out of the blue

"Our souls, our hearts, our spirits respond spontaneously to beauty; our response isn't merely an intellectual one. Take painstaking care of the way in which you respond to life... The soul is the prime mover in the dance." Kazuo Ohno, my butoh mentor, Momo's sensei


After a challenging week, walking to the beach and seeing the big beauty of the world was a healing balm for the soul. I love practicing dance on the sand as it allows a freedom of movement that is hard to replicate on a hard, unforgiving surface. So much joy to wiggle the feet into the sand or let the sand move you by it's resistance, or lack of, beneath you.

Another hat dance, wearing a hat from my father's collection - he was a funky hat kind of guy! I felt so much joy in dancing in the expanse of the blue day with the sky overhead, warm sand beneath, and the cool water splashes.

I was inspired by one of Momo's recent blogs where she speaks of her connection to the hat she was wearing in her dance - " the hat became the perfect daffodil cup extension of my body to gather warm and bright nourishment from the sun. Kazuo Ohno would remind us how butoh costumes & props are like adding parts of the cosmos onto our bodies, and our bodies are costumes for the soul."

At one point in the practice I envisioned my dad's hat to be like a 'solar energy receptor' where I was allowing that energy to be absorbed, and then from there, accessing that energy from the hat - wheeeee!!! It was wonderful to play with this image of receiving Grandfather Sun's energy in this way!

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The road goes down. It stops at the sea.

The sea goes on. It stops at the sky.

the sky goes on...

And what about you?

And what about me?

William Stafford

There is a film in the black space below:

Music: Philip Glass

Filmed by Brooke

Visit my butoh mentor's inspiring blog here: Maureen 'Momo' Freehill