claiming space in the woods

Finding space to dance often challenges me. On this very last day of the year I vow to find SPACE, to embody space,

to share space, to claim that space to dance, to move, and to create no matter where I find myself. Even when I find myself in a suburban back yard with neighbors and housemates looking on.
Today while I dance I find the WOODs watching me, protecting me, moving with me, challenging me, and creating this SPACE and holding space for me to dance.


When Momo sent out the call to dance the elements, I immediately thought of how the elements dance within me. I don't think of "dancing the elements" as a metaphor. I'm not dancing like the wind, flowing like the water, moving like air. I am-- in a literal, measurable, concrete sense-- made up of water (mostly) and air (essentially) and minerals (more than just trace) and even fire ( food burns as I metabolize).

The presence of wood is a little harder to recognize in a concrete sense. But as I was dance here in the space created by the trees I can feel their presence. They create the air for me without which I couldn't live. The trees hold me. I am sustained by wood, they are in me.

I CLAIM SPACE, public space, the space in my home, the space in the city, and in the parks, and space in my time as space for movement, space for creation, space for dance.

elemental

At my last butoh session with Momo we worked with the various elements, earth, air, fire, water, space and wood. I find since I began butoh practice that I am continuously being challenged to see the environment around me in new ways. Concentrating on each of the elements gives me a bit of peripheral vision, so to speak.

Water is a common theme that I dance to and with. It seems very intuitive to me along with air because it is usually in motion and dynamic. Fire is almost always present in the form of the Sun, and Earth underfoot, acknowledging and paying them more attention can only help increase my awareness. Space has always touched a primal nerve with me, when I see a lot of it at once. Concentrating on the space around me, large or small, has better enabled me to see myself in relation to that space. And wood, it is a living element, absorbs a great deal of energy, and even when not alive carries on in strength.

I am still exploring these elements and what their connectivity is in relation to my dance and soul. Some of the concepts are new to me, yet I find myself instinctively accepting them. I am grateful for the opportunity to receive and learn and grow and share. Thank you all and may the new year bring us continued growth, connection, and realization.

In this dance I made an effort to acknowledge each of the elements and beings around me. A lone eagle circled above me bearing silent witness as I approached the river's edge. As is often the case water seemed to me the most obvious element, the one that most wants to express itself through me, yet all of the elements were there around me and today I shared dance with each one.