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Report on Israel by the Artistic Director
| | | | Exultant Experience!
Jenny Moore and I have just returned from mounting our "Dance of the Waves" in Acre, Israel. You may remember that we were about to perform this last October, when riots broke out in the city and the Mayor canceled all performances.
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"I have never seen a crowd so quiet, so captivated, looking to see what might happen next!" |
| The "Dance of the Waves" brought great happiness to the community of Acre. The performance was a huge success. The site we chose was the western beach on the Mediterranean Sea. The dance had seven sections, performed on the old walls, on boats, and on the beach by children, teen-agers, adults and boat captains. By the end of the performance the entire promenade was filled with spectators, and many people commented on the unusual attentiveness of the audience. The music, played over a wonderful sound system and broadcast by local radio station, was written by two composers who live in Acre; they received well-earned kudos from all. The performers were all glowing with smiles afterward.
 The three boats dancing and the white egret dancer on the shore
| A Sense of Pride
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Our site was right next to the walls of Acre's Old City, and so it turned out that all of the dancers were from the Old City (mainly Arab) community, with the exception of Jenny
being one of the white "Spirit of the Waves" dancers. There was a deep sense of pride in the community. A number of people commented on how this performance was truly "of Akka and about Akka" and for a Dance Therapist, there is nothing so satisfying as to create a container, so to speak, where people take ownership of what transpires inside that space.
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The "Spirit of the Waves" as they made their way toward the weaving together of the white fabric they are carrying. The weaving, for some of the audience, had a message of peace and harmony and showed that people could be together and work together. The piece gave a sense of freedom, like the waves, and this power could be felt.
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"The Dance was Astonishing!" |
| The Rainbow of the Beach Dancers Arabs and Jews alike watched the performance together and all enjoyed themselves tremendously. Comments we heard was that the dance was "astonishing!" and on the part of a Jewish audience member, that there was a strong desire to dance with everyone in the crowd in a celebratory way following the performance. And, that the dance was like a light at the end of the tunnel, offering hope for the Arab community; that everyday people walk by the site not noticing it, but the dance gave them a chance to take in the beauty of the sun, the sea, and how these are available for everyone, every day.
"Thanks for giving hope to the souls of the Arabs. You have given our community a great gift because the dance contained a large amount of hope and beauty and this was healing for everyone."
| | An Invitation |
| | Everyone wants Global Site Performance to return next year to create this dance again, and ideally to do this annually. This was very heart-warming, and we shall see about planning this for early May, 2010. | | | | | Thanks! Huge thanks go to our wonderful donors, without whom this work would not be possible! And enormous gratitude to Alaswar's Hanan and Yacoub Hijazi for partnering with us.
We continue to seek funding for our Israel project. If you wish to contribute, you could make a tax-deductible check out to "The Marian Chace Foundation" -- our fiscal agent -- and mail it to Global Site Performance at 2230 Marshall Street NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418.
Marylee Hardenbergh
Global Site Performance
Visit our website: http://globalsiteperformance.org
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