More branch dances this weekend

Anyone interested in seeing branch dances developed for the stage is invited to attend the the Temple University Department of Dance Faculty Concert this Friday and Saturday April 4 & 5 at 8PM in the Thomlinson Theater on Norris and 13th Streets. Tickets are $15 general admission/$13 students and senior citizens/FREE for students with OWLcard .

Toshi and I will be performing Balancing Acts, a duet created originally for the 2007 Philadelphia Live Arts festival. Reviewing the performance for the Philadelphia City Paper Janet Anderson wrote: “Best is Soto herself performing with Toshi Makihara, a human musical instrument, who prowls around her shaking rattles, ringing bells, banging gongs and beating the floor. This is primitive, adversarial and odd, and yet quite beautiful all at the same time.” http://flirt.citypaper.net/fringe/2007/show.php/id/95/

I am excited to again be performing with Toshi in a theatrical venue. We open the program so if you are planning on seeing us be on time.

Also on the program are works by Kun-Yang Lin, Kariamu Welsh, and guest artist Lisa Kraus.

Photos by Alan Kolc.

Its Spring!

The first performance of the Spring Cycle will be April 6 at the Livezey Waterfall. 10:30 AM. Rain or shine. Come out for fresh air and sunshine, witness the blooming of the park, each day a new experience!

I've begun to upload project videos onto YouTube. Difficult to fit a landscape in such a small screen. Still, they are there to share. The following were edited with a mirror effect that highlights our work with balance.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmERSHZHYCQ&feature=related




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8God3eLkCd0&feature=related

Today's Performance

Lately, every time the wind picks up I feel a longing to go to the woods. I have been wanting to dance with the wind in this project. Today was the day. The wind was everywhere. Cold, very cold, yet the brightness of the sun warmed the spirit.

Today was fairy day. Each of us chose a space along the path to work in.

I chose the pond. It was clean, shiny, filled with fresh water from the recent storm. The water rippled gently with the wind, a myriad patterns and reflections filled the stillness and quietude with movement and sound.

When I saw these pictures I was surprised. I had no idea one could see my reflection in the water. From my vantage point I only saw the sunlight sparkling in the water! Its as if the water reflects back my inner world focused on and honoring the dead. I am reminded of African traditions for which the spirit world is the inversion of the living world. The dead live on in us; they are reflected in us.

Toshi started near me by the pond and then moved down the path. His sensitive music traverses distances and unifies the group.

Jumatatu worked high on a side path, Lazarus among the trees.

Olive chose to work on top of a rock along the main path. Here she is, pushing/ riding the edge of balance.

Shavon , high on the bridge, was a beacon welcoming the sun and the wind.

open the body
open the heart
open the mind
open the spirit
honor life
connect

dedicated in loving memory to
Henry Soto
and
Joan Goldenberg

Photos: Pepon Osorio

Today's performance is on!

Mt. Airy Ave. 10:30 AM --- Remember daylight saving starts today.

Its very windy. We may cut the performance to 1/2 hour if the cold and wind become unbearable. For your comfort and safety please layer up and wear skid proof shoes as the ground will probably still be wet.

Dedicated to the loving memory of Henry Soto and Joan Goldenberg.

Dedicated With Love

Just got back from a funeral. My friend Kenny's mom passed away. It was lovely service, sad and moving.

Couldn't help thinking of my dad. He passed away 12 years ago on March 9, 1996. I miss him. I miss my mom too. She's still here but she's old, so old — 90 years old and very forgetful. The aging, the dying; "life goes on, I forget just why."

Sunday's performance is dedicated to the loving memory of my beloved father Henry Soto, and to Joan Goldenberg, a wonderful spirit, mother, and friend.

And to my mother, Andy Soto, still hanging on, still here.

Its Fairy Day Again! This Sunday, March 9, Mt Airy Ave.

Its time for fairies again! The next performance of the One-Year Wissahickon Park Project is coming up this Sunday March 9. Look for the “fairies” along the path from Mt. Airy Ave to Forbidden Drive. Enter the park on Mt Airy Ave, just west of Wissahickon Ave (there is parking along the street).

Check the map:

http://www.fow.org/documents/map.pdf

As always the performance is at 10:30 AM and will run for 45 minutes. It will take place rain or shine. Cancellations only in extreme weather.

This is the final performance of the winter cycle. The weather forecast is for sun and wind. It should be a glorious day, but cold, so layer up!

AND: remember to switch your clocks; daylight savings begins at midnight.

Performing with me on Sunday will be Toshi, Shavon , Jumatatu and Olive. Noemi is in Puerto Rico; she will performing on the beach ( and documenting it) at the same time as us! That should be quite a contrast!





Photos: Pepon Osorio

Yesterday's Performance

What a difference the sun makes! The cold was bearable even though the temperature was in the twenties. And the light — it was so bright as to be blinding, but mostly it filled the spirit! The sky, an infinite expanse of blue.


We worked along a single line of trees, each relating to one in particular. Several themes emerged.




The reaching up to the sky and the trees.






























The leaning into the trees.


































The snow was hard and crunchy giving way under our feet and interrupting the flow in weight shift.












No use fighting it. We incorporated interrupted flow into the movement and the crunching became part of the sound.


Staying present to the moment something new is revealed.


Connected. Satisfying.

Photos: Pepón Osorio