Day 666: The Devil's Dance?

Oooh, it's Devil Day today. In Tarot, the devil has all kinds of meanings, from sloth and hedonism to the full enjoyment of the power of sexuality and the force of nature (that's from the druid tarot, that is), as well as tinges of procrastination and the potential for freedom from chains that is not yet taken... So good morning, then. Enjoy!

The Devil too is love

I am all high on Butoh. Thanks to lovely Susana, my Swiss-Peruvian artistic saviour, I got to go along to a performance/demonstration of Butoh dance in a quite magical house in the bowels of Lima (San Miguel), somewhere I'd never have made it to alone through sheer not knowing - not only would I not have heard of it, but I'd have had no idea how to get there and little confidence. 

I'd had the warmth and hospitality of lovely Susana the evening before, when she invited me to join her at a celebration for a friend's birthday. That was lovely, and she was fascinating and funny. And once again, her generosity and openness had her invite me along again. I commit right now to being more like that in the future. When people I know have friends visiting wherever I am and I can be of any help or welcome, I shall. Thank you for the lesson, Susana. It is gratefully absorbed. 

So off we went. We arrived at a residential door marked with a number and followed someone in. There was a big open space and paintings on the wide, white walls. They asked just 5 Soles (about a pound) for entry and in we went. There were people in comfortable clothes lounging and stretching on the floor. Not quite the formal theatre performance I'd been expecting. Finally, the projection started (not metaphorically, for a change - I mean the film). There was a Japanese guy who'd been doing the practice in Brazil. Can't remember his name... and then these incredible, playful, brilliant women: Doro Doro Quarks... Honestly, take ten minutes with them. They rock.

Metaphor

Four films in all, and then it seemed to be over. There was a man who didn't seem to like eye contact fiddling with his water bottle throughout, making noises with the bottle and the plastic label that he'd rustled off during the videos. Annoying. Then it was all over and the thing I'd picked up an inkling off as we arrived - that there'd be an element of participation later - started to happen. A swathe of people from the floor flocked to the back where there were mics and objects and started making amplified noise. It was very avant garde and quite wonderful. A woman started speaking and instructing us over that. A combination of the noise and the language meant that I had little idea what she was saying, but I was almost last in the circle, so by the time it got to me, the explanation had been danced by others.

Loving this incongruous image game

Still I thought there'd be a few circle exercises and a thank you and then we'd all trot home having intellectual chats about Butoh and presence, but no... from the warm-ups, we were all in. Somewhere between two and three hours later, covered in sweat, happily exhausted and glowing in the face, we ended up all lying on the floor. Hats off to the waterbottle guy. He made some amazing sounds with that thing, complementing the didgeridoo, the weirdy thundertunnel thing and someone making voice noises I didn't know were possible.

I'm not sure how Butoh my Butoh was - I think it was more ActionTheater/5Rhythms inspired stuffage - but it was just what I needed. Physical movement, spontateity, shared creation, physical contact and connection with lovely people, dance, music, flow and belonging. Just for that moment. Being part of something. No concern whether it's 'good' or not. Just flowing. God, I'm grateful for this, and for the last few years of play that allow me to show up at a situation like this and enjoy it fully. 

So thank you, thank you, thank you. You have outdone all the touristness of Lima tenfold. Thank you for letting me be part of this. And remember to check out those Quarks.

PS - two dog fixes today: a one-eyed mongrel and a sweet collie cross who did a bit of doggie dancing with her owner and was on her back, belly out, within seconds of our meeting.