I hold the most archaic values on earth; the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth; the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe.
--Gary Snyder

In your light
I learn how to love.
In your beauty,
how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.

Went to see this group dance last night in Portland. Impressive, for sure. The dancers are ethnically exotic to me---Maori and Samoan people, dark skinned and beautiful. The dances were athletic in the extreme, parts of it reminding me of a crossfit workout, on steroids. One of the dance moves they did was to fall to the ground, and then bound back up to standing, nay leaping up into the air, and back to the ground and back up again, so fast that one could scarcely comprehend that once person could do that. The leaps and lifts were smooth and controlled. There was play around failing, around falling, but no one was ever at risk. In fact I think the play around falling and failing was part of what made them so good---because they had no fear of falling, they had practiced it so many times. Anyway, last night was their debut in Portland but they will be back. The choreographer is Neil Ieremia, and I believe he is also one of the indigenous people of New Zealand. The themes of the dances were modern--child abuse and such---and there was a fair bit of social commentary. Basically Neil is trying to induce us to communicate in an honest and respectful way across racial and national boundaries, by way of his dancers. I appreciated his message. When you fall down, get right back up again.

There were four women in the mostly male troupe. They were likewise swift and strong.

...makes a good point, and the music is danceable.

Unbelievable ball handling skills in a dancer/gymnast.

I know nothing of it and just watched it for the first time. This is the Kokoro dance. Not safe for work due to nudity, however, it is nonsexual. ( Cut for suggestive image on youtube window.Collapse )

Pretty fantastic video here with a tune that makes me want to dance around. Unexpectedly love it.

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
-- T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets". It appears in the second poem called "East Coker"

I won’t be old till my feet hurt,
and they only hurt
when I don’t let them dance
enough,
so I’ll keep right on dancing.
--Bill (Bojangles) Robinson