Dreams of Seasons Passed

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!

Significant Other Practice

"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!

momma bear love

"Anyway, what's the purpose of our being here? Ultimately, aren't we here to link hearts?"

Kazuo Ohno - Maureen Freehill's sensei

One of the many things I learned from dancing daily for YearOfButoh in 2009, was that the dance practices that were most meaningful for me were the ones in which I was able to express something that I felt strongly about. On the days I was not inspired to dance, I danced anyway - not caring so much about what my dances looked like as I was committed to my daily practice, regardless. The intention was to dance as freely and spontaneously as I could wherever I found myself in life.

Although the experience of this most recent dance practice held much emotional depth for me, the film itself didn't feel like it reflected my inner feelings... part of this had to do with the awareness that, at any moment, one of the nurses might enter into my Mom's room in the nursing home unexpectedly :~) Not to mention how on the film I am cutoff at the neck for most of it, too... oh well... i am trying, and greatly challenged, to let go of my need to create things that have a certain aesthetic...

When I first arrived to my Mom's room, I couldn't help but notice the pink paper heart that was taped to her closet above her head as we were chatting. It was probably put there by her grand-daughter months ago. In keeping with our theme for this month, 'Love and Family,' it felt appropriate to dance with the feelings I was experiencing in her room.

I was initially drawn to the teddy bear collection on her dresser. She wasn't sure where they came from, although I knew that friends and family had given them to her as gifts over the years that she has resided there.

I was remembering how bear cubs are born within the darkness of a den in the depths of winter where they are nursed and nourished by their Mommas and then when spring comes, they exit. I was also remembering how Momma bears are one of the most ferocious mammals when it comes to protecting their cubs...

Feeling much love, as well as melancholy, for my Mom on this visit (I never know if it will be the last time that I will see her), I was inspired to take my inner feeling tone of connection to her as well as what Momma bears symbolize, and dance spontaneously...

My Mom asked at one point where the turquoise hat on the end of her bed came from. I didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't a hat at all, but, a folded blanket... and so I danced it as 'hat.'

Today, dancing with the bears, my Mom's purple straw hat (that was her favorite sun hat that she hasn't worn in years as she rarely leaves her nursing home due to her disabilities), the blanket, and the love I feel for her.

Grateful to be sharing my dance practices with you here as I gain so much inspiration from you all... Lee

Music: Aiko Shimada

Tough LOVE in the Gravel

Creative co11aboration is one of my favorite and most beloved activities. My entire being feels stimulated, nourished and enlivened when a juicy artful exchange is happening! It is a form of lovemaking that I will allow time for whenever I can, especially with other artists who I admire. Photographer Rex Hohlbein is one of those special co-creators that I feel very lucky to have met and grateful to work with for the past year. Even with a super full work schedule, he will drop it for a creative "date" when I have time to come over to Seattle. Sometimes we have a plan of where to go, others not.

This time, since our MomoButoh "theme" for February is Love & Family; I said I was "looking for LOVE" and places that would inspire it in the dance and imagery. He said he had a place that really excited him in mind. Since he was pressed for time and it was only a block from the office, we should check it out. Turns out this "special place" is an industrial site for storing and distributing gravel, asphalt and other products of what I tend to call "earth rape." When we arrived a HUGE truck was sounding an alarm as it dumped the stuff into a holding area; creating a great dust cloud as another machine pounded bits of stone into submission. I stood in a daze, pained at the sensual assault of it all. Hmmm? I just was not feeling much very "in the mood."

Suddenly he realized he had forgotten his photo memory card and had to run back for it. As he was gone I has some time to contemplate and let the dust settle. The rare February sun was beaming down and my initial resistance melted a bit at that. Then I was reminded of my teacher Yoshito Ohno's lessons about soft and hard....the intercourse between those two can be a beautiful dance where life itself is created. I was thinking of the essences of butoh practice that were so essential. I remembered a dance of the flower growing through the crack in the cement. Phrases I had heard so often in the "butoh world" like: "places in between," "the revolt of the flesh," and "a body at the edge of crisis" flowed through my head....I was beginning to feel my love for the EDGE rekindle and smolder a bit. I wanted to challenge myself by exploring how to hold my heart open and keep love alive even in the most seemingly brutal of situations. I wanted to explore BOTH the dark & light sides of love.

