BETWEEN II
2023 Spring Tour
April 7-8, 2023
Historic Asolo Theater at the Ringling Museum of Art
Sarasota, FL
ABOUT BETWEEN II 2023
DANCING EARTH’s BETWEEN UNDERGROUND AND SKYWORLD brings to the stage a compelling story of dynamic young people struggling through the Apocalyptic present, with resilience and humor, as they survive the end of one world and dream in a futureworld of balance, harmony, connection and renewal. Storytelling takes infinite forms with this family friendly narrative with energetic expressive forms becoming poetic and dreamlike, as told through dance, dialogue, song, striking media projections of the Southwest, and unforgettable eco-innovative set design, costumes, handheld lanterns and shadow puppets - all created by intercultural collaborators and visionaries of the future.
Dancing Earth offers BETWEEN II as an ancestral and futuristic ritual of the liminal realm, bringing healing and renewal of the creative life force in a portal between underground and sky-world. Co-created with Dancing Earth’s new generation of cooperative artist leadership with BIPOC creative collaborative visionaries of mixed identities in every form, intercultural and ecological diversity reflect each other, in an adaptation of our original contemporary mythologies (BETWEEN UNDERGROUND AND SKY WORLD) that poetically responds to local place, people and season in the living improvisation of our time.
Dancing Earth at Kennedy Center.
ABOUT DANCING EARTH
DANCING EARTH CREATIONS dynamically activates our mission, to create contemporary dance and related arts through global indigenous and intercultural relationships centered in ecological and cultural diversity for creativity, health, and wellness.
Founded by Artistic Director Rulan Tangen, to serve a need rarely met in the USA, DEC gives hope and opportunity to Native, mixed, global Indigenous and BIPOC talent who have been largely outside the dialogue of mainstream performance because of lack of access. DEC is an organic constellation of largely self-taught dancers, composers, costumers, filmmakers, and spoken word artists.
Together, DEC artists work with community members, culture carriers, and inter-cultural elders to explore the rich diversity of ancestral heritage, contemporary identity, and relationship building, by collaborating on innovative ecologically themed performances. DEC’s work promotes environmental awareness, cultural diversity, and understanding between peoples through contemporary arts expressions.
“We gather as individual artists to create experimental yet elemental dances that reflect our rich cultural heritage as contemporary global peoples. We strive to embody the unique essences of cultural perspectives by creation and renewal of artistic and cultural movement rituals. Ancient and futuristic, our dances are an elemental language of bone and blood memory in motion.” - Founding Director, Rulan Tangen
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Dancing Earth is respectfully based in Ogaa Po Ogeh – occupied Tewa territory known as Santa Fe, NM and Yelamu – occupied Ohlone territory known as San Francisco, CA and are honored to bring this production here to homelands of the traditional land of Florida’s indigenous populations including the Calusa, the Seminole, the Tocobaga, and the Uzita peoples and we would also like to acknowledge the Angola community, known as the Black Seminoles.
We are honored that this production emerges from land and sky that has been danced and sung into renewal by humans of the earth since the beginning of time, and this vision includes contributions of respected and beloved cultural community members.
CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE RITUAL DESCRIPTION
ACTIVATION OF PLACE
Multi-sensory immersive offering by DE artists, occurring on Ringling grounds, in collaboration with elements, in the days/hours before onstage performance.
ACT I
Constellations: A Beam of light enters space, making way for luminous beings. These superheroes represent core values of cultural teachings such as bravery, patience, kindness, groundedness, vision for generations ahead. As apparitions of destructive practices of Earth appear, they reach towards different make of animals, so they can take forms to give messages and guidance to humans.
Journey: Then, time speeds forward into the apocalypse of the present, with a new generation struggling for survival, and finding resilience. They crawl and climb a mountain to seek guidance, only to be told the knowledge is in their medicine bundles (their backpacks), as a creation story. Directed to cross the waters, they remember the ways of star navigation. They find humble items in their backpacks, are these the gifts which symbolize qualities and teachings? Eventually they find that connection, even to what is considered trash as having life force to be considered and appreciated. They move beyond greed and selfishness to share and exchange with each other, before moving into the dream realm where they are all connected, in a starlit web of energy and life force.
