Make art. And then make dinner last longer.
More than ever
A couple of years ago, at the height of grief I wrote about how aesthetic is the opposite of anesthetic— a choice between seeking either numbness or beauty. And here we are again, my friends. The deluge of news makes me want to both shut down and go wild with action. The clash of emotion and information renders me numb. Where to even begin?
But here is the thing. Since my car accident I’ve been numb— quite literally. Half of my head feels like styrofoam. This causes a delay in my vision and a gap in my vocal cords, so they don’t fully close. My voice remains so much quieter. It’s all one big metaphor, as it often is. I’m numb, unable to see clearly, and have to work extra hard just to be heard. The double crash of car accident and election stopped me in my tracks.
I was missing my life, my work, and my friends. But I wasn’t about to miss a trip to Cuba to see our youngest son perform with the incredible Ballet Beyond Borders (BBB). He would be dancing almost 30 times, and we’d have the chance to reconnect with the ever-growing BBB family of dancers — from Cuba, Italy, Romania, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, China, and across the US, including Native American dancers, and more. It wasn’t the ideal time for my physical health, but it was the perfect timing for my emotional, mental, and social well-being.
There is never a wrong time for art.
It was an avalanche of aesthetics — dancing everywhere all the time. Dancers who seem like little kids goofing and giggling, then step on stage and transform in to beasts, swans, storms, and stories. The heartbeat of Cuba is the clave drum— music is like wind, it simply swirls around you, down dirty streets, out of crumbling doorways, from instruments that are barely held together, out of vintage cars from a time long past. In all of the beauty, there is also so much broken or unavailable.
Cuba is a giant dose of perspective, the impact of politics and policies on people, and of the undeniable power of the arts. Ballet Beyond Borders partnered with Cuban dance school/company Lizt Alfonzo Dance Cuba. With over 1000 students located in old Habana we could see firsthand how dance gave opportunity, structure, story, and community.
Ballet Beyond Borders is true grassroots global impact— creating life changing opportunities for individual dancers, all the while connecting cultures and communities to a global movement through the universal language of dance. It is personal, profound, and powerful. The change it creates is tangible and needed now more than ever.
A couple of years ago I was in Italy for another BBB adventure when back home in the US it felt as though our systems were crumbling. I looked around Rome and thought of all of the history— the empires, the falls, the post-enlightenment dark ages, the wars. I asked our host how to hold such history. He told me America is still a toddler. And that the way forward when times are hard is to “Make art. And then make dinner last longer.”
And that is what Cuba did for me— moved me forward with art and perspective and love. And what Ballet Beyond Borders does best— make art with people from so many different places, beliefs, and stories and then gather around a table to laugh, cry, share, and dance. Make dinner last longer.
There will be a BBB show in Missoula on Feb 15th at the Westside Theater (evening and matinee) with new work co-created by some of the returning dancers. So many of the BBB dancers have gone on to professional careers or trainee programs, and many are reuniting for this show. It will be all kinds of genres of dance, and many new works co-created by the dancers themselves. It is the start of another new chapter for BBB. Join if you can, and if you can’t, please consider donating to BBB (or other art organizations) because sometimes the difference we can make is to chose beauty over numbness, ballet beyond borders.
Video “Manifest”— performed by BBB dancers, Dubai World Expo 2021. Choreographed by Alina Ciceo from Romania.
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Thank you, Elke for sharing your story. I too feel a bit discconnected these days and cherish the time I can immerse myself in my own creative endevors and community experiences. I just asked my family to take me to the BBB performance for my upcoming birthday. I hope you continue to heal and will have the ability to sing with the birds in the spring.
The most perfect instructions for a year and a time like this. Thank you for sharing your voice with us in the ways that you can right now. We are listening. We can hear you. It is so needed. Sending carrier pigeons of healing your way. Hugs to you xx