Today’s Offering: Resist Resistance

Resistance often

takes the form of fear to

block us from our goals

Here’s a picture I took of gorgeous fall foliage in Fairmount Park. I totally love this time of year, especially because it is my birthday season. Last week I took some time to celebrate. Which to me means time for peace and quiet. Every year I take time to read, write, pray, give thanks, practice my music, reflect, take long walks, go out for a nice jog here and there, take photos, work outside in my yard, meditate and more or less catch up to myself.  Then, once I’m restored, I’m happy to get together with family and friends.

My first day off I gave Denys a call during my walk to the track. I reminded her the next day was my birthday. We laughed. We have this long standing joke. Even though we have been friends for decades, and were born in the same month of the same year, I’m always reminding her when my birthday comes. And more often than not, I’m reminding her when her birthday comes too.  She was about to go into a meeting, so our conversation was cut short.

Then I opened up YouTube on my smart phone, where I had cued up MarieForleo’s vlog post about six so-called health foods that should be avoided. Then I went down the rabbit hole of marie.tv and stumbled onto her interview with Steven Pressfield. Marie had a dog-eared, much-loved, marked up copy of his book, “The War of Art.” 

Today’s Offering: Try to Love Yourself

Even though I love

myself just as I am, I

still seek improvement

Ever hear that critical voice inside insisting that you are not enough? Is that voice hammering away insisting that if only this, if only that, if only the other, I’d be okay? Have you ever frowned upon seeing a photo of yourself? Or do you ever look in the mirror and cringe? Do you dismiss loving yourself today and think you’ll be okay once you lose the extra pounds, do something with your hair, land a new job or work your way out of debt? I’m here to tell you that you are not alone. I’m also here to tell you that you’re fine just the way you are. You deserve to be loved exactly as you are. You deserve most of all, to be loved by you. Approve of yourself. It’s your birthright to love who you are, right here, right now. The process of self-discovery and self-improvement lasts a lifetime.

Commit to making improvements where you can. But also, please make a conscious effort to silence the critical voice.

Today’s Offering: Talents, Gifts and Abilities

 

When Source created

us, we were all instantly

endowed with talents

Today’s Haiku gives all of us permission to be ourselves. Each and every one of us is unique. We’re all gifted with special talents completely our own. This is a photo I shot of a winter sunrise in my Overbrook neighborhood. Sometimes, on those perfect days when I'm at my desk writing by 4:30 in the morning and out the door to start my run at dawn, I pause and capture the magic. 

Today's Haiku, Photo and Musings

Desire nothing

Believe you already have

Everything you need

Haiku is an ancient form of Japanese poetry that I love. Its simple format calls for three lines, containing five syllables in the first, seven syllables in the second and five syllables in the third line, for a total of 17 syllables. I make it a daily practice to write Haiku. 

Today I leave you to think about your thoughts, your wants and your desires. If you go to a place inside your heart where you feel an abundance of gratitude, you will find that all of your desires are coming to you, so you relinquish the need to actually desire anything. 

I also love to take a lot of photographs. Here is a pic of Hampton University's waterfront campus, in Hampton, Virginia. I spent my pivotal developmental days here, as an undergraduate student. I often went to the waterfront alone. That's where I reflected on the meaning of life, wrote stories and poetry, and fearlessly obeyed my muse. The last time

Writing To My Summer Solstice!

Summer Solstice! Lilies in Bloom! Super Moon! Midnight Sky! Daylight at Dawn! So many reasons to celebrate life. And so much inspiration to write about. Sometimes I write when I’m in the hole, digging my way up from depression. Other times I write to learn or to share. I read, listen, research, travel, interview, absorb, organize, synthesize and formulate: a poem, an essay, an article, a proposal, a monologue, a fiction, a blog post. But most often, I write because I must.

“Each and every poem I write, I consider a gift from God. A turn of a phrase. Emotions that surface. An experience distilled into verse. Each offering is a present from the Creator. All praises, I say. Thank you for choosing me as the vessel.”

