Constellation Moving Company

Aerial-Dance-Theater Assemblage

other boxes

Stories for Future Ancestors Part I

AKA my contribution to the double solo show CONJUNCTION with Medea Exogiinos

STORIES FOR FUTURE ANCESTORS, PART 1:  OTHER BOXES

I. Chimera (seeking/sought)

II. Masala (bringing/brought)

III. Nepantla (losing/lost)

IV. Indigofera (finding/found)

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THE CHOREOGRAPHY

 

I. CHIMERA (Seeking/sought)

 Music: John Hardy by Bela Fleck, Jie-Bing Chen, and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt

(rope)

 

II. MASALA (Bringing/brought)

 Music: Folk Dreams by Nordic Raga

(rope and dance)

 

III. NEPANTLA (Losing/lost)

 Music: Island No. 2 by Arooj Aftab

(span sets)

 

IV. INDIGOFERA (Finding/found)

 Music: Hildegard of Bingen's O Tu Illustrata sung by Maia Ramnath and Medea Exogiinos;

            Vestige I by Lorn

(Spanish web and rope duo)

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THE VIDEOS

 

I. CHIMERA (Seeking/sought)

Music: Gånglåt från Laggars by Mynta

 

II. MASALA (Bringing/brought)

Music: Vildhonung by Nordic Raga

 

III. NEPANTLA (Losing/lost)

Music: Island No. 2 by Arooj Aftab

 

IV. INDIGOFERA (Finding/found)

Music: Hildegard of Bingen's O Tu Illustrata sung by Maia Ramnath and Medea Exogiinos

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THE TEXTS

 This is a living document which may continue to evolve. It is not a definitive statement with firm conclusions about anything, but a personal exploration during a pause to take stock of things and get my bearings. It reflects my thought processes between 2020 and 2024, and corresponds to the videos and choreography i was making at the same time. I will no doubt continue to think and learn further.

 

I. CHIMERA

A Story of the Chimera: A Chimera Walks into a Bar...

What This Is About:

            Listening to the Ancestors

            Many Kinds of Ancestors

Another Story of the Chimera: In Liminal Space

The Box Marked Other (Filling out the Form)

A Story of a Chimerical Wanderer

II. MASALA

Boxes in the Basement

Ancestor Stories

            Beyond 7 generations: 63,000s BCE to 1750s

            7 generations back: 1760s-1780s

            6 generations back: 1790s-1810s

            5 generations back: 1820s-1840s

            4 generations back: 1850s-1870s

            3 generations back: 1880s-1900s

            2 generations back: 1910s-30s

            1 generation back: 1940s-60s

Unpacking the Boxes: What I Learned (Listening to the Ancestors)

Who Are "My People"? (Many Kinds of Ancestors)

 

III. NEPANTLA

The Chimera Moved Out Onto the Plains Alone...

On Citation: An Intellectual Genealogy (Many Kinds of Ancestors)

Hybridity

Mestizaje

Liminality

            Songs of Nepantla (Listening to the Ancestors)

            1. Occam's Razor

            2. Song of the Streets

            3. Panoptes, Pandora

            4. The Hungry Caterpillar

            5. Song of Impurity

            6. Boomerang

            7. The Bridge

 

IV. INDIGOFERA

Indigo/Celestial Navigation

Soma

Indigofera

The "Medicine Wheel" (Listening to the Ancestors)

The Blood of the Covenant (Many Kinds of Ancestor)

            I Have Many Kinds of Ancestor (What Do I Do?)

                        Maternal Kin

                        Paternal Kin

                        Kith of the Covenant

            I Will Be Many Kinds of Ancestor (What Do I Leave Behind?)

A Story of a Crossroads