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.
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
photos by Randi Lynn Beach & Daniel Quat Photography
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!