dangerous beauty

The show I saw yesterday, by the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company.

Incredible how they linked oil addiction to global warming to hurricane katrina to racism to gun violence on oakland streets to war in iraq to personal choices to wake up or stay stuck in apathy - and did it with fierce, powerful joyful dance and tight compelling spoken word, all in just under 2 hours. They totally rocked.

One of the things that struck all of us was how incredible it was to see girls fully in their bodies. Potent, sensual, alive, warriors, goddesses, children, athletes - with no conflict or tension between all those different selves. What seemed to make it possible was that we heard their voices, before and between the dance. Telling us political truths, breaking down the world as they saw it. So they were "bodies that spoke", not just "bodies that moved."

It helped clarify the discomfort I've been grappling with around dance performances by other children - you can read about it in my piece on Children of Uganda.