Another Amazing Dance

If you liked the Chinese Swan Lake,here is another example of just how far dance can be pushed. This time there is another dimension: all the dancers are deaf. More information can be found here, but take a look first.

Comments

Anonymous said…

I was transfixed. A complete stillness came over me - as I watched, the peace and truth inherent in this beautiful performance had sunk deep into my soul. Thank you.

I know from my own experience of both deafness and dance there is inexplicable heightened perception of the vibration of life.
The knowing and being 'in time' with others that I am sometimes aware of is a blessing.
When I watch dance I see when dancers feel rather than hear the music and I am far more aware of the 'essence' of individual dancers and of the overall meaning of a piece than I was when I was younger and hearing.
I am sometimes overcome with a spiritual awareness in the middle of a dance piece. In this dance there is for me a reiteration of the 'oneness' of humanity- and the individual movements making one 'wave' really fascinate me and stretch my mind.
Tais' beautiful face shows such love and gratitude at being one and a part of the dance. The dance of life. There is true acceptance and serenity.
The last dance clip you shared with us also had a profound affect upon me. I didn't at the time have the courage to make comment but would like to know if others felt/noticed the extraordinary moment of truth almost as strong as a 'knowing' moment in prayer. I revisited it many times with wonder. It is when she is balanced en pointe on his head. There is a known moment of communication between them that I still don't understand.
Thank you for sharing such thought provoking beauty with us.

5 August 2008 at 12:08

Kelvin Wright said…

Thanks for this very insightful post. Next time you are looking at Youtube, there are other shots of this dance troupe in action (do searches for 1000 hand buddha or for deaf Chinese dancers) including some variations of this routine using different lighting - some quite stunning. There is also a video of them rehearsing - most interesting.

I was aware that the dancers in the other clip must have extraordinary communication. A friend of my daughter Catherine is a dancer, and was flabbergasted that the ballerina would take such risks with her ankles as dancing en pointe on a soft and moving surface - impossible risks unless the second by second communication between the partners was almost psychically strong and instantaneous.
She also mentioned that the particular turn executed while on the guy's head was extremely difficult to do while on a hard stable floor, but verging on the impossible on a moving surface. Would you agree?

5 August 2008 at 22:18

Anonymous said…

For obvious reasons there is something very eastern in the organisation of this dance. The precision and timing is similiar in spirit albeit on a much smaller scale as the displays that are given at large political gatherings where coloured squares of board are held by individuals in a sports stadium or similiar to make pictures of people (someone like chairman Mao comes to mind) or things. Of course in this display the skill level is stratospheric in comparison.

There is an essence or spirit of the individual subsumed by the collective for a greater expressive spectacle which is particular to the eastern mind and culture and a genre that they do very well.

The precision and execution was exquisite, formidable and beautiful in a detached and unemotional way.

An astonishing piece of artistry!

5 August 2008 at 23:30

Anonymous said…

What a wonderously beautiful thing - thanks, Kelvin!

6 August 2008 at 18:28

How To Walk 800 km

John is just walking the 80 metres back to his bike here, but you get the general drift. The question I get asked more than any other at the end of the Hikoi is "how are your feet?" It's nice that people care, but my feet have never been an issue on long walks. Good shoes and socks prevent blisters and cushion the effects of long distances on hard surfaces, but I have had other issues. When walking the Camino Santiago knees, Achilles tendons and shin splints have all at one time or another given me trouble. This time round, these have all been fine and I finished feeling as though I could just keep on going indefinitely; to Cape Reinga if needs be. Over the last couple of years I have learned 6 things that have made all the difference. Namely: 1. Footwear. On the Camino I wore walking shoes - Salomon in 2009 and Asics in 2012. A year ago I changed to full walking boots - Salomon Cosmic 2 - and the difference was instant and major. When walking more than 15 minutes...

Why I Hold the Views I Do

St. Hilda's Collegiate School, taken with my phone after a recent meeting. This picture has nothing whatsoever to do with what follows, but I like the interplay of shapes and particularly the shadow on the wall. My mother is a Methodist, liberal in her theological and social opinions. My father was a socialist, just slightly to the left, in his politics, of Karl Marx. My siblings -there are 5 of us- are all bright, eloquent and omnivorous in their consumption of books and other intellectual fodder. One of my most cherished childhood memories is of mealtimes in our little state house. The food was ingested with copious amounts of spirited, opinionated, clever and sometimes informed debate on whatever subject happened to catch the attention of one of the family that day. Or whatever one of us thought might get a rise out of someone else. So, sex, politics and religion it was then - oh and motorbikes, economics, international relations, demographics, cricket, company ownersh...

I See Satan Fall Like Lightning

It happens sometimes. I have a question or am pondering some conundrum or other and the right book arrives at pretty much the right time. In a session with my supervisor a few months back Paul mentioned an article by Rene Girard, whom I had never heard of. I read the article and over the past month have read two of his books, The Scapegoat and this one. I have another couple sitting on my shelf and they have elbowed all others in my to be read pile out of the way and sit firmly on the top. Girard has pulled a number of threads together for me: he has enabled me to rethink the atonement in a way which is consistent with an evolving Universe: he presents a view of scripture which is again consistent with what I know of science but is also faithful to the Bible as the Word of God; he has given me, for the first time in my life a theology (if that is the right word) of Satan which makes sense to me. Most importantly for me, he is consistent with my own lived experience of God's s...

2 More Years

An autumn leaf, the evidence of the death whereby the grapevine lives and bears fruit There are 31,102 verses in the Bible, or at least in the Protestant version of it which the conservative section of our church recognises. Of these, there are 6 verses which explicitly condemn homosexual practice. The best scholars in the Christian world have pointed out the ambiguity of even these scraps of scripture, but this does not prevent their becoming the basis of an antipathy to contemporary same gender sexuality which I was repeatedly told, during General Synod, was "First Order". I'm not sure what "First Order" means exactly, but I was told that this is a "Salvation Matter". So, presumably, holding a proper view on homosexuality is right up there in importance with belief in the doctrines I would consider foundational for the Christian faith: namely the Holy Trinity, Incarnation and Resurrection. In any event, antipathy to homosexuality has already ...

Wood Pigeon

On the front lawn There is a bundle of green and white feathers. A woodpigeon. A dead one. We have a lot of trees in our neighbourhood and a very busy road, which is not a good combination for wood pigeons. They are great big ungainly birds and before they have acquired a sense of self preservation the young ones are inclined to accidental jousts with cars. The cars seldom lose. This bird has just won the silver medal in a bout with a Toyota Camry and has retired as far as our front lawn before becoming considerably short of breath. I go out with a shovel and dig a hole in the flower garden, and go a pick up the carcase. I love these birds. Their feathers have a rich metallic sheen, and the green and white of their plumage reflects back every shade of red - but just in suggestion, depending on how the sunlight catches them. They are preposterous in their clumsiness. They fly overhead with no pretense at stealth, making a sound like a pair of old fashioned manual hedge cutters with eac...

Available Light

Search This Blog