BEGINNING THE DANCE: Embodying the Mother through performance with community as our witness

PLAYING WITH THE MOTHER. On Easter Sunday 2015, Lynn Hesse and I had the wonderful opportunity to perform our work-in-progress, "Embody the Mother," at the Pine Lake Art Salon in Pine Lake, Georgia. (photo by Chiboodamoo, aka Tony Martin)

Hallelujah for the DANCE. Hallelujah for the OTHER. Hallelujah for all of the OTHERS--you, and you, and you--MY COMMUNITY--who bear witness and offer your diversity!

My life and art are transforming through the gorgeous entanglement of dance both sacred and playful and with another--Lynn Hesse! I am so grateful to Lynn for creating and holding the space for me to play, dance, and embody the mother with her.

BEGINNING THE DANCE. We begin our performance with me going onstage and painting. I begin with a ritual of lighting a candle and two InterPlay moves. Here my arms are open wide to experience the "big body" and spacious embrace of the great mystery of life. Before I begin painting, I also bow to the "little body," the finite me. (photo by Chiboodamoo, aka Tony Martin)

Yes! EMBODY THE MOTHER!

Collaboration with ANOTHER CREATIVE is supportive, comforting, engaging, expanding, challenging, and sacred.

What does that word mean--sacred?

WORDS FROM THE ARCHETYPAL MOTHER. My collaborator Lynn Hesse has adapted a poem of hers to merge with my images of THE MOTHER, both fierce and nurturing, both archetypal and real in addition to a choreographed sacred dance. (photos by Chiboodamoo, aka Tony Martin)

What is sacred?

I'm using the word to mean "spiritual," "holy," "blessed," "untouchable," and "protected." Sacred, for me, has the meaning of something that is respected and held with reverence.

Then, you might ask what are we doing, when Lynn and I say that we are creating a performance using elements of the SACRED?  We are creating a sacred dance (using dance phrases that embody the real and symbolic snake, the turtle, the eye, and the world), sacred practice (performing ritual--like lighting a candle and bowing--for example), and sacred friendship (one friend playing the role of the archetypal mother and the other being the novice daughter). 

How wondersome is it that we are collaborating with all of this use of SACRED so that I might "embody the mother" through our performance as we re-enact it over and over again throughout the upcoming months into August? On two more Tuesdays, we will repeat this ritual of embodying the mother at our Field Work and get feedback. There will be the rehearsals with Lynn and my solo painting each day as practice for being open to the archetypal mother through dance and thought.

Then we will perform for an audience again on the first Sunday of May for Field at Core Dance Studio in Decatur, Georgia, and again at the Decatur Arts Festival twice at the end of the month. We plan to take this performance to the Alternate Roots meeting in August if it is accepted.

I am grateful for the opportunity to transform through movement and thought. There is so much more to this story, but I will leave you with kisses and a warm embrace for now.

That's Coffee with Hallelujah. Soul Blog with me. What are you dancing with today? Is your dance transformational?

PAINTING AS PART OF THE PERFORMANCE.

DANCING AS PART OF THE PERFORMANCE, TOO.

CONNECTING WITH THE MOTHER.

THE CROWNING.

PLAYING MOMMY SAYS

GETTING AND RESPONDING TO FEEDBACK.

Acknowledgments: Great appreciation to Alice Teeter and Kathie DeNobriga for their dedication to the Pine Lake Art Salon that they have been conducting for 8 years! This performance on April 5, 2015 is the sixth time that I have had the good fortune to be a guest performer (Two times to lead a community HOWL and sell HOWL artwork; once to present this blog, Coffee With Hallelujah; another time to perform a two-voiced poem with my Chiboogamoo; and then to present the illustrations that I created for the children's book, The Misadventures of Maria the Hutia. Sincere thanks to my Chiboogamoo, aka Tony Martin, who documented this event with his amazing photos. Thank you!