Thursday, March 23, 2006
A Dance Against the Occupation
Written by Luz Schreiber and Zach Arcidiacono
While the major antiwar organizations prepare for mass demonstrations in the fall, a group of dancers, poets, singers and other cultural performers gathered in the north plaza of Union Square Park on Sunday July 31 to protest the occupation of Iraq. Billed as a dance for peace, it was organized by Ollin Imagination, an activist group whose goal is to spread cultural circles in which art and politics are naturally intertwined and create a culture of resistance.
Cetilitzli Nauhcampa, an Aztec dance group, opened the event with a spectacular series of dances. The festival went on with Indian dance solos performed by Tatiana Rodrigues. Ellen Xiao Feng Guidone performed an Indonesian dance solo called “Golek Ayun-Ayun.” It is a western Javanese dance about the process of getting ready to face a day. Ellen is also a member of Organizing Asian Communities (CAAAV).
Rap artists Koba from the group Kontrast and Derone brought hip-hop with a social conscience, in two charged performances, casting a spotlight on the marginalization and repression of youth, and striking a note of defiance and resistance. Earthdriver bassist Jeremiah’s lyrics of love, with melancholic undertones, allowed for a moment of reflection.
Nuyorican poet Rafael Landron updates the famous ‘60s slogan “No Vietnamese ever called me nigger” with his powerful piece “No Iraqi ever called me spic,” a scathing indictment of the hypocrisy and racism of the United States. Lenina Nadal captures the privileged and the dispossessed’s perceptions of our increasingly polarized world in a poem that illuminates the hopes, dreams, anxieties and fears of the have-nots, while exposing the ultimate hollowness of privilege.
Chicana poet Erika de LaRosa, from the Mahina Movement, speaks with pain and pride about growing up in two worlds, the alienation and dual consciousness created when “the border crossed us.” Many Americans do not realize that just as US Marines occupy Baghdad and Kabul today, they once occupied Mexico City, annexing half of Mexico at gunpoint.
The event culminated in dozens of attendees participating in a vibrant, communal Afro-Puerto Rican ‘bomba’ dance with Los Bomberos de Brooklyn. Both young and old gathered and shared a moment of solidarity and celebration. “It was liberating to make an antiwar statement without being militant and combative ourselves,” said event organizer Timothy Rodrigues. “Dance is a fun, universal act that folks can enjoy together.”
The dance festival was an outcry against the war being carried out at home as well as abroad. Immigrants and people of color are being racially profiled, detained and disappeared everyday as our civil liberties are eroded. Working-class and people of color communities are being aggressively targeted for military recruitment. Monami Maulik’s (Desis Rising Up and Moving) chilling description of the arrests and deportations impacting the South Asian community, as family members disappear into a judicial netherworld, contrasted sharply with the prosaic routines of the shoppers and pedestrians relaxing in Union Square. Her words were a welcome wakeup call to the public. The Bush regime may well broaden the scope of repression, as has already begun with the detention of American citizen Jose Padilla, if dissent against their policies becomes more vocal and militant.
The dance festival denounced the crime of occupation in Iraq and in all occupied territories on the world. It was a dance for the democratic rights of self-determination, sovereignty and the right of resistance.
“War is due to the failure of human imagination. The festival tried to imagine the defeat of the culture of war and violence, thereby creating a culture of peace and community.” John Kim said, a member of Soul Survivors, who co-sponsored the event.
People passing by would stop to watch the performers, but also to dance and raise their voice for peace. The crowd shuffled with each performance, drawing approximately 300 over the course of the day. Shirley Lin, a member of New Immigrant Community Empowerment spoke of the symbolic importance of having this dance for peace in Union Square. “In the aftermath of 9/11 Union Square became a cutoff point where New Yorkers immediately started gathering. It became a place for debate as well as a space for remembrance.”
The powerful and hopeful message of the event elicited a warm and energetic response. “A movement of resistance that is based in creativity and love is the biggest threat to the war culture, because it generates a meaningful alternative.” Amy Hamilton said, a member of MAMA (Mother’s Alliance for Militant Action). Those in attendance were charged with positive action and glad to see that we have the power and ability to create beauty and imagine ways to relate to each other with respect and build a strong community. You can contact Ollin Imagination at: ollinimagination@yahoo.com.
