« We Must Do Better Than This - US Only Nation at UN Not to Vote for "Right to Food" | Main | Dare We Hope? »
Come Dance With Us
section of peace mural by the artist Huong.
Dear Friends,
We applied for the Armory for an inaugural event, and we applied to do a movement choir in the Inaugural Parade, but it seems the inside Washington crowd is not quite ready to mainstream celebratory activists!
The Obama Inaugural folks snapped up the Armory, of course--it was not going our way once they realized they had to raise every penny and were not going with high-end corporate donations for fancy ballrooms. And so we have had to come up with alternative plans.
HOWEVER, there is STILL an event to say thank you to all those who have found their voices over the past eight years, who have spoken up and out in support of true democracy and justice, and who wish to invoke the spirit of Martin Luther King and Gandhi in the new administration.
Not TOO tall an order, right?
DANCE-OBAMA: The Pulse of Peace is now the name for a NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL event: one we plan to broadcast online, if not in real time, soon after.
We are working with several organizations: the Democracy Cell Project is the fiscal sponsor [a 501(c)3] and is partnering with the Peace Mural Organization, the American Dance Therapy Association, the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, and (possibly) the National Dance Education Organization. The event is a participatory celebration of movement and music; one that we are hoping will take place all across the country (one is forming in NYC, for example).
In Washington DC, the event will take place on Monday January 19, 2009, from 4-6 pm (and possibly, weather permitting, into the streets and beyond) at the Peace Mural Gallery in Georgetown: 3336 M St. NW. Food and drinks will be served. There will be a DJ playing energizing inspiring celebratory music, African drummers, and a movement choir: a participatory devised and improvised series of SIMPLE movements that result in empowerment and what Barbara Ehrenreich calls "collective joy".
TICKETS are donations-based: $15.00 advanced donations can be made at the Democracy Cell Project website (click on the Donations button on the top right of the sidebar) or you can go directly to: http://tinyurl.com/9ufnvk
Specify that you are donating to the Inaugural event.
We want this event to be inexpensive, open to all ages, no particular dress code (although you will want to be comfortable!) and ENERGIZING. We'd also like it to be large enough to get the attention of the mainstream media (who will be searching for VISUAL stories about people who are NOT sheep, but who are positive and pushing hard.
And what happens at 6:00 pm, you may well ask? Well, there are lots of evening events (Netroots Nation has a ball in Clarendon that evening, I believe), Busboys and Poets (local lefty restaurants) will be open 24 hours for food, open mikes, and readings, many organizations are doing trainings that day, etc. But I myself would like to move through the streets of Georgetown, reminding people that the streets belong to the people and in a democracy, honest caring voices do matter, and do make a difference.
And, of course, that we are the ones we've been waiting for.
Please join us and spread the word.
7 Comments
Leave a comment
Not registered? Click on 'Sign-in' above and then select 'Sign up' in the lower right corner. Don't forget to click on the link in the confirmation email that will be sent to your email address.
I very much hope to be there!!!!
Violinist in the Metro
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the
violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late
for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist.
Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a
theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station
was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
from Alan Castle, Seattle (I hope you will meet his son Josh in DC)
Saw this quote at the party I can't stay up late enough for because it's all night and there is no parking .. by the guy who has Hempfest
"To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.
This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking."
-Agnes De Mille
Happy people dancing on planet earth! Read the caption under the video, and then play and enjoy!
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080722.html
Karen - so sorry we're going to miss the event. Our flight doesn't get in until shortly after six.
We'll be dancing with you in spirit, though!
I will have a red eye that goes to Newark, I think, & gets to DC about 10 AM - should be able to find my way into DC and the venu by then!! I plan to travel VERY light - like a change of clothes, a toothbrush and blogging equipment (maybe)!! See you there!!
I did not write anything for this space this week (for the first time in .. years?) because I like this so much! I suggest we use Inauguration-related posts until we have met up and had our fun!!
Then also we need to do some live blogging from DC!!