyond the life and the death. I feel it as a dance itself truly.

This time I will perform in Tokyo "Hane no Ki" and "Vers l'Autre Monde" in Kyoto . These pieces were made with theme of "releasing and purifying soul beyond the life and the death."And in Shizuoka, we perform imprivising piece "to the memory of the sea" and "from the memory of the sea," which is reminding the memory of life carrying music and dance from ancient time. Music and dance should have been a prayer since old time.

I hope to dance to resonate a prayer with audience, to send this resonance to the earthquake stricken area, nuclear accident area in Japan and the place of any kind of nature disaster, human disaster, battlefield in the world. And I hope to dance to dedicate the life of now.

Here from my heart, I am sending deep prayer for the people suffering from this big disaster, the people who lost life. As spring comes after winter, I hope the time will come that one can love a tiny flower even in the pain.

Wishing dance and music to be able to become this flower....

Atsushi Takenouchi

2011 Mar 24Osaka Japan

Atsushi's quote resonates so viscerally with me in regards to how I feel about the practice of butoh as taught by Momo - that it is a practice that connects one so deeply with your innermost soul that feels ancient, ancestral and on a certain level seems to alter, if not purify the soul...

Are the films below dances? Ceremonies? Rituals? Prayers?

The experience of these dances was one of soul connection with other, the element water, and are offerings for the healing of the waters in general and in particular around Japan.

Thank you, Momo... for your inspirations... and all! Grateful for this connection of dance and life :~)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k7rgjuRhPU

Music: Mountain Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHWp8YIyQdA&feature=related

Music: Jennifer Berezan

dancing earth's rhythms

2011-07-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

Heron Rises From The Dark, Summer Pond

So heavy

is the long-necked, long-bodied heron,

always it is a surprise

when her smoke-colored wings

open

and she turns

from the thick water,

from the black sticks

of the summer pond,

and slowly

rises into the air

and is gone.

Then, not for the first or the last time,

I take the deep breath

of happiness, and I think

how unlikely it is

that death is a hole in the ground,

how improbable

that ascension is not possible,

though everything seems so inert, so nailed

back into itself--

the muskrat and his lumpy lodge,

the turtle,

the fallen gate.

And especially it is wonderful

that the summers are long

and the ponds so dark and so many,

and therefore it isn't a miracle

but the common thing,

this decision,

this trailing of the long legs in the water,

this opening up of the heavy body

into a new life: see how the sudden

gray-blue sheets of her wings

strive toward the wind; see how the clasp of nothing

takes her in.

Mary Oliver

Catching up from April... ;~)

After being stuck in very slow moving traffic on the highway, I was relieved to find this wildlife sanctuary at the end of a dead-end street in the scenic Skagit Valley.

After hours in the car feeling rattled and unnerved by the journey, I was grateful to drop into my body and connect to earth's rhythms - initially the stick and log percussions, and then, ending with what felt like the rhythms of the earth herself, feeling so much sweet energy of grounding and connection.

Partway through the exploration of dance and rhythms, a great blue heron flew overhead, in an awkward prehistoric, flapping kind of way... which felt perfect, as this dance felt quite awkward, too, and reminded me that many of nature's rhythms are discordant, and there is so much beauty in the disharmony of it all.

Feeling grateful for this dance of connection to significant others... thank you all for your dances... thank you, momo...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL6UCTgQnLs

Music: Mountain Man (Thank you, Patricia, for introducing me to them) XO

Visit our Momobutoh collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Dance Company

Meetings with Remarkable Beings

2011-06-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Each day holds opportunity to cultivate lasting connection, awareness and memories that can nourish and sustain us for a lifetime. This photo is of one of those precious meetings with my beloved Sensei Kazuo Ohno. We were in Venice Italy for his performance at the Biennale; just after this photo was taken pigeons landed on his shoulders and, as usual, he danced with delight and delicacy.

Although butoh is often sourced from areas of stress, challenge or pain; for a daily dance practice to thrive it feels essential to regularly dwell in nature based spaces and relationship situations that are alive with beauty, deepening connection, truthfulness, unity and balance. Sometimes it takes special effort to find sustaining connections and experiences like these...but they are always available somewhere.

When in Los Angeles for the UCLA butoh symposium in May, I was feeling drained by the hype and toxicity, struck by how many people in this sprawling city have literally become their automobiles. Comments like "her Merc cut in on my Beemer" or "gas taxes are killing my 9 mpg " are commonplace. Thankfully, in Venice Beach my cousins provided a cozy little room and some very needed rides and companionship to discover some oases of natural beauty, playfulness and peace among the insanity here. One evening we attended a gathering with delicious raw food, dj music with wildly dancing youth & live painting by my friend radhika. The last morning, I brought some plant medicine tea and a healing song to offer to the ocean here as a prayer for purification, balance and well being. This film (camera by my cousin Julie) is part of that dance.

http://youtu.be/Kgd88f9JCFs

11 Japanese refugees who are friends from the area of the Tsunami are going to arrive soon to our town. We are seeking housing & life supports for them as they attempt to immigrate. They are seeking refuge as they have lost their home; even having to leave their elder mother behind. This is just one little story of so many life/death struggles that inspired our local Benefit for Japan at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Clinton on June 4. I danced three pieces to live piano, opera and koto. This one in film below is in honor of the father/daughter relationship, the crane/heron, the bamboo in the moonlight and the Japanese "Shining Princess" folk tale. The other two pieces were about Cherry Blossoms and the Phases of the Moon. It was a remarkable evening of meetings with virtuosos of opera, piano, song and sushi making! A chance meeting with the exquisite songstress Ariana Saraha was another highlight.
http://youtu.be/s0faGdn-Stc

After meeting "fusion artist" Ariana on the ferry deck, we had an opportunity to collaborate with song and dance. Here is a film of our improvisation with the trees, forest fairies, web of wood, hoops of drums, voices and balance of body, soul & spirit.
http://youtu.be/G3Eos6EpyHc

Thank you for witnessing and your reflections in the comment area below.

Special BIG THANKS goes out to the wonderful beings who have attended our first 2 Somatic Building Internship weekends. With ease, enjoyment and togetherness we completed what we thought would take 4 weekends in just 2!! WoW!

"Blissfully Amazing!!....John & Momo, you two are so inspiring, so awake and alive with the beauties of life. It has been an honor to spend time with you on Whidbey Island. You have been such an extraordinary example of living a life in faith and trust in Universal flow and not only that but mastering your crafts with such humility!"

"My experience with the flower was so beautiful. It was so soft and communicative. I am truly learning that every energy has a "voice" or something to share, and if we come at it with loving, accepting energy, we will receive just that."

-Shelly -masseuse & dancer age 23

"The somatic/movement work were new concepts for me but explained well and I enjoyed learning new things about myself."

-Gary -builder age 56

"As I was pleasantly surprised with how the work process was eased by the somatic/mindfulness exercises....{One of the greatest gifts was} your examples of creating your own way of life and successfully following it."

-Steve- builder age 70

Please consider joining us for one of our Somatic Building weekends this summer/fall. Results have been amazing! Here are a few comments from participants. Everyone has been very satisfied with their time here. Contact Momo to schedule (July 23-24; Aug 27-28, Sept 3/4 & 24-25, Oct 1-2 & 8-9)....space is limited to 6 per weekend and ALL is FREE of charge.

"The food was my favorite!...made with love and consciousness....a totally amazing paradigm of hosting a workshop...I love this house....comfortable, homey, quiet & beautiful...John is a wonderful guy to work with; patient and cheerful. I deeply appreciated honoring the inside and outside of the body experiences....Construction was a deeply satisfying blast!"

