Spirit Figures is a ritual, a theatrical yet spiritual ritual, with larger than life “puppets” carried and manipulated by dancers/humans created from materials destructive to human life and to planet earth.  This dance takes a level of pride in worship and honoring of the power of these attempts at dignity, royalty and, perhaps, godliness. There is also theatricality and absurdity in this play of our passion to destroy and use up without regard to now and to the future.

(1992) February 7 and 8   Spirit Figures premiered in an evening of concert dances titled Dance for the Earth, Arlington, Virginia.   Dances in the evening-length program of five works, were created in commemoration and honored awareness of planet earth and in preparation for our participation in the United Nation’s Earth Summit, Eco ’92. Spirit Figures is a contemporary ritual – totems to “the Gods” to protect the Earth.

(1992) May 12, 1992 Spirit Figures choreography was reconstructed in Brasilia, Brazil with four MWDCCo dancers and five Brazilian dancers, for presentation in the elegant National Theatre for OMAME Projeto opening ceremony in Brazil prior to activities planned for Eco ’92 in Rio de Janeiro.

National Theatre, Capitol, Brasilia, Brazil

Four Dance Construction Company dancers toured with Maida to Brazil to participate with international artists, OMAMA Projeto, and to collaborate with local Brazilian dancers in the first ever United Nation’s Earth Summit (Eco ’92). We were in Brazil more than five weeks. Our first weeks were in Brasilia, capital city of Brazil, where we taught dance in connection to the environment with elementary school children and performed often on the mall (lawn area) near the buildings housing government officials.  Our activities continued with OMAME Projecto in Rio de Janeiro.

In Spirit Figures, each dancer carries and performs with a unique physical “spirit figure” as a partner – Totem to the Gods.  In the USA, the spirit figure started with a healthy sized tree limb with a large plastic, inflated head, and other trash (old fabric, bottles, cans, other junk), items that cause harm and destruction to planet earth’s oceans and all life.

In Brasilia, a brilliant Brazilian visual artist (TBD) created the “spirit figures” props/characters like sea creatures using foam rubber and other available materials that were more appropriate for representing discarded/trash in Brazil.  Since there were no trees of any height in Brasilia, where the reconstruction occurred, bamboo poles (abundant in Brasilia) were used instead of tree limbs as the basic spirit figure (partner) to be manipulated by each dancer.  Dancers performed together this beautiful and somewhat awkward ritual with their new redesigned Brazilian “spirit figure” partner.