(1993) January 29 & 30 – In Winds of Sand – the earth and the art of being – an installation performance, Washington, DC – Dorothy Betts Marvin Theater  – USA Premiere

(1997) November 1 – In Winds of Sand, Aula Magna Theater, Central University, Caracas, Venezuela –  World Premiere

(1992) Sands Cycles Film
Projected installation on stage — Magic and power of the sand dunes coupled with the harsh realities of surviving in this stark wilderness environment … the mysteries of change and survival
Stage installation In Winds of Sand performance.
Shown in film festivals
Sand Cycles:  https://maidadance.come/works/sands-cycles/

In Winds of Sand:
SandS CycleS (1993) an art film of Withers improvising at Coral Dunes, Utah and White Sands, New Mexico is projected on an elaborate stage set;  slides of sand dune formations projected on the floor with 8 slide projectors, technology available at the time.

The stage dance work parallels the structure of SandS CycleS film which is edited based on Hero’s Journey, concepts and characters defined  by Joseph Campbell, psychologist and mythological researcher, writer, and scholar.  Hero’s Journey, Campbell’s eight characters:  innocent, martyr, orphan, caretaker, warrior, destroyer, magician, and the ruler. The decision by Belle Cluff to edit the film based on Campbell’s Hero’s Journey came after all site work, filming on Coral Dunes and White SandS was completed. During the month of working on the dunes, Maida was creating varied scenarios based on each days exploration in the deadly heat and wind and the challenge of moving in the deep, hot sand.

In Winds of Sand
Dance:  Maida Withers
Film:  Verabel Call Cluff
Music:  Alex Caldiero (bendir drum and vocals) – after film created

Withers “Statement to the Earth” – Program Notes
“Maida Withers began exploring land sites as a place for healing and to develop artistic work. The Coral Dunes of Utah and the White Sands of New Mexico are the Earth site sources for In Winds of Sand. For Withers, the Coral Sand Dunes represents a deep connection to her place of birth in Kanab, Utah. In 1987, Withers began the first of her land site process creations with “Moving Earth/Dunes.” In 1990, Withers and Verabel Call Cluff,  studying the life and rituals of Pueblo Native American peoples in New Mexico, initiated the White Sands project, shooting many of the photographs included in the production In Winds of Sand.  Withers and Cluff returned to the White Sands and the Coral Dunes in 1991 for almost a month to engage in a “daily” shoot for the dance video. The performance installation of In Winds of Sand is a large painting, a subtle and shifting space much like the sands, that captures Withers’ experience of working and living with nature.” (Maida Withers)

*The Hero with a Thousand Faces, book by Joseph Campbell. “In his lifelong research, Campbell discovered many common patterns running through hero myths and stories from around the world. Years of research lead Campbell to discover several basic stages that almost every hero-quest goes through (no matter what culture the myth is a part of).  He calls this common structure “the monomyth.”

View DUNE In Winds of Sand:
https://vimeo.com/101621322 (00:00:00 to 0:05:58)
View Moving Earth/ DUNE…Earth Spirit Rising:
https://vimeo.com/9360613 9  (0:09:13 to 0:16:53

In Winds of Sand performances including SandS Cycles film projection:
1997 (July 8/9) Theatre Dunois, Paris, France
1997 (Nov 1) Korea and Venezuela
1996 (June 13) The Netherlands
1995 (April 26-29) “ART, CULTURE, NATURE Conference, Salisbury State University – Maida Withers presentation and sharing video, In Winds of Sand, “Environment Consciousness through Body Consciousness.  Creative Process of Movement and Dance.”
1994 (January 21/22) Marvin Center Theatre, in concert with Je Young Kim (Korea) performing Monalisa (Music by Meredith Monk);  Virtuous Woman, music by Chang Seok Joon, and Fascination (Improvised duet by Jey Young and Maida).
1994  (May 4)  Early version performed in Seoul, Korea with noted Korean Saxophonist, Kang Tae Hwan performing live
1993 (January 29 & 30) Marvin Center, GW Dorothy Betts Marvin Center with  saxophone artist – recording
1993 (August 12) Se Jong Culture Center, Seoul, Korea (Cultural Exchange)
Collage: Maida Withers, Coral Dunes, Utah; Photo: Filmmaker, Belle Cluff

Maida performing in Korea




Above  – Korean Dance Magazine Editor; Shaman Family Healing 

Workshop: Jooksan Teachers_Korea

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John Dow