United Nation’s Earth Summit (Eco ’92): (1992) June 3 – June 14 / Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Participants through international artists OMAME Projecto (May 15- June 1) / Brasilia, Brazil, prior to Eco ’92.
Brazilian National Movement of artists for Nature invited more than 100 international artists to Brazil, before and during the United Nation’s Earth Summit, to participate in the OMAME Projecto, an international congress of visual and performing artists for ecology.  OMAME is a Yanomami indigenous word meaning “creative manifestation of all things.”  The OMAME Projecto  began programming in May in Brasilia, Brazil prior to Eco ’92 in Rio de Janeiro.  MWDCCo was honored to be associated with international and Brazilian OMAME artists. Our goal with other international artists was to bring attention to the urgent global issues of the global environment through the perspective of global artists.  MWDCCo five week tour was funded by George Washington University, private contributors, and National Endowment for the Arts through the DC Commission for the Arts.

Brasilia, Brazil:  OMAME PROJECTO
Maida was deeply involved in important OMAME Projecto activities in Brasilia, the capitol of Brazil, prior to the Eco ’92 earth summit in Rio de Janeiro.  In Brasilia, May 12, 1992, the GALA opening night of OMAME Projecto, Maida Withers and the Dance Construction Company performed Rolling Thunder, a four-part earth consciousness dance, presented to a sold-out house of OMAME conference delegates and public patrons at the unique National Theatre, May 12, 1992. 

National Theatre, Brasilia, Brazil

“Rolling Thunder captures our love and deep concern for planet earth and the human race through a contemporary rite.” 

Rolling Thunder, an extraordinary four-part dance narrative, premiered in Brasilia at National Theatre and was repeated, in part, at United Nation’s Earth Summit, Eco ’92 in Rio de Janeiro at La Playa de Flamengo Beach Stage. In Brasilia, Maida also performed “In Winds of SandS,” a shamanic solo, along with an expanded version of her solo, Prologue: Cowboys and Indians Play.  We were honored to be featured in this significant opening for the international OMAME Projecto.

Rolling Thunder (No video is available of Rolling Thunder in Brasilia, Brazil.)  For review, please visit the performance in USA:  https://maidadance.com/works/Dance-for-the-Earth/  (28:28 to 01:06:23)

Sands Cycles, Withers commanding film shot on Coral Sand Dunes, Kanab, Utah, and White Sands, New Mexico was selected for showing in Brasilia.  This epochal work describes a woman’s journey of self in nature, similar to Joseph Campbell’s “heroes journey.”

MWDCCo dancers joined with other international dancers and artists to teach classes and workshops in public schools in Brasilia working on environment projects through the arts with children and teachers with some public activities/performances on the  mall near the national buildings of government.
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: UNITED NATION’S EARTH SUMMIT, MWDCCo projects, Eco ’92:
* Stone Garden – commission by  Museu De Arte Moderna Rio DeJaneiro

MWDCCo was honored to receive an invitation and support from the famous Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, a commission to create an outdoor site work in the museum’s beautiful and challenging block-long rock garden.  Stone Garden premiered June 6, 1992, one of seven exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio for the Eco ’92 conference.  For Stone Garden, dancers wearing skin colored leotards, crawled and slithered imperceptibly over large rough rocks from one end to the rock garden to another, at dusk.  Keiki Prince, M.I.T. environmental artist, wet some of the rocks to make the crawl easier (by inches at a time). Tiny lights were positioned in rock crevices to make interesting  illusions during the crawl. “What is rock and what is human?” This amazing slow, intense, drama, was performed at dusk by Maida Withers, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Stacy Palatt, Janine Ploetz, and Celia Portilho, Brazilian contemporary dancer. Didgeridoo music by Harold Gent, Canada, and Craig Gibson, combined with penetrating sound of Ken Haritsuka, Japanese/American stone carving artist pounding as he carved a line drawing on the large Sugarloaf Mountain stone contributed by the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro.  The message of unity between person and nature could not be clearer. Regina Miranda, national dance treasure in Brazil, was an important initiator through her vision as performance curator at the Museum de Arte Moderna.

 * Rolling Thunder, new world myth – Eco ’92, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Sandra Kammann, Stacy Palatt, Janine Ploetz, Sandra Kammann, USA dancers, and five contemporary Brazilian dancers (names TBD) performed Wither’s dramatic environment work, Rolling Thunder on La Playa de Flamengo beach stage, Rio de Janeiro  There were more than 10,000 conference dignitaries and others in attendance.

*Sugarloaf Mountain Site Performances: June 13, 1992, final day –  Eco ’92:  On Brazil’s most sacred mountain overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro, performing artists from around the world created events celebrating the earth with each other and for public participation.  MWDCCo dancers participated with other international artist through improvisation performance events,  in various location on the famous, sacred, Sugar Loaf Mountain. For MUD, MWDCCo dancers were joined by Gloria McLean, dancer from NYC, and Marilia, extreme vocalist (Brazil / Japan).  The mountain was vibrant and alive with artists from around the world celebrating Brazil and the earth through various public events.

(Evelyn Roth Documentary Film @ Sugarloaf Mountain (13:00 – 21:14: Gloria McLain & MWDCCo/Stacy Palatt & Audience)

For Eco ’92, OMAME international artists had excellent support of the mayor and the city government of Rio de Janeiro.  The beautiful large outdoor concert stage was set up on the La Playa de Flemengo beach by the City of Brazil to present local and international events to large international public audiences.  “There was so much excitement about creative engagement to move to a new level of commitment.” (Marilyn Wood, USA, Celebration Art )

Maida, with another American dancer, carried an outstretched white bed sheet in an official  “support parade” down the length of the ocean beach, bearing the text, “STOP Bushwhacking the Planet.”  This was a reminder to all that USA’s President Bush DID NOT attend the world’s first environment conference, Eco ’92, but sent Vice President Al Gore.  MWDCCo dancers (Maida Withers, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Sandra Kammann, Stacy Palatt, and Janine Ploetz) contributed greatly to the arts environment in both Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro for this historic summit. We were grateful for the privileges given us at the Summit.  We knew at that time, Rolling Thunder and Stone Garden would be the first of many projects in Brazil by Maida and DCCo.

Gratitude is expressed to Marilyn Wood,  International Center for Celebration, who invited us to engage in this powerful moment in history of global commitment, including the arts, as a vital vehicle, to planet earth – Brazil, ‘Eco 92.