-Nori -momobutoh company member age 21

"The sensory walk was very focusing and made me more aware of senses other than sight, and my balance. I also liked the sense of everybody working together toward a common goal."

-Rev -momobutoh company member age 43

Quest Within and Without

2011-06-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

Great Spirit sent me out West

because I was still asleep and clue less

(hiding from me

and my destiny)

I ran thru trails of every kind

floating on rivers and fighting the tide

inside of caves and outside of them too

saw Lions trapped in a las vegas zoo

burned thru the rubber in the soles of my shoes

my heart set ablaze as

I danced with the Winds of the West

What was shown to me?

Creatures of every kind- skunk, roadrunner, mockingbird, swallow, vulture, hawk, owl, bat, lizard and moth were there! (to name a few) so were circus freaks, ravers, hidden cameras, spirit of john, george, ringo, & paul, street performers and life transformers!

I bore witness to a desert scorched by wildfires.

My Aunt was my travel companion on this portion of my journey across country, and she took me to Carlsbad Caverns.

We wanted to watch the flight of the bats.

After a long and late day of driving we finally arrived at our destination. As I drove our beat up volvo up the curvy terrain we saw nothing but black scorched earth, charred cacti, and barren land. Signs every few feet reminded us of the EXTREME FIRE DANGER!

After parking, we made our way to the outdoor theatre to watch the mysterious bats exit their famous cave. The crowd whispered in anticipation as it grew darker, the bats' sonar clicks grew louder, and the feeding time approached.

"the bats! the bats! I see one! mamma a bat! Look! the bats!"

Slowly, but surely, the bats began to take flight out of their cave.

Just as quickly as the anticipation had built among us, it began to die.

Instead of thinking "Where are the bats?"

The collective thought seemed to be "Is that IT?"

People grew restless and bored, sure they had been drawn to another tourist trap and got up to leave.

But I had seen pictures of the bats in flight and knew this was not the norm.

The entire museum, in fact, had been shut down two days prior to our arrival.

We found out that many of the bats had left Carlsbad- and left for good. There was little to no food to be found, and the park rangers doubted if they would ever return.

This was all due to the monstrous wildfire that had overtaken the land. What started the fire? Surely it was Mother Nature herself. . . but no.

I learned that the cause of this particular fire was indeed a human.

Someone had thrown a cigarette butt out of their window, despite the warnings, and had in turn damaged an entire eco system in the blink of an eye.

This story, to me, represents our carelessness as Humans here on our ONE earth.

I began my dance the next day in the desert wearing a bright sundress, a bit dolled up and carrying my straw hat that reminds me of Momo.

I wanted some beautiful dance pictures in the expansive desert.

Shortly after exchanging with my Significant Others, I realized it was not going to be that kind of dance.

I changed into my shirt that reads: GIVE ME SOMETHING TO SCREAM ABOUT and stripped down to shorts and bare feet.

I handed the camera to my aunt, and allowed her to become a part of my dance as the photographer.

This was another first for me, sharing my dance with my family in such an intimate way. It brought us closer together and i am so thankful for our deepened connection.

So. That is the story of this particular dance in words. I would like to let the images speak now. Please feel free to let me know what you see!

a special deep thank you to my buddy Art/Rev, and of course our Dear Momo

11 and up

2011-06-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

from 11 and up ascending transcending trending

breathing watching birds silence mist caress

white touch so lush wind whisper trees witness

fog

vastness mountains beyond trees watching

Significant Plants & Animals

2011-06-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

"Make me sweet again

Fragrant and wild

And thankful

For any small thing."

-Rumi

Our current theme is Plants & Animals so MomoButoh practice partner Patricia and I vowed to engage at least one Significant Plant &/or Animal relative each day in a butoh dance exchange. So far, so good. We have engaged with trees, humans, sticks, roots, snails, flowers, anemones, herons, whales and spiders among others. Each relative has a message, a gift, a challenge to share. Each evokes a unique dance from us. Snail/Slug moved SO slowly and was SO extremely sensitive to my presence and every move. I've been especially interested in how one relative introduces and leads to another. For example, today when I was dancing with a purple Azalea, a black & white spider dangled along and joined us too. Azalea wanted her old dry blossoms scratched off to make more space for the bright fragrant fresh ones. Spider was reminding me of my grandmothers. Then the Rhodie next door wanted to be included as well asking for some root food. This led us to a great action of making an entire new vegetable garden and planting a tree in our yard, all in 24 hours in pouring rain. Those plant relatives sure are strong motivation coaches!

Sometimes these SOs have mysterious synchrony & connections. One day, while dancing with with some seaweed resting on a large stone. I inadvertently sent a Great Blue Heron into flight, which in turn led me to finding a beautiful rock with "1111" unmistakably inscribed on it. I came home to communications from company members and it turns out GBHs are communicating among our MomoButoh members all over the place this week. Carolyn, who is in Florida said they are showing up by her daily, Patricia was stalked by one in Vancouver, BC, Misty Hannah (who is stepping away from the company toward other activities now) sees one regularly in her neighborhood in County Cork, Ireland. One showed up in a student's drawing yesterday, without conscious intention or prompting from me, after her butoh exploration of 4 senses: One-der, Touch, Life & Movement.

We are all relatives, all connected and in this web of dynamic exchange and if we listen, each being has a great deal to share with us. A daily Significant Other butoh practice helps to awaken consciousness & connection with abundant allies and friends each offering unique resources to inspire soulful life/art.

These films are from recent dances with Plant & Animal relatives whale & alder tree roots, lawn grass, anemone, barnacle, cottonwood and cacti....What better way to get acquainted? With other, with self, with all creation...all our relations.

Apologies for the immense backlog of dances & films. I have been scrambling to catch up; processing and posting them in "chunks." Thank you for witnessing and sharing your reflections through your comments below.

http://youtu.be/JU2ca8rwpgA

http://youtu.be/ulPOe-zlNvc

http://youtu.be/ZRDNy1z2Ks4

http://youtu.be/p-ng0CKsBmM

http://youtu.be/rN-6IndxYu4

http://youtu.be/KQRgtBIhkHE

spruce connection

2011-06-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to an area in the mountains I have been visiting at least once a year for the last five years.

I really love this spot, it is one of the best places in the North Cascades that I know of accessible early in the hiking season. And lots of plants and animals to connect with.

While I was here I chose a particular tree to connect with as a significant other, this lovely spruce on the edge of a vast space.

Just before starting my dance, a mountain bluebird came by and performed a dance of his own, hovering hummingbird-like just off of the ground. It felt like a welcoming gesture to me.

Experiences in Rewind

2011-06-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

So being in Germany for a month was an experience in of itself. It was there that I really became initated into MomoButoh Dance Company. Being that I didn't have the luxury of posting videos nor taking too many of them because of electronical differences between Europe and the USA, I am now ready to post some videos that were taken during my stay in Bonn, Germany. As Butoh has recently plopped into my life I am already noticing the differences in how I interact with my day and surroundings. Every moment is an opportunity for art, creation, and expansion. Butoh for me (as I am learning and trying to grasp what it really is...) at the moment is a way of life, a practice. It is another word for "improvisation in the presence of Now". It is a deep exploration of what is always present and there: we enable our bodies to interact with this presence-allowing movement and stillness to possess us.

This video was inspired by the theme of the month of connecting with plants or animals as our significant other- this process in general has become such a rich experience and a really grounding one at that. It is always so amazing how one simple interaction with a plant, a simple dance totally shifts my energy back towards my heart. A simple dance brings my whole being into the now.
So this video is more of an expression of the totality of all of my significant others surrounding me in that forest as opposed to one particular focus.

