Friday, May 6, 2011

sweet honey bees


let us sing a song to thee
oh my sweet honeybee
let us sing a song to thee
oh my sweet honeybee
you are the one we've been waiting for...

- from Mountain Man's "Sweet Honey Bee"

I have been feeling a sad helplessness lately in regards to the disappearance of the honey bee populations. "Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But a global ban of one group of pesticides could save bees from extinction." (From the AVAAZ petition site).

I have to think that by signing environmental petitions, such as the ones that circulate from AVAAZ, National Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, Change, etc. are making a positive impact in preserving our Mama Earth. It would be too unbearable to think that these small actions we take are not being received or listened to.

The following is a recent link to a petition site whose intention is to help prevent 'colony collapse' if you would like to join me in signing it. Mounting evidence points to pesticides -- and three “neonicotinoid” pesticides in particular: clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiomethoxam. http://www.change.org/petitions/earth-to-epa-bees-need-help-now

Although I am assuming pesticides and fungicides are being used to produce such spectacular tulip beauty, today, I was so enamored by the presence of bees bumbling amongst the tulips...

Todays dance practice was inspired by the appearance of the elusive sun, the ocean of color-filled fields and was one of connecting with 'significant others' in the form of tulips and bees...
A dance celebration of beauty in our natural world... oh, and if you look carefully you'll be able to see bees flying by in the film ;~)
Music: Mountain Man

Last year's dance with the tulips and link to that blog post here: 'cultivating beauty..."
Music: Jennifer Berezan

Thank you for viewing my blog... I hope it may inspire you in some way,
Lee

Visist our collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Company

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

don't fence me in


I was feeling claustrophobic in both my car and within my being, in that 'URGHH!!!' kind of way, after being stuck in a slow moving train of cars heading north from Seattle. It took me three hours to drive a distance that usually takes an hour. I realized the irony that most of the traffic congestion was due to the fact that city folk, including myself, were trying to escape to the country to visit the spectacle of the tulips in full bloom during the weekend's "Tulip Festival" in the Skagit Valley.

Not bearing to drive any further in traffic, I pulled off the highway to find my own personal space to dance freely within. I was stunned by the beauty of this wildlife sanctuary I stumbled upon at the edge of the sea at the end of a dead-end street.

While editing later that evening, I remembered dear Joni Takanikos' version of Cole Porter's song from her album "Love In a Mist, Devil in a Bush.” She is a beautiful soul who I met at a retreat, and also who I shared MomoButoh workshops with in the past.

The lyrics speak so much of what I was feeling earlier that day - my soul's desire to dance freely into the expansive space of sky while at the same time feeling an earthward, grounding connection. After feeling so 'soul-repressed' from the bumper to bumper commute, I felt so grateful to receive so much energy from our Mama Earth that had a balancing effect inwardly - releasing the stress of the traffic-filled commute.
Don't Fence Me In

Give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride thru the wide-open country that I love
Don't fence me in
Let me ride my cayuse where the west commences,
Gaze at the moon until I lose my senses
Can't stand hobbles and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in.
Just let me sit by myself in the evening breeze
Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees
Send me away, forever, if you please
Just don't fence me in
Don't fence me in...
This moon-time, Momobutoh Company is dancing with significant others in the forms of plants and animals... here, the connection was more with the elements of earth (grounding) and sky (freedom).

Thank you for viewing my blog. I would love to hear from you, if you would care to leave a comment.
Kindly,
Lee
Music: Joni Takanikos
Visit our collaborative blog here: Momobutoh Dance Company