ACT II
Dreaming: In a dreamscape of balance and harmony, humans and constellations move together in recognition of their shared heritage.
Being: Arising early, they now remember to give a respectful greeting to the morning sun. With guidance from skyworld above and their roots below, they reflect the challenges of current realities, and the humans peel away layers towards understanding the forces and systems that have shaped the present. They dig deeper, to prepare themselves for the deeper meaning of the medicine bundles, and the responsibilities of those gifts. They move into connection with each other, generously embodying the wisdom and qualities, empathy, honesty, courage, gratitude, strength, kindness that are their superpowers. With these powers, they walk in beauty, with each other, with all people, with all forms of life as sacred.
The next step, of the future, is the dance to be made by us all collectively, the energy of continual renewal. So the open portal of possibility is brought into the audience, for us all to dream and co-create together…
OUR HEARTFELT THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
TOURING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS MADE POSSIBLE BY: “Between Underground & Skyworld” and “BETWEEN II” is made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Theater Project Production and Touring award, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
And, we are grateful for additional support including in kind support in recent years from: Bernadette Pena, Fernando Ramos, and Cindy Montoya of New Mexico School for the Arts where we are proud to be Company in Residence; Sheila and Jonah at Institute of American Indian Arts; New Mexico Dance Coalition; Myra Krien of Pomegranate Dance Studio; Elise Gent of Railyard Performance Center; Julie Brette Adams; Norman Lee Johnson; Kate Sweetster; filmmaker Francois Achan; Layla Amis of Modas Dance and NDI-Highlands Theater; photographers Randi Lynn Beach, Tyra Sandoval, and Francois Achan; Invoking the Pause award for Climate Change Trailblazers for the initial convening of global Indigenous elders at Academy for Love of Learning, invitations since 2019 for creative residencies, tech previews and previous touring sites at ASU Gammage, Dance Mission and Presidio Theater of Yelamu (San Francisco) - with special thanks for support from Gerbode Choreographers awards and California Arts Council Intersections and Innovations Grant), and Texas A+M University and Northwest Vista College in Texas, Daystar Rosalie Jones and all our cultural and artistic advisors and mentors throughout the duration of this project!
CAST & CREDITS BETWEEN II, 2023
CO-FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Rulan Tangen
PROGRAM MANAGER: Angel Guanajuato
TECH DIRECTOR: Deirdre Morris
CULTURAL ORATORY AND OFFERING: Brian Frejo
PERFORMING ARTISTS: Justin Giehm, Gabriel Carrion-Gonzales, Raven Bright, Rulan Tangen, Sarah Hogland-Gurule, and Sarasota guest artist Natalie Aceves-Ghezzi in Entry of Light who is also leading special local guest honorees in the Luminarias scene between Act I and Act II.
CONCEPT: Rulan Tangen and Dancing Earth 2017-2023 associate and summer guest artists, incorporating collaboration and visioning sessions with diasporic community members through lived cultural research and relationship building.
CHOREOGRAPHY: Rulan Tangen with collaborative contributions from Dancing Earth 2017-2023 associate artists.
PROJECTION: Marion Claire Wasserman of Elemental Designs, cinematography of Moon dance/lullaby by Louis Leray. Drone camera work with Luke Fitch and Cedar Jocks. Artists and community members in projection imagery include Ciera Budge, Deollo Johnson, Anne Pesata, Elijah Kennar, Justin Giehm, Melanie Pesata, Hyda Maria, Talavai Denipah-Cook.