Peace.

your eyes are my eyes

2011-06-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

Highlights from the May 28 phone conference of the MomoButoh Dance Company in one minute forty-eight seconds.
http://youtu.be/fd2hEBxaP50

Dreams of Seasons Passed

2011-05-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to this dreamy dancing life and some key performances that have arisen from soul, imagination and sensation during the past 5 moons (except Memorial Dance which was a homage to WW II veteran Kazuo Ohno presented on 5/31/10 with live video released publicly on 6/1/11 in memory of sensei's passing 1 year ago).

Memorial Dance was performed at Langley Middle School as part of the poetry of veterans shared for VRC Annual Memorial Day Tribute event.

http://youtu.be/nwQETuSnTbU

People Get Ready was an improv performance offering by facilitators Melinda Harrison and Maureen Freehill, to close the Significant Other butoh & LifeArt Mastery workshop at NatureMoves studio in Boulder. Music is Vanilla Fudge's "People Get Ready."

http://vimeo.com/24731981
Significant Others Final Dance Offerings: Meha & Momo
Cottonwood Sunrise was a dancing gift after the Significant Other workshop in Boulder, CO offered by WilderDancer Christine Palafox. A homage to sunrise and the presence of her neighborhood cottonwood tree. David Harrison accompanied, we danced and she directed the score. Camera by John Lorette & Momo. The full piece is included here to get a sense of actual sunrise time/light shifts.

http://youtu.be/ZFxqaJSYBcQ

Lady of the Lake on MayDay was an event directed by accordion player Jason Webley for one of his four "death rememberings" on cross-quarter days in 2011; leading to a culminating performance on 11/11/11. Only participants in these events will discover the location of a final performance on 11/11/11. This dance happened on MayDay eve on Boat Street in Seattle from 11:11pm till late into the night during about 11 trips as about 11 passengers headed out on a 100 year old boat to drink and offer healing medicine tea into the lake. Maureen was the "Lady in White" while Rick was "St. Joan's" captain and Lee Atwell filmed.

http://youtu.be/FkSYgoiciz8

Hitobashira is a piece that Maureen has been creating since 2001 with imagery from Japanese history stating that human sacrifices/suicides were common when building bridges or castles or when lovers were wanting to be together for eternity. Most commonly the accompaniment is a score composed by sound artist Pamela Z specifically for this piece. This performance was at 11:11 on 3/11/11, the morning of the Japanese tsunami and improvised with dancer Delisa Myles under a bridge in the snow melt in Prescott, AZ. Camera by John Lorette.

http://youtu.be/PyS3oXjNZQQ

Dream Lake was a solo piece in Rocky Mountain National Park at an alpine lake of that name. Filmed by Momo & Richard Shane.

http://youtu.be/rDLfpTMbhms

Still Moment(s) Rising is a edit mash-up of 3 different performances of the same short piece about a spring shoot rising from the cold ground into the sunlight. One is at Unitarian Universalist in Freeland, Wa; one at Unity Church in Langley, Wa and one at BeBe Theater in Asheville NC for the Fools Butoh Festival there in April.

http://youtu.be/He2Xm3504Ms

Thank you all for watching and offering reflections below. The spaces for the Somatic Building Internships are steadily filling. Contact Momo soon if you are interested in joining us sometime this summer. It is so wonderful here....a dream coming true!

bones on the beach

2011-05-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

My daughter Liz tells me that she dreamed she lived in a house of bamboo. In the dream, Liz’s Grandmother (my mother, no longer living) visited and told Liz that the house was not really made of bamboo, but was made of her bones. Mom told Liz she didn’t need to be afraid. Because the house was made of her bones, she'd would always be present and there for her.

Liz’s dream story stayed with me as I left from the city where I dance often with the lake and with nature where I find it http://www.youtube.com/user/shagdora2#p/a/u/2/6947wI3MMN0.

When I visited the Pacific northwest (Washington, Vancouver Island) earlier this month, I felt and saw my mother’s bones everywhere. I felt those bones in the red cedar, in the Douglas fir, in carvings in the museums, washed up on the beaches, and in my own body. (The older I get, the more I look like my mother and the more my hands and feet resemble the limbs and roots of a gnarly old tree.)

The rain forest is lovely, wet, and full of evidence that what appears to be dead is fertile, growing, very much alive.

The soil itself is clearly alive, and on more than one occasion the living dirt became my significant other dance partner. In my own practice I danced with the living giants (how could I ignore them?) and I also danced with the “dead” trees who nurse young new plants and critters and fungus and who knows what all else. As I danced I thought how nice it would be to belong here where the dead and the living support and nurse each other.

A message from Momo reminded me “enjoy the nurse logs....they love you too.”

On the beach I found myself face to face and limb to limb with the bones of the Grandmothers, the trees, my significant others. During my dance, I found myself losing balance, struggling, stumbling and awkward before finally curling in their laps. I learned to be quiet and still and to let rare moments of sunshine bleach my bones.

I touch you
I see you
I smell you
I dance with you
I taste you

Your bones are my bones
Living in me now

As I live in you.
As I dance with you.

Thank you trees, thank you grandmothers, thank you Momma, Thank you Momo and all The Others.

music Red Planet by Arborea

Cold damp Earth

2011-05-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

I am alone.
Silence surrounds me.
Only the occasional bird song
I find a fern. She is at the base of a tree.
This could be any fern at any tree.
But today I decide to dedicate my dance to the uncurling of her leaves.
My body mirrors her struggle against the sometimes cold wind.
Words start to come out of my mouth.
'I am hungry'.
'I want to grow.'
'I HAVE NO PLANS. I trust the Universe to provide for me.'
Meanwhile my physical body starts becoming weaker... I am starving. So hungry all of a sudden that my normal energy starts to disapate.
Still I keep moving.
The fern calls me. She moves me.
I find my hand suddenly on the moist earth.
It rips out a baby plant.
All of a sudden my heart is filled with sorrow. HOW can we live so unconciously? _ As to rip living beings out of the earth for no reason. All of that hard work; their whole life was spent organizing their solid roots and then a big clumsy hand destroys it in one swift swoop.
I dance the sorrow dance.
I craddle the still breathing plant in my arms and dance for it.
'I want to grow'
'I have no plans'
'I am soooo hungry' Feed me mother earth, nourish me.
Slowly my dance ends in that moment of time...
yet my walk home continues in the same sort of manner.
My feet move and my arms paint the picture of the woods around me.
With my hands I gather and disperse the energy of each attentive living breathing plant being.
I orchestrate oxygen.
Into my lungs and out again.
This cycle will never cease as long as I experience this life.
This too is my dance.

The path to the unknown. May we all walk along this path with an open and trusting heart.

Are all trees really one and the same??

RelfectionConnectionDirection

2011-05-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hi there.

I wanna talk to you.

Yeah, You !

I wanna speak with you in a language without words. . .

I long to look inside of your eyes,

witness the gateways open across time and space,

and play with that inner child waiting.

mine says:

Hi!

Hi there!

Wanna be friends?

Wanna Dance?

Wanna plaaaaay?

its getting kind of lonely here

talking in this screen to screen way

Today I'll hold our spirit sticks and send a call to you,

my salmon brother and sister souls

remember how we gave birth and died together?

mated, rose again and tied ourselves willingly to the crimson cord;

laughing, giggling, suckling all the way. . .

I dance for you.

I dance for us.

I dance for creation, destruction and all that is in between.

