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...
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...
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...
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.
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."
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.
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 ;~)
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. :)
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.
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!
"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.
The past is like a dream...amazing how with photos & video records we can travel back to re-experience past as NOW. I have held these image relics, memories of past loves from our MomoButoh theme for Feb 2011. For months they awaited their time to be consumed as food for the eyes, heart and mind. Perhaps they have been fermenting or ripening like the apple cider vinegar & sauerkraut I have been making a lot of recently. It is a way of culture. Perhaps this time allows a more cultured perspective on these love dances, allowing their more complete digestion and assimilation. Or maybe it is just a way of nostalgia to look back with adoration. Please watch and see if it feels like NOW or THEN... or as if in a dream to you.
One thing for sure...the baby who was in Nala Walla's womb THEN has NOW emerged through a powerful rite of breach home birth passage and is a beautiful little boy named Montana! That is certainly a blessed dream come true. Soon I will be sharing a bunch more about Nala and her consultations in EcoSomatics, Somatic Job Site & Team building that we will be integrating when collaboratively crafting the new 11-sided MomoButoh Dance & Retreat Center...yet another dream-come-true in the making.
If you are interested in participating in this summer residential life/work/dance internship on the land, please contact me soon to apply. We are now accepting applications and expect the 6 positions to fill quickly.
For now, let's peer into the dreamy past and witness "Blessing Way Love for Nala Walla" film here:
Earlier that day, I was dancing in a rapture with the WIND on the ferry toward Port Townsend. This is the video memory of ThaT dance SO Long aGO: http://youtu.be/BJz2HuxuEnw
"So Long Wind" to music by Davendra...
For the love of it, I have now moved to a new home on the land where we will be doing butoh & building training. This video was from one of the last days spent in my beloved apartment where I enjoyed hanging from the rafters. It is a dance of remembering self-love by dancing & asking the questions: "How can I love myself more? How can I be even MORE loving?" E11even is everlovin' number ONE!
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.
Main Security Gard Cynthia on duty and in her tent "Cyn's Den"
Craig & Sandy Mitchell's happy "Personal" tent.
Seattle poet AK Mimi Allin became a "self-designated" artist in residence at Tent City last November. See her excellent blog about it here: http://tiny.cc/xeyl6). From what I gathered, she committed to live and work for 2-3 months at Tent City's current location in Lake City area. I was very interested to connect with her, find out more about the experience the lifeSTYLE at this unique place. I invited photographer Rex Hohlbein to join me because he has an ongoing project of photographing Seattle's homeless people already under way.
We arrived and introduced ourselves as looking for Mimi. She was not there but we were invited to leave her a note. Everyone was initially kind and smiling but I also felt underlying tension, worry and concern. This more clearly unfolded as we remained to get acquainted for the next few hours. We were told that if Mimi did not return by X-hour today, she could loose her tent space. And, that her space was a special exception because all women were supposed to stay in the group tent for X-days before getting the privilege of a personal tent. There seemed to be some disagreement about whether her case as "artist-in-residence" was "fair." We asked permission to take some photos (only with permission for each one), look around (only with security escort guiding us), and dance (only in designated specific area).
This is a dwelling place for homeless people who "qualify." I say that because they run quite a tight ship here so it is not for the feint of energy or commitment. Tent dwellers must "check in" at least once every 3 days
lest they loose their space/home again. There are strict rules of conduct such as: No letting the honey bucket doors slam No profanity No loitering
No littering
No smoking in the neighborhood
No smoking in your tent
No open flames
No parking within two blocks of camp No pick-ups or drop-offs at camp No spitting No alcohol No drugs No walking in the planters No eating in the kitchen tent No going anywhere near the host church No contact with the shelter in the church basement No going into the
donations tent after hours No going into the pantry No extra blankets No hoarding clothing No trespassing No men in women's tents
No women in men's tents No anyone in anyone's tent (except your own)
No threats
No violence
No degrading ethnic or homophobic remarks No missing a meeting You must disinfect your hands before entering the kitchen tent You must post a name on your tent Smoking in designated areas only
(From AK mimi allin's blog http://tiny.cc/xeyl6) All of these can also lead to loss of one's space if there are
enough "infractions." I imagine how tough it is already and then the added rules must make it really tough just to survive here....or anywhere. Everyone we spoke with was kind and forthright in answering our questions and had a pretty serious health problem that seemed to be the main "reason" they were here. I highly recommend you read AK mimi allin's excellent blog article about her life/artist residency here. It is very informative. I feel we all should know about how this lifestyle "works" and how close it is to home.
Since this was part of the MomoButoh explorations in The STYLES, Rex and I were here to immerse and respond aesthetically through camera lens & dancing body. They only allowed me to dance in a limited space in front of the Port-O-Pottys where every move could be scrutinized as acceptable or not by the security guard on duty. This was the most careful and attentive audience I can every remember having. My dance felt like riding an ambiguous edge with fear of doing something wrong at any moment, rebellious teasing on the edge of acceptability, edgy anger at the limitations on freedom, heartfelt pain and compassion at seeing the hard conditions and suffering of my fellow humans. Along with that was a profound respect and awe with those who chose to make this work for them; the sense of humor they shared and the pride they had with their jobs and their tents. We were welcomed to view inside two of them--which may have broken the rules--in a way that was more generous than I have felt in any other home place I come to visit unannounced. Along with this, I felt a surrendered acceptance to lighten the load of it all and such gratitude for the privilege of being free to go back to a warm safe home after this visit.
