Nest Project, Earth Dance
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts
This project was a collaboration with Nala Walla, the famous “body ecology” dancer and teacher from Port Townsend, Washington. Her idea was for us to fly to the axis mundi of contact improvisation dance, Earth Dance, and lead unskilled dancers through a week of spontaneous creativity which would explore concepts such as the “decolonization” of the modern experience of time. The process included non-conformist behavior that would never mirror conventional action or thought in the paradigm of “time is money” living. Instead, the dancers would sing or stretch while working, read poems, run off and rest, and intentionally engage all of their senses while in the process of building. The entire experience was characterized by epiphany, as even the process of gathering materials from the forest floor became nuanced and meaningful. The result became a semi-permanent community gathering installation for the ongoing improv community to use throughout the seasons.