SOUND DESIGN: Original compositions commissioned from or graciously shared by: QVLN Quetzal Guerrero, Ehren Kee Natay, Esme Olivia. 2022-23 Sound Design adaptations by Esme Olivia; Initial Sound Design by: Dakota Alcatrara-Camacho, with additional support from Marc Mr. Boogie Gonzalez, John Rangel and Esme Olivia, integrating original, remixed, and graciously shared tracks by Randy Barton’s The BlessingWay, John Coltrane’s Naima (JowCol Music) as arranged by John Carlos Perea (Aerep Music) AudioPharmacy multiple albums and tracks, including voice of Ras K’Dee and with rapping in Spanish by Gina Madrid, additional vocals by Esme Olivia and Natalie Benally and additional spoken word by Deollo Johnson, Esme Olivia, Kayla Banks, Trey Pickett, Olivia Camfield, and Sirena Rayes. Sampling tracks which may include works from esteemed artists such as Robert Mirabal with Aspen Mirabal, Kona Mirabal, Masa Mirabal; Saami singers Ethel Marja Mortensson, Elina Mikalsen, Katarina Barrruk; Tanya Tagaq Gills and Bjork; Beastie Boys; DJ Teao Sense; Tribe Called Red with John Trudell; Keith Secola; Pura Fe; Dakota Alcatrara-Camacho ; voices of Bernadette Smith, Desirae Harp, Kanyon Sayers Roods; Bernadette Smith; Grace Nono; Ciera Budge; Ras K. Dee; Nina Simone; Lauryn Hill; Climbing Poetree; environmental sounds; “Wee Totaa” - Lyrics in Tongva & English by L. Frank Manriquez, music composed by L. Frank & Esme Olivia; Rainbow Bridge story as composed and recorded by Esme Olivia with support from Rulan Tangen, Incorporating voices, poems, and words by Dancing Earth artists and alumna artists and community members.
INITIAL STORY & TEXT CONSULTANTS: Ty Dafoe of Indigenous Directions, Kalani Queypo and Michael Rohd
COSTUME, ACCESSORIES, & MASKS: Connie WindWalker for animal masks, shadow puppets, accessories and costumes with additional costume items by Rulan Tangen. Randolph Duke for solar discs. Additional shadow puppets by Raven Bright.
SET DESIGN: Kayo Muller and Drew Van Bruhn
MOON HEADDRESS: Susan Baker-Dillingham
2019-2023 DRAMATURGICAL & COACHING SUPPORT: Deirdre Morris, Liz Letman, John Flax of Theater Grottesco, Michael Rohd, Layla Amis, Javon Jones, Santana Shorty
OTHER ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This creative work arises from responses and reflections from community conversations about climate change, commodification, and colonization, and the importance of cultivating hope to mobilize body, mind, spirit and emotions at this time, individually and communally. What is the collective future that we are making? What is renewable and what is energy; what are a myriad of ways to renew eco-cultural sustainability that embraces the cultural teachings of the past from elders as well as the great imagining of the future by the younger generation? This performance work of BTW US is part of a bigger vision that includes all of us in every way!
We also want to acknowledge every Dancing Earth summer guest artist and company members who have been exploring these questions with deep conversations and creativity, as well as countless cultural and creative conversations since 2017 including: Tony Skrelunas, Camilla Trujillo, Lupita Salazar, Natalie Benally, Molly Pesata, Anne Pesata, Talavai Denipah Cook, Randle Charles, Maria Firmino Castillo, Fidel Tohil Bernal, Dr. Kina Murphy, Dr. Yolanda Teran Maigua, Jorge Males, Norma Diala, Leny Strobel, Marion Wasserman, Alicia Rencountre Da Silva, Charles Rencountre, Valeria Alarcon, Hazel James, Teahonna James and Kevin Belin, Jonathan Sims, Jon Ray, Ibrahim Loeks, Roxanne Swentzel, Ciera Budge, and many other powerful visionaries.