Rex came rushing back and I had removed a bunch of clothing and put on a shirt to shroud my head. I realized I needed a Significant Other, a softer little sign of life to hold as a companion in this dance. I really wanted a flower but the closest thing we could find was a sprig of foliage from the landscaping and we began to dance. I lost myself in the experience of dancing at the foot of the gravel mountain until Rex asked if we could head over to the black shadowy cement pit of asphalt. There among the sticky black goo (I could not do it without shoes) noxious fumes and cold shadows; I danced with as much loving as I could muster; often loosing motivation as he cheered me on with "this is SO beautiful"-but I could not see it.

After we were done I was anxious to see the pics because I was so curious what they would reveal. Rex said he was very busy so it could be a while before he could get to it. Later that night I was perusing Facebook and there they were! I was stunned. It is funny how, even though I do SO MUCH public sharing of my image, and I know perfectly well how fast digital information can move from here to there; I still can feel shy and protective about revealing it. Perhaps I had opened up something vulnerable and intimate in that gravel. When this was revealed before I felt "control," my ego had a knee jerk reaction and I wrote a somewhat upset note to Rex about being sure to show me first. Then he was a bit shocked by my concern but also understanding and kindly deleted the pics and sent copies to me to share in my own timing. Now I see how silly this is in a way....and how essential too. A true love lesson, as are so many lessons in life....and these would not be possible without my collaborative "family" of fellow artists. I feel so grateful for you!

Thank you. Please Forgive Me. I'm Sorry. I Love You.

I love these photos really. I love the shadows, the contrasts, the range of emotions evoked. I love Rex. I love collaborating. I love the sun. I love the earth. I love all living beings. I love my job.

I want to know what YOU see in these images.

High Tea & De-Light with Victoria Fairbanks

I have often shied away from "STYLES" thinking that they are something inauthentic or "put on" to "fit in" with a status quo or prove something to others. This moon, I chose to experiment with The Styles by immersing myself in the lifestyles of people who have very unique homes, clothing, belongings, activities that are distinct from my own. I wanted to discover what inspires them to make the choices they do and how being with these people in their spaces could effect my being and dance experience.

The first time I came to Victoria's beautiful land it was dark, I followed a long row of candles out to a bonfire and open field; I was immediately enchanted. This was a memorial meditation for a dear friend and although we were all filled with sadness, I also felt something sparkling, magical and dreamlike. I knew immediately I wanted to return in the daylight and get to know this very special woman who is a member of a very special (human & non-human) family.

This came to pass when I called to ask if I could "dwell" with her in her lifestyle for a couple of hours to see what sort of dance might arise. She was so welcoming and generous with her space and time. These photos and video capture just a taste of the delightful essence of this gracious and spirited being. If you ever get the chance, you must enter her garden and home yourself to FEEL the light she invites and cultivates there. I asked her about the "sparkly" mystical feeling that surprised me immediately when I opened the gate and stepped inside. The reply came instantly something like: "Oh, of course! There are many nature spirits here that I communicate with all the time. They are some of my closest friends!"

This visit and the other three LifeStyle dwelling dance dates (a Soul Motion Ecstatic Dance Event, at Seattle's Tent City and with designer Lynn Mizono) I experienced this week convince me that STYLE can definitely be an emanation and revelation of one's true nature, heart and soul...or simply a reflection of one's conditioning and circumstances. What does style mean to you?