I dance for the days that I don't want to dance,

when I feel like I can't

when excuses are more rampant than inspiration or self truth.

I dance for healing, for transformation

I long to dance for social justice and Mamma Earth too.

Yeah I have dreams

dreams I can speak of, thanks to you.

Today I'll find my nature friends

special significant others

whispering sweetly

When I myself am quiet.

I hope to meet you there

eyes, heart, and palms wide open

in the soft heart of dawn calling

sweet honey bees

2011-05-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

let us sing a song to thee

oh my sweet honeybee

let us sing a song to thee

oh my sweet honeybee

you are the one we've been waiting for...

- from Mountain Man's "Sweet Honey Bee"

I have been feeling a sad helplessness lately in regards to the disappearance of the honey bee populations. "Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But a global ban of one group of pesticides could save bees from extinction." (From the AVAAZ petition site).

I have to think that by signing environmental petitions, such as the ones that circulate from AVAAZ, National Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, Change, etc. are making a positive impact in preserving our Mama Earth. It would be too unbearable to think that these small actions we take are not being received or listened to.

The following is a recent link to a petition site whose intention is to help prevent 'colony collapse' if you would like to join me in signing it. Mounting evidence points to pesticides -- and three “neonicotinoid” pesticides in particular: clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiomethoxam. http://www.change.org/petitions/earth-to-epa-bees-need-help-now

Although I am assuming pesticides and fungicides are being used to produce such spectacular tulip beauty, today, I was so enamored by the presence of bees bumbling amongst the tulips...

Todays dance practice was inspired by the appearance of the elusive sun, the ocean of color-filled fields and was one of connecting with 'significant others' in the form of tulips and bees...

A dance celebration of beauty in our natural world... oh, and if you look carefully you'll be able to see bees flying by in the film ;~)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbO-zya0VO4

Music: Mountain Man

Last year's dance with the tulips and link to that blog post here: 'cultivating beauty..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow6ef1UrJ00

Music: Jennifer Berezan

Grateful for the opportunity to share and collaborate and to witness... such inspirations... thank you all, thank you, Momo... love...

Visist our collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Company

don't fence me in

2011-05-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

I was feeling claustrophobic in both my car and within my being, in that 'URGHH!!!' kind of way, after being stuck in a slow moving train of cars heading north from Seattle. It took me three hours to drive a distance that usually takes an hour. I realized the irony that most of the traffic congestion was due to the fact that city folk, including myself, were trying to escape to the country to visit the spectacle of the tulips in full bloom during the weekend's "Tulip Festival" in the Skagit Valley.

Not bearing to drive any further in traffic, I pulled off the highway to find my own personal space to dance freely within. I was stunned by the beauty of this wildlife sanctuary I stumbled upon at the edge of the sea at the end of a dead-end street.

While editing later that evening, I remembered Joni Takanikos' version of Cole Porter's song from her album "Love In a Mist, Devil in a Bush.” She is a beautiful soul who I met at a retreat, and also who I shared MomoButoh workshops with in the past.

The lyrics speak so much of what I was feeling earlier that day - my soul's desire to dance freely into the expansive space of sky while at the same time feeling an earthward, grounding connection. After feeling so 'soul-repressed' from the bumper to bumper commute, I felt so grateful to receive so much energy from our Mama Earth that had a balancing effect inwardly - releasing the stress of the traffic-filled commute.

Don't Fence Me In

Give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above

Don't fence me in

Let me ride thru the wide-open country that I love

Don't fence me in

Let me ride my cayuse where the west commences,

Gaze at the moon until I lose my senses

Can't stand hobbles and I can't stand fences

Don't fence me in.

Just let me sit by myself in the evening breeze

Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees

Send me away, forever, if you please

Just don't fence me in

Don't fence me in...

This moon-time, Momobutoh Company is dancing with significant others in the forms of plants and animals... here, the connection was more with the significant other elements of earth (grounding) and sky (freedom).

Grateful for our ever evolving Momobutoh connections! Thank you Momo - greatly inspired!

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGaOrYrfkBY&feature=player_embedded

Music: Joni Takanikos

Visit our collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Dance Company

Rose and Cactus Flower S.O.

2011-05-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

i am in love with discovering my significant others.

a tire swing teaches me balance

a blade of grass and breeze preach ease

listening . . .

reveling in every precious moment

i can't help but beam.

i am surprised again and again.

"and i find i know what i already knew"

I had a lovely dance with a rose bush in my grandma's garden.

after asking to be shown my S.O., a hawk flew overhead and my core led me to the pretty pink blooms.

When I got closer, I became more connected with their sturdy trunks and spiky thorns.

What a tough and beautiful flower!

Next my attention was brought to a tipped over cactus flower, growing sideways in the grass.

I danced its sharp thorns, its prickles and horns.

I danced its buds, closed oh so tightly, waiting to BURST!

I danced the in between of blooming soft pink rose petals

and tight closed cactus buds.

Then I thanked the flowers with words and a playful spraying from the hose!

This too became a dance, the water crystals dusting the flowers, dusting me, relieving us both of the bright sun. The water cast rainbows before us both, me and my Significant Others. :)

Aesthetic Response to Dreaming of Balance

2011-05-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

During our last lovely conference call for the month of May, among many things, MomoButoh discussed our INTENTION. . . and one of our intentions is to connect to each other. I want to deepen my connection to this work and all of you, so here I am with my first attempt at a creative aesthetic response.

I wanted to keep it simple. So I witnessed Lee's video Balance. I am very inspired by Lee, and her obvious deep commitment to this work and her generous offerings on our blog here. My intention is to reach out, and give a creative response to her dance, in hopes that we will all find new and exciting ways to reach each other across the distance.

After watching the video, I immediately turned the camera on and let whatever wanted to come out, come out. I was a bit shy, it being my first try, but it felt pretty good.

I seemed to hit on something by playing with balance on the bed behind me.

So I turned the camera on again and filmed a short response to Lee's dance by dancing while her dance was playing on my computer. I couldn't see it, but I could hear the music, and the sounds of her dance. I used my imagination to recall my favorite images from the video. I did not edit the videos at all. I did the whole thing pretty quickly so as to not allow my censor to come into play.

So here is my response:

Learning to Be(e). . .A Significant Practice

2011-05-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

My experience with the MomoButoh South East tour has been a catalyst for a lot of change in my life. Actually, to be honest, the change began when I answered the call for our ritual pilgrimage to the spawning salmon on 11/11.

Upon returning from our 11/11 dance, I was ecstatic, floating on a high of newfound consciousness and love. Holding dearly onto the seed of an apple that Momo have given me, I knew this was a seed of big changes to come in my life. But, like my dear teacher Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates (aka Dr. T) says: “Consciousness is temporary”. Soon after all the lightness had exploded out of me, a very dark phase began again in my life. I was lost, and confused. I couldn’t figure out the puzzle pieces, how to continue the practices on my own. I slipped back into unhealthy habits and wallowed in my shadow side. I was frustrated- I thought this BIG change had happened in my life, and there I was, seemingly still stuck in limbo.

Momo reminded me that the change HAD indeed happened, and that sometimes it takes seeds a very long time to sprout. And so I soldiered on my journey, forcing myself to trust that change was happening and that soon my dreams would come to fruition.

I like to compare this phase of my life, (the two years post graduating college with a huge smile on my face ready to conquer the world) to some passages from Dr. Seuss’ Oh the places you’ll Go:

“You can get all hung up

in a prickle-ly perch.

And your gang will fly on.

You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch

with an unpleasant bump.