Dancing Earth STAFF
FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER: Rulan Tangen
EXECUTIVE & SOUTHWEST IMPACT PRODUCER & TOUR MANAGER: Angel Guanajuato
CALIFA EXECUTIVE INTERCULTURAL IMPACT PRODUCER: Gabriel Carrion-Gonzales
CALIFA CULTURAL VISIONING PARTNER & COMMUNITY ORGANIZER: Elaine Talamaivao
MARKETING DIRECTOR: Samara Smith
GRANT CONSULTANT: Taraneh Sarrafzadeh
FINANCE & OPERATIONS CONSULTANT: Paulo Rocha-Tavares
TOUR TECH DIRECTOR for BETWEEN II: Deirdre Morris
BOOKKEEPER: Barbara Ortega
Playbill
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Rulan Tangen
Dancing Earth Founding Artistic Director & Choreographer, and 2023 BETWEEN II Performing Artist as Dreamweaver, and Teaching Artist
Rulan Tangen Dancing Earth Founder and Artistic Director / Choreographer (Kampampangan and Pangasinan of Luzon Island in Pacific aka Philippines, and Norwegian): Rulan Tangen's work explores movement as an evolving language of global Indigenous and inter-cultural relation building, rooted in inclusion of diverse cosmologies from her own experience and those of the artists with whom she co-creates. Her contemporary dance practice strives to serve as a functional ritual for transformation and healing, integrating concurrent universes of ancient futurities in the moment, expressing energetic connection with all relations – human and beyond. As Founding Artistic Director/Choreographer of DANCING EARTH, she has passionately cultivated successive generations of global Indigenous contemporary performing artists as cultural ambassadors and conduits for social change She is recipient of 2018-19 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist award for Service, Justice, Freedom, Courage, and Gratitude and is grateful for all that roots her, for the dreaming and doing of Dancing Earth: moving the world into renewal.
Angel Guanajuato
Executive & Southwest Impact Producer, and 2023 BETWEEN II Tour Manager
Angel Guanajuato has a BA in Psychology from the University of New Mexico. He is a self taught music producer of 4 years and has collaborated with many local artists of New Mexico to explore relationships of space, light, and sound. He has been with Dancing Earth for 2 years producing events and programming such as this iteration of BETWEEN II and the Summer Institute.
Deirdre Morris
2023 BETWEEN II Tech Director
Holds a masters from UC Davis and is an international performing artist, producer, dramaturge, activist, and educator. Her practice spans theatrical forms that focus on spectacle based physical theater, contemplative movement based performance and site specific installations.
Natalie Aceves-Ghezzi
Local Sarasota Guest Artist as Moon Beam, and DE Alumna Artist
Natalie Ghezzi is a movement artist, creative visionary, and 500RYT yoga teacher with over a decade of experience in studying, professional dance, production, and teaching internationally and is now based in Sarasota! Natalie has studied and performed various dance genres in Cuba, Ghana, Brazil, and the United States. Natalie's teaching style is rooted in her passion for movement, creativity, and personal transformation, and she strives to inspire her students to embody their full potential as artists and individuals. Natalie also serves as a creative consultant and director, providing her unique artistic vision to studios and productions in various content creation endeavors. Natalie passion for nature, dance, and art is evident in everything she does, and she is constantly exploring new creative capacities and eager to share the magic of movement with others. Ultimately, Natalie's mission is to inspire and empower individuals to tap into their source-creative and connect with the world around them in a more authentic and soulful way. Natalie debuted with the Dancing Earth in summer/fall 2016 at Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, next as one of the core Bay Area company members TREATY-MAKING December 2016 at Festival for Latino Arts and Culture at Dance Mission, later in GROUNDWORKS-ALCATRAZ 2018 sunrise ceremony for San Francisco’s first official Indigenous Peoples Day, and touring with Dancing Earth’s SEEDS REGENERATION and early versions of BETWEEN UNDERGROUND AND SKYWORLD. Dancing Earth is thrilled to reconnect with her here in Sarasota, and welcome her back to the cast! (photo courtesy by Robert Houser).
