Dynamic Manipulation.
Sphere Play.
Contact Juggling.
It started at a late night concert at Starwood. There is something called the Didge Dome. The Didge Dome is an open air structure that is made of large tree limbs. And at night it looks like this...
Here is a bird's eye view in the day:
(photos by Scott T. Morrison)
It may not look like much, but it feels sort of magical inside when music is happening. Every time I have been in there I am transported to a dreamy and other worldly state of being.
Late one Starwood night, Brooklyn's Raquey and the Cavemen did a concert which began at midnight. The fire glowed, and soft candles lit the rest of the circle, and they mesmerized the crowd. (And it this felt like such a familiar human experience...late at night, no electricity, people awake and congregating, musicians and dancers entertaining the crowd, as they have for thousands of years...)
At one point a young gypsy looking man placed a wooden box on the ground and opened it. Inside where what looked like crystal balls. He picked up one ball and spun it in is hand, then it whirled around to the back of his hand, and up his arm. At one point it seemed to hang in the air and spin of it's own free will. It was amazing. Then he pulled out two, then three, and finally four clear magical spheres. He balanced them, and made then roll and dance around one another. When it was over, the man put everything back in the box, and introduced me to the new phrase "contact juggling", and he was going to teach a workshop Saturday behind Phil's Grill.
Well, I missed the workshop, but I remembered the name. This is sort of what it looked like...
I am thinking this would be a surprising and cool thing to add to my belly dance solos...I love the crystal ball look--
And I can see having a veil over my head, wafting out onto the floor during a slow piece, having my hand hidden, and then bring out the ball and rolling it around my arm and hand...
Naturally, this skill is much more difficult than it looks. Gravity tends to steal the ball, and it can easily land at your feet....and roll away. But if I can do it...it looks very cool and will be a skill no one is really into in my tribe right now. They are into dance, poi, and hoop spinning, but I have never seeing anyone do sphere play around here. I ordered a clear ball and a DVD on how to do it. We will see. I am not looking to be a master...just pull off a few basic tricks. But I can't wait for the ball to arrive, and see if I can do it! I am motivated and want to practice. Who knows, maybe I have a knack?
No comments:
Post a Comment