And the chances are, then,

that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,

you're not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.

A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!

Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?

How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...

or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?

Or go around back and sneak in from behind?

Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,

for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused

that you'll start in to race

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace

and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,

headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or waiting around for a Yes or a No

or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.”

I finally feel, after touring that I have finally turned the page and am entering my BANGING phase!

I am ready to be brave enough to fail, to reveal, and to meet change with grace and to truly love the flow of my life.

Normally, I want to control EVERYTHING, the outcome of my journey, my dance, the way I look, sound, act. Mostly to impress. To impress whom? Who or what am I waiting for?

And then I realized I am waiting to love MYSELF. I needed to forgive myself, and delve deeply into my own healing process. I have only begun to scratch the surface of this, but it is a practice I am committed to.

I am finding myself. Carolyn Rebecca “Hi-C” Boucher everlovin Booshay. My heart is big, my body is strong, my fire hot and feisty.

I was doing a healing practice where I will take long baths with special candles, stones, salts, and sage. While I was bathing, I began asking, and giving myself forgiveness.

I’m sorry feet, for hating you for being “too big”, for forcing you into much too small shoes, deforming you.

I’m sorry legs, for abusing you.

I’m sorry stomach for torturing you, for starving you, over stuffing you, and all around confusing you- no wonder you can be so sensitive sometimes, never knowing when the next bout of torture will come. . .

I’m sorry breasts for despising your smallness, for hiding you in huge overshaped bras that didn’t fit.

I’m sorry hands

I'm sorry loins

I’m sorry

And then - - I got to my lungs—and I began to wail.

I’m sorry.

I’m SO SO SO SORRY for filling you with smoke, for destroying you, for hurting you, for stopping short your breath, and silencing your beautiful voice.

I made a vow right then and there I would never smoke again. And I haven’t since.

This work, as much as it challenges and frustrates me, is deeply changing and healing me. I would like to express my heart felt gratitude.

On tour I was given the honor of performing with Momo in Asheville, North Carolina. I was the bee in her Flower Child piece.

She also gave me this poem:

The Invisible Bee

Look how desire has changed in you,

How light and colorless it is,

With the world growing new marvels because of your changing.

Your soul has become an invisible bee.

We don’t see it working, but there’s the full honeycomb!

Your body’s height, six feet or so,

But your soul rises though nine levels of sky.

A barrel corked with earth and a raw wooden spile keeps the oldest vineyards wine inside.

When I see you, it is not so much your physical form, but the company of two riders, your pure-fire devotion and love for the one who teaches you;

Then the sun and moon on foot behind those.

-Rumi

In my mercury retrograde heightened state, I couldn’t quite grasp the poem, or the idea of BEING/BEEING. I wanted to get it right. I didn’t want to disappoint Momo or myself. I am a performer at heart, and I love putting on a good show.

Ah, but that is not really what Butoh is all about. I’m sad to say, I didn’t much enjoy my first on stage Butoh performance. I was very stiff, worried, and clumsy. I was TRYING and SHOWING. I felt very discouraged afterward. Shaking my head at the irony of me, the Bee who couldn’t just Be.

Now I am beginning to see with all of my eyes. With the help of the daily dance practice, and specifically the S.O. practice, I am learning to be, to love me, and to integrate my LIFE/ART process, instead of separating the two. My dream is to live an artful, conscious, and productive life. To taste, to touch, to smell, to feel, to dance, to heal, courageously and with my own brand of unique beauty.

Images from some of my recent S.O. practices:

I look forward to deepened connections with all of you through our vows and practices. . .

Ongoing Exchange

2011-04-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

One of the sweetest parts of the MomoButoh Dance Company is the ongoing creative exchange, mutual inspiration and support we cultivate with one another as a team. I've been lucky to have ongoing check-ins with each member as I coach their butoh and life/art processes individually. In addition, with our group blog, "buddy system" and monthly conference call to check in with every member; we are ALL now able to develop intimate ongoing intermodal arts exchanges and keep current on the latest with one another. This kind of cyclic art dialog is surprisingly supportive and fun. Here is a delightful film by Patricia that shows innovative use of media to facilitate the process with this type of exchange. Some of Lees recent posts also focus on this "riffing" off of one another's inspiration.

Last moon Patricia told me a dream she had wherein she was watching me lovingly emerge in and out of a pool of water. We gazed into one another's eyes as I surfaced and submerged. When I was on the red rocks in Sedona, AZ recently I wanted to dance this dream image. The film below is that dance.

Patricia also sent me a fantastic little hand illustrated graphic storybook (see photo above). Today, I wanted to dance with that as my Significant Other...it is an imaginary journey with an imaginary insect. The other film below shows that aesthetic response.

This moon Patricia and I are butoh "buddies." We both want support and accountability for our daily Significant Other practice with plants and animals so we are partnering up to exchange in this way with one another. We will be reporting to one another and on the blog about how it is coming along. Yesterday was our first S.O. plant dance for the month. Coincidentally we both had just gathered "sticks:" hers, two echinacea stalks topped with dried flowers that looked like huge insect antennae; mine a sensual piece of driftwood I'd gathered some years ago on a remote Pacific Ocean beach. We entered S.O. practice and she danced with my stick and I with hers. It reminded us that the intention and usual result of this practice is awakened attention and deepened connection with others in relationship. After we danced today, we checked in and her response to her own SO practice was: "the little and the big, parallel lines twig, last year's growth, this year's promise of seeds. tightly packed and all is promise, all is future....in a seed pod."
http://youtu.be/nxCF41LtDmY

Music: Philip Glass

http://youtu.be/t3oUUkAzNzw

Music: Kitaro

Thank you for watching our films, for your comments and for following our blog. If you like this work, please like us on Facebook & follow us on Twitter for most current info!

dreaming of balance

2011-04-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

"The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened." Unknown Author

My art of Patricia's dream (above)...

Patricia and I shared our dreams once again via 'skype' - drawing each other's dreams as they were being shared...

One of the images I drew of Patricia's dream was of two columns... with a whirlwind (nourishment - a green blender drink :~) swirling in the middle... books and furniture being moved... In another, there was also a strong concrete column supporting an overhang...

Patricia's art of my dream below... a dream of concern - once I made it to the top of the slippery snow covered mountain, how would I descend?

The undercurrent of the dream (and both of our dreams), however, was one of trust and letting go, and in that process, 'all would be well.'

At my last mentoring session with Momo she spoke of 'Hitobashira' - that which creates a framework, bridge, or pillar. When one dances 'Hitobashira' you gracefully enter or touch the space around you to begin, then establish your axis between poles of opposites - such as above and below, life and death, etc... From this place, you can open gateways of exchange with other beings around you (animate and inanimate) and then explore the poles of opposites... and in the uncertainty, shaking and imbalance might ensue... with the potential of eventually finding balance...

There is a also an element of stepping off into the unknown through this practice... a surrendering into the flow and / or an acceptance of a burden...

Momo's dance performance is incredibly moving, danced post the earthquake in Japan, a dance evoking the unstable earth beneath us and feelings within us....

In a friend's garden, with her outdoor furniture strewn about (aka Patricia's dream of furniture moving), I had an opportunity to dance Patricia's dream combined with elements of mine... the 'columns' becoming unstable, the desire to climb up, while being challenged by the slippery 'slope' and the final surrender into the flow...

Feeling grateful for this practice of connection and this means in which to embody the literal challenges of finding balance in life... heart-full thank you Patricia, and Momo...