Brian Frejo
Featured Native culture carrier for opening ceremony of BETWEEN II
Brian Frejo of Seminole/Pawnee Nations is a Storyteller, Singer, dancer and National Motivational speaker. Brian is skilled in working with urban and rural communities, youth, elders, families, diverse programs and building partnerships with key stakeholders in the community. Also, dedicated to the vision and mission of empowering people to achieve professional and personal success, to live healthy and active lives, to be suicide, drug and alcohol free, to celebrate cultural identity and to make healthy life-choices that will enable them to achieve and sustain their full potential as leaders in their communities. Brian strives to empower youth, adults, elders and communities to reclaim and celebrate their traditional healing practices, traditional foods and nutrition, fitness activities, cultural spiritual life ways and overall mental and physical health wellness. The outcomes can produce empowerment, success, healing and the confidence to make healthy life choices. www.Brian-Frejo.com
Esmé Olivia
2022-23 Sound Design Technician for BETWEEN II, Alumna Performing Artist, Teaching Artist, and 2022 Rehearsal Director
Esmé Olivia grew up in traditional Tiwa Pueblo lands known as Albuquerque, NM to a Mestiza Mexican-American mother and Dutch-Jewish father. Her blood is a peace treaty she honors through prayers of dance, poetry and song. After competing on the 2005 National Poetry Slam Champion team, she received her BA from Hampshire College in multi-disciplinary performance and arts-based education. She has worked as an artist educator with many groups in New Mexico and beyond, including the New Mexico School for the Arts and the Institute of American Indian Arts. Esmé has participated as a movement, theater, music and teaching artist in the constellation of Dancing Earth since 2017. She lives on the Big Island of Hawaii and in Jicarilla Apache, Pueblo and Ute terrain with her partner, where they expand on how music, dance and storytelling may seed new culture. Learn more at EsmeOlivia.com. (headshot courtesy by Mary Arose at Sacred Hand Productions and headshot courtesy by Karla Flores for Dancing Earth).
Elaine Talamaivao
Califa Cultural Visioning Partner & Community Organizer
My name is Elaine Talamaivao (She/Her) I currently live, dance and provide community outreach on Cahuilla and Tongva land. Through my love of dance, I provide community opportunities for youth to share in the ancient art of storytelling through dances and languages of my ancestors stretching from Aotearoa, Samoa and Hawaii. I am working as Community Organizer for the new and incredible California project to nourish our intercultural communities in this challenging year; Dancing Earth’s Califa: RE-SToring the Source Retreat.
Gabriel Carrion-Gonzales
Califa Executive & Intercultural Impact Producer, and 2023 BETWEEN II Performing Artist as Re-Gen, and Teaching Artist
Gabriel Carrion-Gonzales is a Queer Brown Chicano male-identifying body native to the South Valley of ABQ, NM, unceded Tiwa territory. Gabriel has the resources to trace his maternal lineage to Guadalupe Hildago, MX, and Hatch, NM. His paternal lineage to Cabazone Peak, NM and Bernalillo, NM. Gabriel has spent 14 years of his 24 years of life on this Earth discovering himself as a dancer/mover/artist. Through this journey, he has learned much about light, love, body positivity, and encouraging others and himself to exist in their highest form possibly through dance and the arts.
Gabriel began his dance training in the 3rd grade at Navajo Elementary with the National Dance Institute of New Mexico's outreach program, he continued with this program 8th grade where he transitioned to study with the New Mexico Ballet Company and other local dance schools. Gabriel decided to move to Pennsylvania to study classical ballet at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet for 2.5 years. He returned to New Mexico to study psychology at the University of New Mexico. Following graduation, Gabriel accepted a position with AmeriCorp working at the National Hispanic Cultural Center before transitioning to working as a residency artistic associate with the National Dance Institute of New Mexico!
Gabriel has been a part of two national artistic administration leadership cohorts (Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training mentee 2020-2021 and David Herrera Performing Companies LatinXtensions mentee 2021-2022). Gabriel serves Dancing Earth not only as an artist but also as an Executive Producer and Intercultural Impact Partner for the CALIFA Project umbrellaed under Dancing Earth.