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx4rTIISRWs

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_jEHI31_bA

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kiddie style

I had a bad cold and felt horrible and was feeling sick and tired of being sick and tired :~) To get out of my 'funk', I headed to the park for a walk and was inspired to dance 'kiddie style' at the abandoned playground where Momo has had me dance in the past.

I remember in mentorship sessions with Momo she would encourage me to pay attention to children and how they move freely without abandon, and on this quest to dance freely, children are such wonderful role models!

In the last two years I have danced and played as a child as inspired by Momo's teachings... my favorite experience was dancing in the footsteps of an adorable little girl and her dog while dancing on the beach... imitating her movements and dance / play - see my blog description here: 'dat dere at the beach' (Ricky Lee Jones' song).

I included the film here as the little girl squealing with fun at the end is priceless and always makes me smile :~)

It is hard to break out of the movement habits that have embedded themselves deeply. On that quest, I was challenged to play on the inside with the idea of not thinking too much - just being open to move and be drawn to whatever was 'calling' me to play with it on the outside...

This spontaneous dance play is great medicine for feeling better - thank you, Momo! It is so fascinating to me how bringing 'joy' into the body (kiddie style) can effect so positively the mood and the mind.

Feeling grateful for this practice that allows you to experience all aspects of yourself... the ancient one, the child, the baby... and all the other beings we share this precious earth with...

Feeling grateful to be able to view all the posts here - sharing our practices - am feeling nourished and inspired by you all...

Music: Philip Glass

Doggie Style

I had always shied away from dogs...well, at least ever since I was attacked by a little black scottie when I was 4 years old. About 5 years ago I lived with a lady who had the sweetest HUGE doberman pincher that looked deadly but could only offer the most loyal HUGE love. My heart and mind melted and slowly opened to the possibility that all dogs might not be scary. It is that way with many things that we have experienced past trauma with; it usually takes a good deal of time and loving care to move beyond the habitual response of self-protection. I was grateful for this.

Since then, I have enjoyed the company of many dogs, including my mom's clever & playful Basenji/Pit Bull mix named Charlie, but never wanted to take on the responsibility to live with one. My mother asked me to take care of Charlie when she went away many times. I agree it makes sense to have a close family member care for our beloveds when possible, but I was so resistant because I knew what a lifeSTYLE change it would entail. I would be responsible for another's LIFE and I would have to alter my self-centered free form lifeSTYLE. Not being a mother or pet owner, I have always been free to move freely and literally sleep around at a momo-moments notice. Taking care of Charlie meant agreeing to walk & feed him twice daily and sleep in the same house with him for 3 weeks! I would actually take on the house, garden, bedroom, animal and day to day habits of my Mom. Woah!

The fact that I am doing all I can now to raise funds for building the new MomoButoh Dance Studio this summer and that it was a gift for my mom's birthday convinced me to go for it. Thus, for the past 3 weeks I totally changed my daily style and now can truly say it was wonderful. A true highlight was my friend John's birthday spent dancing with Charlie on the beach. Watch the film below and I hope you will smile as much as we did at Charlie's antics. He taught me a whole new Doggie Style dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh8rGRAA77w

In my mom's house there is a Joke-a-Day calendar and the first day there the joke read something like this:

Q: "How can you tell that a dog is man's best friend?"

A: "Lock both your wife and your dog in your car trunk and come back a few hours later and see who is really glad to see you."

Yesterday was our last walk together and honestly, I miss Charlie already as he became such a loyal and loving companion. I can't believe I feel this way but I look forward to another opportunity to dog-sit again soon. I learned some very important lessons about commitment, exercise, playfulness, unconditional love and forgiveness from Charlie that will stay with me for a lifetime. Thanks Charlie, we love you!

And thanks Lee (and Mary Oliver) who always have just the right poem for the occasion. We love you too!

music: the rachels

I Ask Percy (Charlie) How I Should Live My Life

Love, love, love, says Percy (Charlie).
And hurry as fast as you can
along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep.
Give up your body heat, your beating heart.
Then, trust.

~ Mary Oliver ~