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPB1vj3q5xM

Music: Yungchen Lhamo

Filmed by Momo

a clearing

2011-04-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

"For a dancer, God is SPACE." -Yoshito Ohno

Before there can be anything, there must be a clearing. In this clearing a11 creation is possible. This is true for butoh as it is for life. We may have tried and tried to "make" something happen and then one day; one moment, it just was clear.

The gratitude I feel for finally beginning to realize this 20+ year dream of creating a butoh dance sanctuary is immense. It is barely beginning to manifest and already I feel clear what will come forth here. First, a clearing...then a calling...then a blessing & seeding....then a team building & sweating & working & playing....then a grand opening.....then an entering...then a being, creating, dancing, improvising, growing, moving, blossoming! Just like for a flower, this spring ground is being prepared for a spacial mandala of sacred geometry filled with dance & community to grow up, flower and offer its fruits here.

But, amidst the celebration let us not forget the LOSS....of life. The sacrifice of plants & animals here so that this vision might come forth. The feelings are mixed here of such joy, excitement and gratitude with remorse, compassion, tenderness and asking forgiveness from these relatives who's lives are being changed, and in some cases ended, because of our dream coming true. Beloved relatives, we care and thank you for your offerings and for allowing this clearing to be made. We will continue to converse with you as we dance here for a long time to come.

There will be a SEEDING ceremony and celebration here the first week of May. This is always a most special week for me because in my family, most all of us were born in this week and in Japan it is always the "Golden Week" holidays. Now it will also be the time when we will thank all who made this possible (including YOU) and SEEDs of blessing will be planted in the central foundation pi11ar for this space. Although this 11-sided dance & retreat space is designed to be totally portable, this first location is very significant. The seeds we place here in this 7-sided pi11ar ("Bashira" in Japanese) will become a time capsule of sorts that can be hatched again some generations in the future to reveal the qualities we held as ancestors. What will the world be like then? Will our butoh have made a difference?

I know there will be gifts in there from my forbears & the "roots" of butoh: Kazuo Ohno, Yoshito and the land of Japan itself. I know there will be objects and blessings from my fellow dancers, closest family and friends as well as many students and members of our company. If YOU feel called to include an object of blessing, a SEED; please let me know and I will tell you the address to mail it...or better yet, to come plant it yourself in person!

ALSO: Contact Momo asap if you are interested in joining our Somatic Building Site Butoh workshop for one or more of 9 weekends between Memorial Day & October 9th....Please consider joining us at the MomoButoh Somatic Building Site (ala work of Nala Walla & bCollective). Build sweat equity and learn mad ski11s with a superFUN team and master craftsman. Interns get FREE butoh & building instruction, all organic vegetarian meals, accommodations and bodywork on beautiful Whidbey Island. Spaces filling fast--only 4 left for Memorial Day weekend.

wilderdance photo above by tim lacey

So, this dance comes between the April DREAM Project and the May PLANTS & ANIMALS project--addressing them both.

http://youtu.be/VMByXCNxiE0

music: Ursula Keiser, Jodlerklub Eglisau

Thank you for watching our films, for your comments and for following our blog. If you like this work, please like us onFacebook & follow us on Twitter for most current info!

sakura - blossoming dreams

2011-04-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

on the old plum tree

blossom by blossom

the spring thaw is born

Ransetsu

Patricia and I continued to share and dance our dreams via 'Skype'... I shared a dream I had of a woman who was dressed in a black raincoat who was stumbling underneath a street light... she then transformed into a pink blossom and was joined by other blossom-women in a dance...

Patricia shared her dream...

Patricia drew my dream... I drew her dream... with her dream woven in... with her previous dream also woven in... our dreams... dreams within dreams...

My art above...

Patricia's art below...

While walking in the arboretum on this unseasonably cold April day, I was moved to dance my dream / interpretation of my dream / Patricia's art of my dream, my art of my dream, and my art of her dream...

The petals are falling! The petals are falling!... Today, mixed with thunder, lightening, rainbows and hail-pebbles, spring's sweet snowfall...

Love this dance practice of connection... to one another and to the natural world... grateful for the beauty of mama earth that abounds...

Thank you for viewing... I hope this dance practice may inspire you to dance with the blossoms near you, before they fall like snow to the earth...

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ga_bkEMH0

Music: Phillip Glass

Filmed by Brooke

Significant Other Practice

2011-04-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

"Significant Others" Workshop in Boulder

"Significant Other" (S.O.) is one of the MomoButoh training practices. It is a way of revealing the soul through the flesh and spontaneously devising meaningful improvisational dance & choreography. It intentionally enhances relationships with a11 beings through active artful engagement and conscious exchange of energy. These Others could be living human beings; any beings in the natural world; or (seemingly) "inanimate" objects who each have an essence that moves you in some way to an aesthetic response.

S.O.s can be in physical or imaginal form....such as drawings, dream images or characters.

You can go out looking for an S.O. to dance with OR....when you happen to MEET an Other that feels Significant or meaningful for you in some way.....

The 7-step practice works like this:

1. Sensually pay attention to the Other in a way that feels honorable & comfortable. This could be as simple as witnessing with eyes or more deeply engaged like touching or sharing breath.

2. Receive something tangible from the Other through your senses and imagination.

3. Offer something tangible to the Other with your body and voice.

4. Allow a free conversation and/or dance of exchange to emerge between you spontaneously.

5. Thank the other for sharing this experience with you.

6. Continue on; carrying some "jewels" & "seeds" in the form of gifts and/or challenges from the exchange.

7. Freely draw, dance, write, speak, sing, sculpt, make a film, etc... about these "jewels" & "seeds" to re-cycle & re-member. Continue to embody & share this experience as an offering to your greater community.

Please try this and let us know how it goes with a comment below!!

This coming May moon our MomoButoh Company theme will be Plants & Animals. I am encouraging all of us to regularly, even daily, dance with at least one Significant Other plant &/or animal. Then to develop a special intimacy over time with ONE plant and ONE animal that holds particular meaning for you.

This dance in film below happened when arriving to prepare for the "Significant Other" 3-day workshop I co-led with Melinda Harrison in Boulder this past February. I was very "wound up" and ungrounded after a long car/plane/bus trip from Seattle that day. This dance allowed me opportunity to intimately engage with the Significant Others (sky, stones, mountains, plants) of this new environment, ground myself here and unwind some of the tension from the journey.

Hope you enjoy! Feel free to contact me if you want to explore these practices further AND leave any comments about your impressions below. Thank you.

http://youtu.be/CTqXFKPLmck

music by Serena Tideman.... support her "Serene Dream" Kickstarter Album Project HERE!

axe murder

2011-04-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

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/

Lee's Raincoat

2011-04-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

I danced Lee's dream of a flowering from under under a raincoat.
Struggle climbing.
Struggle resistance.
Wind and surrender.
From our continued sharing we learned that twin messages appeared in both our dreams: "All will be well." "All will be well."

Music by Azam Ali.

The effect of dancing Lee's dream is like gazing into a mirror with a mirror.
The possibilities of reflection, with the help of the other, are infinite.

With gratitude to all.

Open Letter to MomoButoh Company with SE USA Tour News/Photos/Video

2011-04-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: This POST began as a personal email letter to our MomoButoh Company Members only but then I thought--why not share it on our BLOG to reveal more of our inner workings to everyone who cares to witness--or maybe join us.)

Dear MomoButoh Dream Clan,

We have a date eh?

There is SO much to share!

A dream date….a date and time to share our dances, dreams, feelings, ideas, actions, intentions…..

Please come if you can to SKYPE together for our once moony conference conversation call at 10 AM PST, 11AM MST, 12 noon EST on Saturday April 23….all together now & then!

