Phoenix rising
"Phoenix Rising" was performed in a barn at the Rosekill Performance Farm in Upstate New York. I performed a wild bird dance recalling the shamanic practice of inhabiting animal qualities in order to merge seen and unseen realms. My body acts as a channel and pathway to a story or mystery that is not revealed, but rather is danced and then whispered via glossolalia to participants who interact with this avatar bird-like presence. (I realized later that his was the first appearance of the Mythic Bird in my work. Video: Karolina Kubik. Music: Chacarera Drums by Alessandro D'Aloia. June 2017
untitled
This is an excerpt from a shamanic dance performance at the Plaxall Gallery for the"Noumena" exhibit in Long Island City, curated by Jana Astanov. My performance began with a screening of my short film"Whisper". It was followed by a sage smoke offering for each audience member and this Mythic Bird dance. Video: Jana Astanov. Music by Three Trees. June 30, 2018
the
compassionate
one
A Scene from the gallery exhibit, I Am My Own Primal Parent curated by Katie Cercone, at KARST, in Plymouth, UK. This opening sequence clip shows an aspect of the Mythic Bird that I call The Compassionate One. It often happens during ritual performance, that specific archetypes arise to amplify my intent to warm and soothe the space between performer and audience. They help me connect (literally) with the the folks who are present. I see aspects of Nana Buluku (West African Fon religion), Durga (Hinduism) and Quan Yin (Buddhism) floating through. Music by David Jason Williams. September 28, 2018
Un
Un is a twirling dance by an avatar created by Jaguar Mary X called Mythic Bird. In Un, Mythic Bird performs the task of the Un-Doer. In the action of continuous spiraling, Mythic Bird creates a centrifugal release of compression for the witnessing audience. The audience is asked to breathe deeply to their own rhythms during the performance. While there are many traditions of whirling ritual dance, Jaguar Mary's performance draws from the Sufi dervish and Indigenous hoop dance traditions. Performed at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY Video: Shannon Yu 余香儒 Music: Chacarera Drums by Alessandro D'Aloia. November 2018.