Musings on "Garden of Names"

I've been taking time this month to catch up with friends in the city this month. When not rehearsing, I've been making sauerkraut, holding babies, and visiting over a cup of coffee and a gluten-free doughnut. I hope that I've had the chance to see you in person, if you are reading this! But, if not, now is the time to come and see me in my first production of this Spring before I dive into a busy summer. 

I've been busy working with Zorongo Flamenco on "Garden of Names". Below is a link for tickets (and I encourage you to get them now!). It's been a really great experience for me to make connections again between Zorongo Flamenco and Flying Foot Forum, who are working together on this piece that they originally created in the 90's. Watching old videos of this performance, gleaning material from it, and seeing how the work is both transforming in the re-creation, and also how it is still relevant in our time, has been an invaluable learning experience. This piece is very theatrical, and tells a story, and you do not need to understand flamenco in order to understand the story or the emotions. 

If you have a little time to read a book that is deep but doesn't take too long to finish, please go out and find "Imagining Argentina" by Lawrence Thornton. The book is set in Argentina during the Dirty War in the 70's, and although it is fictional, it is full of truths. This is the story which Susana DiPalma, our director, has re-imagined for "Garden of Names". I just finished reading it, and wanted to share one quote with you, which refers to those that represent the government in Argentina, who disappeared thousands of people during this War. Perhaps you can see parallels in today's world...

“They can see everything they want to, but never forget that they cannot see beyond the distortion of their imagination where there is no color and everything exists in black and white. And that is why we will survive, because they do not have what is necessary to defeat us. The real war is between our imagination and theirs, what we can see and what they are blinded to. Do not despair. None of them can see far enough, and so long as we do not let them violate our imagination we will survive.”