The subject will again be our dreams and visions as they relate to our butoh dance paths.

This has been a trippy time to say the least, especially with mercury retrograde….Have you been noticing an unusually high number of quirky mis-communications and techno or directional glitches? Carolyn and I certainly have as we made our way along through the maze of the southeast USA highway/byway and university academia systems. Thank goodness that April 23 is supposedly the last day of that adventure.

I feel a new wave of members about to join us….perhaps. We met and made very strong connections with a great deal of enthusiastic dancers in Florida & N. Carolina.

I think that Patricia is the only one who (sadly :-( ) can not make it for the call this time round. I will be calling folks so if you will NOT be available or will need to join us late, please let me know asap. THANKS!

Otherwise, lets arrange for our various one to one session times by Skype or in person soon. Please let me know what day/time would suit you. Now that I am back from the tour, my time is a bit more open and flexible. I will (with Lee as well) be in "moon time" from April 16-19 so that is not avail.

This moon….

Im holding prayers especially for Meha/David and their Daughter's family as she prepares to birth any day now….for Carolyn as she continues on to her not yet known living/working/life arrangement…..for John and I as we break ground and start building the FLOOR of the new MomoButoh Dance & Retreat Center…..for our non-human relations as they grapple with human created toxic stresses…..for all of us as we do our best to mitigate the effects of radiation and other poisons as well as set our sights on UNITY and BALANCE and LOVE among all beings on this planet and beyond.

TODAY (as i write) 4/12/11 is called a VICTORY DAY in the Vedic Calendar. Today is also Carolyn's Birthday….It was an honor and pleasure to share this time with her culminating in her solar return radiance today. Please remember her in your wishes. AND since it is a VICTORY DAY it is an especially good day to START NEW PROJECTS OR SET GOALS/WISHES FOR THIS YEAR. Carolyn and I stated new intentions over a birthday lunch. All you need to do is write or say the thing you want to begin today and it will be blessed and given extra added juice for fruition! neat!!

I spoke the following (among a couple other things) and thank you for bearing witness:

I Maureen Momo C Pemesal Freehill declare that:

1. The MomoButoh Dance & Retreat Center building project will be beautiful & OPEN for practice by 11/11/11.

2. At which time MomoButoh & all us "11s" will CELEBRATE the great success of co-creating in love, unity and balance a Year of Co11aboration & dancing with ALL our relations….in the space AND at Mile 11 AND at 2K seat Theater in Seattle.

Now that this great wave of touring is subsiding, i have strong wish & intention to POST the past months dances, images, stories, lessons on our BLOG. I apologize that it has taken so long and thank those of you who have continued to post when you can ….YOU make it possible to keep the flow and mutual support of our company alive! Great bow of BIG gratitude! If feels right to be moving out of being main focal point of sharing work and revealing the fu11 CIRCLE of a11 our mutual creativity, support and leadership. I want this to be the way more teams and companies function everywhere. Each of us has a vital part of the WHOLE intelligence to contribute.

Also I will be sending out a general invitation to all who have expressed interest in residential butoh training/internships and/or the building project. We will be accepting 6 "interns" over a total of NNE work party weekends over a 6 month period from late MAY- mid OCTOBER. People who want to join will reply to these questions:

What dates do you want to join us?

Open Work/Dance Party Weekends are as follows:

May 28-29.... June 4-5 & 25-26....July 9-10....August 27-28.....Sept 3-4 & 24-25.....Oct 1-2 & 8-9

Why do you want to join us for this project?

What dance movement and/or building/construction experience do you have? (none needed)

Do you have any special needs or limitations for accommodation, food, physical activity that will help us to support your participation in this project?

I invite all of our members to answer these questions too…..soon please if you want to be included as one of "the 6."

our 11/11/11 time will include an OPENING BLESSING and FIRST DANCE ceremony in the space. (It might be the day before/after depending on the actual 11/11/11 time schedule availability)

OK, I think that is enough said for now. Thank you for reading, keeping in touch and dancing freely. MOre soON….Love to you a11, mOMo….

PHOTOS & Video FROM MOMOBUTOH SOUTHEAST USA TOUR 2011

with HUGE gratitude to A11 who we encountered along the way.....Domo Arigato Gozaimasu...O Tsukare Sama Deshita!

by momo & carolyn:

Our Charriot: "Coro11a Masa" with Siesta Key Parking Fairy.

Delicious Movement..."Touch/One-Der/Water" on Siesta Key beach.

"DailyDance: A Life of Butoh" workshop at Asheville, NC BeBe Theater April Fool's Butoh Festival 2011. Below MomoButoh's "Spring Tryptic" at Festival Closing.
Momo performs "Still Mo-ment Rising" at April Fool's Butoh Festival closing night.

Momo performs "Hitobashira" at April Fool's Butoh Festival closing. Video below.
Carolyn Boucher, Sheri Brown, Bob Lyness & Momo perform "Flower Child."

"Touch/One-der/Water" MomoButoh Workshop in Greenville, NC at Jnana's Home Movement Studio.
"Hitobashira" Choreography Workshop with MomoButoh in the "ARK" with Duke U. dance dept. students and Keval K. Khalsa.
Close encounter with dear GBH at Duke's botanical gardens pond.

"Hitobashira" sound score by Pamela Z . Camera: Carolyn Boucher.

Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kJXcuVLmUk

ruminating on our dreams

2011-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

my spring is just this:

a single bamboo shoot

a willow branch

- Issa

Patricia and I felt moved to draw and dance our dreams from last week again this week... dancing our dreams of sending prayers to Japan.

I loved Patricia's drawings of my dance - a series of paint strokes that to me looked like Japanese calligraphy. She shared that the patterns she drew were representing the film of my last dance - 'dreaming, dancing, dancing, dreaming' - the horizon line of the sea and the sky, the footprints in the sand, the movement...

While on a road trip I had to stop for gas and was moved to dance this dance in the Skagit Valley. Although on a 'mission' to get to my destination, I was taken by the mood and the slow-pace of the the cattle beside a red barn. Recalling vaguely the images Patricia and I created, my movement seemed to come from a place of 'body memory...'

Inspired to slow down, ruminate, and dance this dance, inspired by Patricia's dance from last week, her art of my previous dance from last week, her dance of our dreams... and my art of her dance 'dreaming with lee' (below)... germinating seeds of our dreams /prayers to Japan...

Patricia's dance...

Art, dancing, dreaming, ruminating, creating... boundless...

Editing inspired by Rev's dance with Momo, 'parts of a whole', Patricia's 'dreaming with lee part 2' and Carolyn's 'before abrupt awakening' - a series of dreamy images stitched together... phew!

May all beings in Japan feel the the love and prayers of all of us, near and far, surround them.

Lokaha Samastaha Sukhino Bhavantu ~ May all beings everywhere be happy and free from suffering...

Feeling grateful for this practice that allows me to collaborate with others... to dance our dreams and prayers.

Film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGDfULMJKU

Music: Antony and the Johnsons

Visit our dance collaboration here: MomoButoh Company

dreaming, dancing, dancing, dreaming

2011-04-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been feeling my posts have too many words... Inspired by Carolyn and Patricia's recent poetic posts - "before abrupt awakening" and "sharing our dreams, dancing our dreams"...

I was not looking for particular images in nature or trying to remember specifics of our dreams or art... I was spontaneously dancing with the objects that I found... the reflections, here...

... my art...

Dream... share with Patricia... walk... seeing my dream reflected back from nature... seeing my collage images reflected back from nature...