While the major antiwar organizations prepare for mass demonstrations in the fall, a group of dancers, poets, singers and other cultural performers gathered in the north plaza of Union Square Park on Sunday July 31 to protest the occupation of Iraq. Billed as a dance for peace, it was organized by Ollin Imagination, an activist group whose goal is to spread cultural circles in which art and politics are naturally intertwined and create a culture of resistance.
Cetilitzli Nauhcampa, an Aztec dance group, opened the event with a spectacular series of dances. The festival went on with Indian dance solos performed by Tatiana Rodrigues. Ellen Xiao Feng Guidone performed an Indonesian dance solo called “Golek Ayun-Ayun.” It is a western Javanese dance about the process of getting ready to face a day. Ellen is also a member of Organizing Asian Communities (CAAAV).
Rap artists Koba from the group Kontrast and Derone brought hip-hop with a social conscience, in two charged performances, casting a spotlight on the marginalization and repression of youth, and striking a note of defiance and resistance. Earthdriver bassist Jeremiah’s lyrics of love, with melancholic undertones, allowed for a moment of reflection.
Nuyorican poet Rafael Landron updates the famous ‘60s slogan “No Vietnamese ever called me nigger” with his powerful piece “No Iraqi ever called me spic,” a scathing indictment of the hypocrisy and racism of the United States. Lenina Nadal captures the privileged and the dispossessed’s perceptions of our increasingly polarized world in a poem that illuminates the hopes, dreams, anxieties and fears of the have-nots, while exposing the ultimate hollowness of privilege.
Chicana poet Erika de LaRosa, from the Mahina Movement, speaks with pain and pride about growing up in two worlds, the alienation and dual consciousness created when “the border crossed us.” Many Americans do not realize that just as US Marines occupy Baghdad and Kabul today, they once occupied Mexico City, annexing half of Mexico at gunpoint.
The event culminated in dozens of attendees participating in a vibrant, communal Afro-Puerto Rican ‘bomba’ dance with Los Bomberos de Brooklyn. Both young and old gathered and shared a moment of solidarity and celebration. “It was liberating to make an antiwar statement without being militant and combative ourselves,” said event organizer Timothy Rodrigues. “Dance is a fun, universal act that folks can enjoy together.”
The dance festival was an outcry against the war being carried out at home as well as abroad. Immigrants and people of color are being racially profiled, detained and disappeared everyday as our civil liberties are eroded. Working-class and people of color communities are being aggressively targeted for military recruitment. Monami Maulik’s (Desis Rising Up and Moving) chilling description of the arrests and deportations impacting the South Asian community, as family members disappear into a judicial netherworld, contrasted sharply with the prosaic routines of the shoppers and pedestrians relaxing in Union Square. Her words were a welcome wakeup call to the public. The Bush regime may well broaden the scope of repression, as has already begun with the detention of American citizen Jose Padilla, if dissent against their policies becomes more vocal and militant.
The dance festival denounced the crime of occupation in Iraq and in all occupied territories on the world. It was a dance for the democratic rights of self-determination, sovereignty and the right of resistance.
“War is due to the failure of human imagination. The festival tried to imagine the defeat of the culture of war and violence, thereby creating a culture of peace and community.” John Kim said, a member of Soul Survivors, who co-sponsored the event.
People passing by would stop to watch the performers, but also to dance and raise their voice for peace. The crowd shuffled with each performance, drawing approximately 300 over the course of the day. Shirley Lin, a member of New Immigrant Community Empowerment spoke of the symbolic importance of having this dance for peace in Union Square. “In the aftermath of 9/11 Union Square became a cutoff point where New Yorkers immediately started gathering. It became a place for debate as well as a space for remembrance.”
The powerful and hopeful message of the event elicited a warm and energetic response. “A movement of resistance that is based in creativity and love is the biggest threat to the war culture, because it generates a meaningful alternative.” Amy Hamilton said, a member of MAMA (Mother’s Alliance for Militant Action). Those in attendance were charged with positive action and glad to see that we have the power and ability to create beauty and imagine ways to relate to each other with respect and build a strong community. You can contact Ollin Imagination at: ollinimagination@yahoo.com.
# posted by Ollin Imagination @ 9:17 AM 
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