Dancing on a tree spine

I will one of these days be more proactive in providing pictures with some of these posts. Especially the tree I danced with this weekend....

I went to Tilden Regional Park north of UC Berkeley with my friend/mentor/teacher/collaborator for a short hike and a butoh practice/play. On our way back, we stopped at a tree that resembled a spine with the ribs jetting out the sides. We decided to pick this area for practice. Without any plan in mind, we began climbing the tree, which was at a slant, so if you fell you didn't have a long way to go down.

We laid on it; sat; leaned; walked from branch to branch; perched on a branch like crows taking a break; and, of course, danced. There's something calming, spiritual, and grounding when in nature, especially when you take the time to really BE in a spot.

Even though the bark on the tree trunk was dry and falling off, there were living pine needles at the edge of the some of branches, so we both knew it was still alive. Gazing up toward the sky, the other pines around us provided a blanket or net of protection. The wind traveled all around and through us and the tree, adding more of the natural atomsphere.

I wonder if that tree was dancing too. I hope we made it happy because I felt better afterward, even though I felt fine before.

Perhaps it's the connection with nature. With butoh practice, I find the exercises very primitive or related to nature. You learn to embody them as a whole, through a break down of body parts and senses. For example, I loved making my arm, hand and fingers mirror the tree branches. Then, I would allow the rest of my body to join in. Also, the sounds of nature. For instance, gawking like a crow or some other bird. Although, it may seem absurd at first (and we were laughing quite a bit at first), it's quite playful and animalistic.

Aaaahhh, nature! Give me some MORE of that!

I think we all could use a little more.

Do you dance in nature? If so, where?

Why I do this

Someone asked me yesterday about my butoh and movement practice. What does it really do for me? I immediately answered "it makes me feel human." It's an opportunity to express the human condition, emotions, and existence. I feel when all people watch performance--music, dance, theater, etc.-they can relate to it in some way. Music is emotional, just as movement and dance. The reason I love butoh so much is that it can go deeper on so many levels. There's expression and transformation happening simultaneously. There are breakthroughs within the work consciously and unconsciously/subconsciously.

I do this because I feel amazing after I do it. I feel connected to myself and those around me, who are either witnessing or dancing with me. I feel connected to those loved ones in my life, who are not on this earth anymore. I connect with the child I once was. I do this because I feel raw, human being.