Hello dearest Music On Pointe Community!
I hope all of you are enjoying your weekend. As I am sitting on the balcony and seeing the vastness of the Ocean, I can’t stop but thinking what if all this didn’t exist? Would we still exist? Probably not. If we want to admit it or not, we are an essential part of nature. And for us to exist, nature must exist. While I enjoy witnessing the evolution of humanity, I also believe that we cannot forget where we come from. Our roots are our ground to stand on. The Earth gives us space to live and hence, we must also respect it back. Now there are several ways this can go, the Westernized or the Traditional way but this discussion, I will keep for another day but feel free to leave any comments and discuss.
Almost four months ago, I was invited by Pioneer Winter Collective to another Grassstains Residency at Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami, which was mentored by Gabri Christa. Our task was to get inspired and create. All of us, a diverse group of movers couldn’t help but feel uneasy in the energy of this European built complex; and later we found out that most of us would indeed not be welcomed in such spaces in its original versions. The feeling of being alienated stuck with me as I found a weird comfort in it. Why? Because I was used to it. I grew up in Europe, specifically East Germany, as a girl of color. But now I was challenged. I was allowed to feel what I ACTUALLY feel and share this feeling.
I saw statues that looked royal and, well, white, and other sculptures on top of the boat that was outside of the building that imitated immigrants of color, like me. So I started to imitate those.
During my further exploration around the Gardens I was immediately drawn to the Ocean. I found these beautiful mangroves that naturally protect us. But when I looked at them, I could see that they also felt disrespected. Their roots were covered by all kinds of plastic and other trash. They also felt un-welcomed.
So, as a side note, I also had a toe injury during that time. I was hardly able to walk, which meant I had to order my groceries for two months, which left me with a bunch of plastic bags. So, I decided to make a skirt out of it as my costume and I got immediately featured at the famous instagram account “onlyindade” (iykyk) – in the same post as Messi fyi!
But what was interesting, people got curious, people took photos, interviewed me, took videos and seemed very passionate about this topic, especially Miami locals. Why? Because Miami may not exist anymore due to rising sea water levels if the local government keeps the topic of Climate Change off the table and if tourists keep throwing their plastic cups into the Ocean from their boats (Yes, I have witnessed that.) See here:
The viewer ironically shows the steps of Vizcaya where I performed. By 2050, the sea water level may reach all the way up the stairs, aka 10 feet. So what do we do now?
If you want to keep this discussion going, you can also refer back to my personal of Music On Pointe’s Instagram: reshmadanse & music.onpointe
Until next time!
Reshma (Founder of Music On Pointe)
