Reflecting, resetting, rethinking, reconnecting, reorganizing, readapting, reworking, readjusting, reawakening...
There is a lot of “re” going on during this global pandemic and it has created a surge in creativity around the world. Every day I am inspired by all the serious as well as humorous material I receive. Thank you all for enriching my life during confinement!
The United Nations called on all creatives to help in translating critical public health messages, into work that will engage and inform people across different cultures, languages, communities and platforms. What a great way to contribute with creativity during this challenging time!
Art direction, graphic design and photography are how I usually express my creativity. But... suddenly I found myself moving furniture in my living room to answer the UN’s call through dance improvisation.. I was part of a modern dance troop growing up, but this is not something I had done in many years.
Movement has always been a universal way to express ourselves. Isadora Duncan (born 1877) was a big influence. She is widely considered to be the creator of modern dance and performed in bare feet and let her hair down which was not common in the late 1800’s!
“If I could tell you what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it." Isadora Duncan
Then came Martha Graham who started her dance company in 1926. Out of this movement came choreographer’s Merce Cunningham and Alvin Ailey among many others.
She believed that “Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body.”
Isadora Duncan - Photographer: unknown
Martha Graham in “Lamentation, No. 4” - Photo: Herta Moselsio
As a young girl my mother often took me to dance performances in NYC. One in particular touched my soul profoundly in ways I never imagined : Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations”, a masterpiece! "Using African-American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues--this suite fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul." (quote from alvinailey.org).
In this 40 second dance improv' I focused on the importance of washing hands as well as the emotions evoked through living during this pandemic. A special thanks to the artist ALMO for composing and performing the music!
Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations” - Photo: Pierre Wachholder