... golden shimmering flowers... branch reaching out across the sea to Japan... the sea... oyster shell 'pearls' in the sand... the lights from our hearts...

...dance branch...

... nature reflecting Patricia's dream... nature reflecting Patricia's drawing (below)... earth, dirt, water, wind... waves... wavy waves rippling out from the center...

... Patricia's art...

... branching, reflecting wavy waves of energy... dance waves... dance wavy concentric circles... spiraling into the center... the center of us all... spiraling out...

don't think... don't think...

only soul... ("No thinking....Only soul." Kazuo Ohno, Momo's butoh sensei)

... dance reflecting my dream... dance reflecting Patricia's dream, reflecting... our art...

...radiating out from the center... the hearts of us all... rippling out in all four directions... art / life / dance... no separation... connecting...

... sky...

... Patricia's art...

Love and heart prayers to all beings in Japan...

Grateful for this venue of collaboration and inspiration - thank you Momo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygcjRLH1PAk

Music: Moby "Walk with Me."

Photos by Brooke

ascent

2011-04-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

In continuation of working with the theme of dreams, today I went for a hike up Alger Mountain not far from my home, where I danced to the image of a dream of attaining heights (based on the sketch shown on my last post).

At this same time I was thinking about this dream, I could not help but think of people suffering throughout the world from disasters both natural and man-made, especially in Japan and North Africa. It was my most heartfelt wish during this dance that I can send healing energy to those who need it.

And then moments after the dance, spied a red-tailed hawk circling above. I feel connection with all living creatures, but lately this one has been making itself more visible to me. My hope is that he was there in answer to my prayers and on his way to help those whose lives are in turmoil right now.

parts of the whole

2011-03-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

The subconscious mind, that part of our psyche that is the foremost director of most of our dreams, is but part of the whole being that is what we identify as being our self. Often it sends us images of our anxieties and fears. I was encouraged by Momo to draw a picture that would signify a dream that was the opposite of that. I had no idea what I would draw as I laid pen to paper. The more I look at this sketch the more meaning I see was coming from that dreaming mind under the surface. And how it could see not only the present but I believe provide a glimpse into the future.

sharing our dreams, dancing our dreams

2011-03-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

We dream
We draw
We paint
We dance
We make movies
We draw and paint
We dance
We make more movies

Lee and I dove into this moon’s MomoButoh theme by working in collaboraton and dancing each other’s dreams. Meeting via Skype and posting on Youtube, we dove in deep! Like any good dream, the process soon became fascinating to experience, but difficult to explain. Images of dancing and dreaming and drawing and painting started to blur ad leak into each other. (When Lee and I speak we often confuse the words dream and dance and draw.)

Let me see if I can tease all this apart and make sense of it.

Lee had a dream. I had a dream. We met via Skype and I drew a picture about her dream. She created a collage. Inspired by her dream images, I danced her dream. She danced my dream. We both posted our dances on YouTube.
This is my video of her dream.

Then we watched each other’s dream dances and let the dances inspire more dreams.

Last week we met again on Skype and drew pictures about what we saw in each other's dances. Next step: we dance about what we saw in each others dances.

Here is a dreamish montage of more dancing inspired by Lee’s dance that was inspired by our dreams.

For a minute I was pulling my hair out trying to make sense of all this dreaming and dancing and art making. I felt like Lee and I were holding mirrors up to each other and creating an infinity loop. Where would it end? How would I write this post?

Then I was saved by Carolyn’s seriously lovely dance and whimsical post. Carolyn reminded me that dreams have their own logic, their own wisdom.

I hope to bring more wisdom and whimsy and collaboration into future projects. I’m so grateful to Lee for sharing with me and deepening the process.

Thank you to all! And, for clarity, see how Lee explains it in her next post.

You can see a composite of other collaborations with MomoButoh Company during January's Style dances here.

dancing imaginal realms

2011-03-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

"Light up the fire of love inside,

And blaze the thoughts away."

Rumi

The result of connecting with Patricia via 'Skype'...my collage above... inspired by my meditation of the torn 'Web of Light' over Japan... filaments of light, Grandmother ancestors, nuclear power plants, pearls, oceans, and ravens...

"Light is Love revealed." Sri Chimnoy

In response to the tragedies of Japan, I have been moved to send prayers during my daily meditation practice. An image that came very strongly during one of my meditations was the image of the web of light that I have heard spoken of by the 'Grandmothers.' I visualize the weblike a 'fishnet' of luminescent light 'threads' or 'filaments' that covers the earth, and holds it from above... it connects the body of the planet as well as the body of everything that lives here on earth.

I saw the net of light covering the earth, but, over Japan the net was torn and the Grandmothers were trying to mend it - but, were very tired. As I was sitting with the 'pearl' of prayer for Japan in my heart, a raven came and took the pearl of love / compassion / prayer and flew it to Japan. One of the Grandmothers took the 'pearl' and with it brought two strands of the torn net together. The pearl of my heart / prayer was the 'glue' that helped to mend the net. The raven flew back to North America and started collecting other pearls from everyone's hearts that were also sending their prayers to Japan.

Soon, thousands of ravens were flying from all parts of the world with prayer /pearls in their beaks... all assisting the mending of the net of light over Japan. The Grandmothers were very relieved to be receiving so much light to assist them... The strands of the net being held together by the hearts of our prayers...

Momobutoh Company's practice this moon-time has been dancing our dreams and our imaginal realms with the option of including other modalities into our practice... Fellow-company-dancer, Patricia and I are dance buddies this month, and we planned to "Skype" meet to share our recent dreams and inspire one-another in our dance practices. She lives 1000's of miles away, and yet, via the inter-NET, we are able to connect as if we were in the same room.

We shared our dreams, shared creative drawing time (collaging and drawing) and then agreed to dance on our own time after that - and then share our dances with one another via film - inspired by the time we shared together via Skype.

This is Patricia's drawing inspired by her dream, with some of my dream also integrated within it. I took this photo while we were Skyping.

We were surprised at some of the recurring images that appeared in our dreams and loved how there are so many possibilities to this process - the potential of dancing the integration of our dreams; dancing each other's dreams; dancing with one another's dance films; with one another's images that were created etc....

Later that day, while walking in the park, I was called to spontaneously dance my imaginal realm when we came across a 'strand' of rolled hay intersecting a narrow 'path' that reminded me so much of the intersecting light filaments of the net of light... I was also struck by the fluorescent orange painted post, marking the 'tear' in the net / path...

The above is from the artisit, Arnotho: "we are all with you, thinking of you and pray for you."

Patricia sent me the above image that was posted on Twitter as it reminded her of my imaginal image of the ravens carrying pearls of light from afar to Japan - it was a submission from a call to artists from Takashi Murakami via GEISAI実行委員会 : "That is the idea that perhaps the power of art may be able to provide some ray of hope for our society in these dark and trying circumstances. With the theme of providing encouragement to the victims and those who have despaired in the quake's aftermath, will you join me in uploading artwork to Twitter's affiliated image posting sites?"

Grateful for this practice of deeply connecting to soul, spirit, dreams, the imaginal realms and each other, as taught by my inspiring mentor, Momo. Thank you, Momo, for connecting us soul-fully using computer technology in this way...

May all beings in Japan feel all-love and light surround them as we continue to hold them in our dances, thoughts, prayers, and meditations...

Lokaha Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu ~ May all beings everywhere be happy and free from suffering...

Love and light,

Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8ikAwWiKuo&feature=player_embedded

Music: Apocalyptica

Filmed by Brooke

Visit our collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Dance Company

before abrupt awakening. . .

2011-03-26T23:18:00.000-07:00