Ann Van Kuren

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Transcript

Driftwood Spirit

(Bells & Dance Intro with 1st piece of Music: Ambedo by Rachel Panitch)

I remain, everlasting, like the sea, now a part of this place.

Part I

Like the powdered white weathered log I lounge among the seashell covered shore Cragged bark, ragged seagull feathers, faded seaweed I too proudly show my wrinkles, knots, and curves.

Indentations for treasures Hidden in these tiny crevices Small snail shells, fragrant wildflowers, cobbled stones The savory smell of balsam and cedar.

We, the ghosts, the remains, the memories Invite you to join us in this journey of life Of the musky earth, the energy-filled light, and the magical transformation in this dance we have with time.

DANCE SEGUE

Part II - FILM begins with Music: Debussy No.2 Voiles (Sails)

Salty water and unending wind Beat upon me but cannot break me Now in my second life on this earth I remain, everlasting, like the sea, now a part of this place.

(TEXT pauses)

The Dreamer-Moodas (The Dream Spirit)

Touched by his trembling hand, the wayside weed Becomes a flower, the rusty spiked reed Beside the mysterious stream Is colored and clothed with beauty.

The old primeval spectre rises Dark, shadow-like its eerie waste expands Arching over the valley Leaning from cliff to crag Its wild arms thrown over the stream below.

Unchanged alone, the same deep river Flows on, as it will flow forever.

PART III –

So timidly, so shy, I hear the low Soft ripples where its waters go; The wild-bird’s scream goes thrilling by I kissed the blue eye of a violet And gone was the woodland phantom Gone, where and how I did not know And I walked on – with a dream alone.

DANCE SEGUE

All I hear is the sighing breeze And the piercing cry of a flying loon. All I see are gaunt and budding trees The dying sun and the friendly moon.

DANCE SEGUE

I remain, everlasting, like the sea, now a part of this place.

Duration:

10 minutes, 34 seconds

Enjoy a video recording of "Driftwood Spirit," choreographed by Ann Van Kuren based on her experience as an Artist-in-Residence at Acadia National Park, Maine in 2019. The piece includes poetry by Mary Spotted Elk read by actress Cynthia Mazzant and music by Claude Debussy and Rachel Panitch, who was a composer-in-residence at Acadia in 2018.

Description and Statement of Driftwood Spirit by Ann Van Kuren

In the words and work of the pioneering American choreographer Martha Graham, "Dance is the hidden language of the soul…” One can experience this hidden language in Driftwood Spirit, a new work by Ann Van Kuren that weaves together imagery, journaling, film and choreography from Ann’s artist residency at Acadia National Park in Maine. Ann tells the story with music composed by Rachel Panitch (from her AiR stay on Isle au Haut) and Debussy, and inspiration from the life of Molly Spotted Elk, Penobscot Indian dancer, actress, and writer from the early 20^th century. This piece reveals the everlasting dance with time that we are all born into.

“The spirit of the driftwood log was discovered during my time staying on Isle au Haut. This is a timeless place where the sounds of mankind drift into the distance as nature’s continuing dance and endless ballet transpires. I felt welcomed as a guest, to take a seat on the large weathered white log at the edge of the water. I observed and listened to the story of the spirit of that driftwood. All my senses were heightened ... the sound of an insect louder than I had ever heard before … the colors more vivid, the textures deeper … aromata more potent … and small things seemed to grow large. As I started to dance and explore this environment and its story through movement, it changed me forever. I embodied that change as I explored other areas of Acadia National Park, including Pretty Marsh Harbor, Bar Island, Schooner Head, Schoodic Point, and Otter Cliff. Each place I visited, each story I heard and read of people who live there, brought new dimensions to the imagery I developed.

"Then I returned home to my dance company, VanDance Inc., to develop and shape the choreography into a work for the stage. In the live theatrical production I danced with images from the park that were projected on the backdrop like timeless spirits. I also express the spirit of Molly Spotted Elk conjured by actress Cynthia Mazzant and the beautiful sounds of Ambedo by Rachel Panitch, recorded by Cardamom Quartet. Ultimately, we then decided to make a dance film of the piece for the Acadia National Park (U.S. Park Service) online catalog."

Driftwood Spirit

(world premiere June 24, 2022)

Choreography: Ann Van Kuren

Music:

• Ambedo by Rachel Panitch, recorded by Cardamom Quartet, 2018 with Lisa Goddard, Rachel Panitch, Gillian Gallagher, and Ariel Friedman

Written as a part of Artist Residency at Acadia National Park, in particular inspired by time spent at Isle au Haut. The title comes from John Koenig's Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, a collection of invented words for shared human experiences. His definition for ambedo is: “a kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details—raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee—briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.”

• Preludes, Book 1, No.2: Voiles (Sails) by Claude Debussy

• Suite Bergamasque : Claire De Lune (Moonlight) by Claude Debussy

Text:

• “The Dreamer-Moodas (The Dream Spirit)” by Molly Spotted Elk, arranged by Cynthia Mazzant

Film: Jessica Cook

Performers: Cynthia Mazzant and Ann Van KurenVanDance Inc., a Pennsylvania-based professional dance company since 2001, is dedicated to creating and presenting unique, high-quality contemporary dance works through professional artist collaborations. VanDance delivers dance as an alive and vital art form through integrity in the creative process, education of audiences, and outreach to underserved populations.

Ann Van Kuren

Ann Van Kuren is a dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist based in State College, PA. Her creative work is focused on telling stories of people, places, and events through movement and dance, enmeshed in a sound environment. Recent themes and interests include the Jazz Age, femininity, time and water as valuable resources, and relating romantic-era literature, as well as folk tales and poetry, through contemporary movement, and exploring their powerful message to our lives and times. Her choreography explores contemporary modern dance composition that recreates for the audience, the experience of those stories in a meaningful way.

Ann received a B.A. in Dance and Mathematics from Butler University and her master’s degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from Ohio State University. She was invited to perform in the Festival Dance of the World in Pec, Hungary, Tanz Theatre Festival in Bonn, Germany, and Movement Research Institute in New York City, and has danced professionally with New World Dance Theatre, Fleet Street Contemporary Dance Company of Louisville, Pennsylvania Dance Theatre in State College, and her own company, VanDance Inc., founded in 2001. She is the recipient of a Choreographer’s Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Ann serves as adjunct dance faculty at Penn State University and is a rostered artist with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Visit her Facebook page, Ann Van Kuren/VanDance Inc.

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