Justin Giehm
2023 BETWEEN II Rehearsal Assistant, Performing Artist as Lightening Eyes, and Teaching Artist
Justin Giehm is a dancer, model, and aspiring actor based in Colorado, of Navajo, German and mixed heritage. At a young age, Justin began dancing by teaching himself from YouTube and later went on to teach various styles of dance, including hip hop. He became a member of Dancing Earth in 2014, joining the Summer Institute and a show called SEED with 60 community members in the Four Corners area. Later touring with SEEDS REGENERATION to Canada, Guahan and O’odham and Ute territories in the US, including performances at the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts and Ordway Theater. His work with Dancing Earth lead to being casted in TV series Jamestown which filmed in Europe, and in ‘Dr. Atomic’ with director Peter Sellars at Santa Fe Opera. In October 2019 and January 2020 he performed in Dancing Earth’s latest work Between Underground & Skyworld in Yelamu/San Francisco and ASU Gammage Tempe/Phoenix.
Raven Bright
2023 BETWEEN II Performing Artist as Time Twister, Teaching Artist, and Costume/Props/Sets Maintenance Master
Raven Bright is a NM based artist with 15 years of background Raven Ilm Bright, of Navajo and Anglo heritage from Gallup, New Mexico, traces his roots not only from the blood of his families, but also from the heart and soul of the HipHop and Indigenous contemporary dance communities of which he is a part. From Gallup’s Foundations of Freedom crew, he then achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Fort Lewis College. Subsequently he was selected for a full scholarship for Dancing Earth’s Summer Institute, and has been a collaborating artist on the creation of Between Underground & SkyWorld. He toured with the company to Arizona and San Francisco, as well as the company’s 2019 invitation to the Kennedy Center with the production of SEEDS REGENERATION. In 2020 he was the dance champion of the acclaimed Breaking Hearts event. When the pandemic canceled Dancing Earth’s 2020 performances, Raven has been contributing to the well-being of his community as an essential worker - for which we thank him- and we all appreciate that he can offer this dance class to Poeh to inspire others, and return him once a week to his purpose as a multi-disciplinary teaching artist. Besides his passion for dancing and visual art, Raven is also a dedicated teacher of dance, giving back to his community with workshops for Santa Fe Indian School, Navajo Prep, and six years teaching experience at Gallup’s Foundations of Freedom Dance Studio. This year, Raven is featured in the Albuquerque installment of the public television series “If Cities Could Dance,” and Covid response of dancers in unity.
Sarah Hogland-Gurule
2023 BETWEEN II Performing Artist as Heart Opener, and Teaching Artist, Grantwriter, and Director/Choreographer for UNBOUND (a major upcoming Dancing Earth project)
Sarah Hogland-Gurulé (she/they) is a Xicana living in Tiwa land, her ancestral homeland known as Albuquerque, NM. She is a dance artist and educator guided by the belief that dance is a form of embodied healing, remembrance and visioning; all essential tools for collective liberation. Sarah began her dance training at Keshet Dance and Center for the Arts and continued training as a pre-professional at the University of New Mexico, where she received a bachelor of arts in contemporary dance (summa cum laude) and conservation biology (magna cum laude). She has performed with MALACARNE, Pat Graney Company and CHERDONNA (Seattle, WA) in addition to Lawine Torrèn (Austria) and Yeztli Danza y Arte (Albuquerque, NM). Her solo work has been presented by the American Dance Festival’s Emerging Choreographer’s Showcase, Seattle’s Next Fest New Works, Seattle People of Color Arts Salon, Isis Women Arts and the University of New Mexico. Sarah also teaches dance to incarcerated youth and women, as well as locally in the community. She has also been a contracted artist through the City of Albuquerque as part of their inaugural CityMakers program and an artist in residence at Explora Children’s Museum. She performs regularly with Meow Wolf Santa Fe and is broadening her movement curiosities to pole dance, house dance and popping. About UNBOUND: https://dancingearth.org/unbound