Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA – 2013 video

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Water Locale

Santa Fe Riverbed and arroyos

The Choreographers

Rulan Tangen
To be created by Rulan Tangen with community collaborators
More info about Rulan Tangen:
Rulan Tangen is the recipient of the first dance fellowship for Artistic Innovation from Native Arts and Cultures Foundation; the Costo Medal for Education, Research and Community Service; National Museum of American Indian’s Expressive Arts Award; Washington University’s Visiting Distinguished Scholar, and Dance Magazine’s top “25 To Watch.” Her work is internationally recognized as a vibrant intersection of Indigenous worldview, experimental dance and theater, feminine leadership, environmental consciousness, and cultural diversity. She has nurtured relationships with many professional filmmakers who would be interested in project collaboration.
Choreographer’s note: As a choreographer of Indigenous dance, I have sensed that my purpose is to reflect the collective energy of a community, and have seen the dances emerge to embody diversity, cultural pride, and ancient themes of relationship to all of life. Several years ago, grandmothers at the Native Wellness Institute gathering said ” We must take care of the healing, the purifying of the waters, inside our bodies as well as the waters of the earth” and asked me to apply my creative expression to this initiative. Each year, another female leader from another region expanded this request, from coast to coast, desert to mountain, as far away as Aotearoa. Last spring I found myself in the home region of the women who walk the Great Lakes to bring awareness to us all of the sacredness of the water. Annishnaabeg elder Josephine Mandamin , who initiated the first Women Water Walk, and asks us all to “”look after the water for the next generation for the unborn.” We continue this investigation with my company of DANCING EARTH’s powerful core of water warriors, who bring the perspectives of the high desert and their own internal waters. I am moved by the unique gifts of each participant, who I encouraged to reach deep, beyond the surface, into the life-blood of their own instinct to find their personal connections to the spiral of this element. Like a shimmering mosaic in motion, glimpses of their conversations and memories evoked movement images of sacred runs, fears and mirrors, mining and sickness, dams and dreams, interwoven with tribal archetypes.

Audience Site

Santa Fe Riverbed at De Vargas Park ( at Guadalupe and De Vargas)

Time of day for performance

6:15 p.m. at De Varas Park , with rehearsal at 4 pm at secret location ! ( contact Rulan@dancingearth.org of details)

History of site and related water issues

Santa Fe River is one of the most endangered rivers in the USA. As leaders in the Indigenous contemporary dance movement in the USA, the intertribal performance group of DANCING EARTH deepens understanding of cultural relevance by exploring ecological themes that resonate with all beings. We intend to revitalize the water spirit of the Santa Fe riverbed and surrounding arroyos, by embodying the ancestral spirit of water through movement and sound. With this performance ritual we strive to engage communities and to inspire for our diverse audiences a deeper sense of connectedness to the earth and her most important element, water.

The Music

Live sounds with Indigenous collaborators and community members as coordinated by ethnomusicologist, composer/performer/ griot / Yoruba priestess/ Music Director for DANCING EARTH CREATIONS Sina Soul.
Taino elder and curandera (also a dancer and diner) Windsong, and vocalists Paula Rhea McDonald and Robin Duda also contributed vocals.

The Performance

“Where the rain doesnt speak any language, it only understands dance” – Hakim Bellamy, Poet Laureate of Albuquerque
At this time of drought in the southwest, we welcomed the Santa Fe community to this dance to honor the river and rain of our earth and sky. In confluence with FANTA SE – a widespread community gathering to celebrate the re opening of De Vargas park, our dance moved into the riverbed at the edge of park, calling attention to this essential source that is the undercurrent of all life.
More info:
With bases at the bay of San Francisco, as well as in the high desert of New Mexico, Dancing Earth Creations (DEC) is an Indigenous contemporary dance ensemble with a mission to revitalize culture and community through Indigenous dance arts.
Founded by director Rulan Tangen, to serve a need not met in the USA, DEC is an organic constellation of largely self-taught Indigenous dancers, composers, costumers, filmmakers, and spoken word artists. Together, DEC artists explore the rich diversity of Indigenous heritage and contemporary identity, collaborating on innovative culturally based performances.
DEC’s work promotes ecological awareness, cultural diversity, and understanding between peoples through contemporary Indigenous arts expressions. DEC challenges notions of what comprises a professional artist, the role of audience, the boundaries of dance, and the purpose of performance by rooting its aesthetic entirely in Native philosophy and worldview.
DANCING EARTH’s vision for transformation through performance embraces extensive community engagement activities, to facilitate experiential creative knowledge for each participant, and infuse local perspectives into each performance location.
With ” OF BODIES OF WATER “- our new cycle of water themed workshops, lectures community engagement, theater performances and outdoor rituals, expands its expressive power of movement into layered multiple artistic forms to embody the complex themes of humans in relation to the essential element of water, within ourselves and of the planet. Our work has evolved from extensive outdoor explorations – as individuals, as a company, with students, and with community members.
We intend to revitalize the water spirit of the Santa fe riverbed and surrounding arroyos, by embodying the ancestral spirit of water through movement and sound. With this performance ritual we strive to engage communities and to inspire for our diverse audiences a deeper sense of connectedness to the earth and her most important element, water.

Directions to site of the performance

The event will be held during the Creative Santa Fe celebration of FANTA SE, celebrating the re-opening of De Vargas park. This is across the street from Guadalupe Church, at Guadalupe and De Vargas.