It’s not like I ever consciously chose to become a writer. Writing chose me.  I fell in love with the craft in 1960 at the age of five when I began to write letters to my grandmother, who lived 500 miles away in South Carolina. I have continued to write ever since.  And yet, even as I upload this post, I have three blogs languishing in various stages of inactivity.

Why three blogs?

First I started out with “Cultural Collideoscope.” I created it as a repository for my musings and meanderings about the arts:  music, dance, drama, film, visual art, fashion – all the cultural stuff that so inspires and defines me. I invented “Cultural Collideoscope” so I would have a place of my own to profile and review artists and a plethora of family and community events, especially because I so often find myself on the cultural scene, being overwhelmed with inspiration, taking the pulse of my life. Being me. 

Odunde - A Celebration of African Culture

Pheralyn Dove Photo

African traditions in all their glory and splendor are celebrated every second Sunday in June at Philadelphia’s Odunde Festival. I always look forward to Odunde. Here I have captured photographs and written a series of Haiku verses to commemorate this observance that embraces the African Diaspora and pays homage to West African rituals. Odunde was created in 1975 by Lois Fernandez upon her return from a profound journey to the Motherland.

  

Odunde is a

Spiritual gathering that

celebrates Oshun.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Odunde is based

on African traditions,

folkways and mores.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

The second Sunday

in June is set aside to

Celebrate Oshun.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Pheralyn Dove Photo

For each Odunde
Festival, Oshun holds back
the clouds and the rain.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Water is a part

of Odunde rituals

we observe each year.

South Street Bridge overlooks

Schuylkill River, where we

Praise our Ancestors.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Blessings pour down while

Praises go up to Oshun,

our River Goddess.

We chant prayers to our

Ancestors; We hold hands and

ask Oshun’s blessings.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Mountains, Rivers, and

oceans do not separate

us from Africa.

We give thanks and praise

for our Ancestors’ gifts and

their sacrifices.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Dancers and drummers

perform with exuberance,

pure love, joy and pride.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Dazzling array of

beautiful families are

wonderful to see.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

We come attired

in our traditional garb;

We celebrate life!

Pheralyn Dove Photo

We hug old friends and

make new acquaintances in

the huge marketplace.

Some vendors sell food

Some sell clothes, while others sell

Textiles and sculptures.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Jewelry and handmade

trinkets of all sorts are on

exquisite display.

Lois Fernandez, Odunde Founder - Pheralyn Dove Photo

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Designers show off

their unique creations and

entice you to buy.

Pheralyn Dove Photo

Asante Sana. Peace, Blessings & Homage to Oshun Always!

Soulful Ballet: Dance Theatre of Harlem

For as long as I can remember, I have been an ardent admirer of the dance: from ballet to modern, from African to jazz, from hip hop, to ballroom, from salsa, to break-dance – I love it all.  I was privileged to see the Dance Theatre of Harlem during their recent Philadelphia engagement at the Annenberg Center. The audience generously bestowed the company with hearty, sustained applause, and seemed to genuinely appreciate their artistry. There were, however, some mixed reactions. One friend who attended the performance found it “exhilarating” and was still gushing on her way out of the theater. Another friend thought it was “disappointing,” and while “not awful,” at least one of the ballets was “just plain boring.”

As for me, I personally enjoyed the entire evening and still feel energized from the experience. Lovely. Vivacious. Powerful. These are a  few of the adjectives I would use to describe the beauty, grace and mastery of this internationally-renowned dance institution, a rare gem with roots  in Harlem’s African American community that gives ballet dancers of color an opportunity to pursue professional careers. The company’s school of dance encourages students to pursue excellence on whatever paths their lives take them.  Arthur Mitchell, who was the NewYork City Ballet’s first African American principal dancer, was motivated to co-found the company in 1969 with the late Karel Shook, as a way to honor the legacy and uphold the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Virginia Johnson, who was Dance Theatre of Harlem’s prima ballerina for 20 years, now serves as the company’s artistic director. Another former company dancer, Laveen Naidu, is Dance Theatre of Harlem's executive director.

As I sat in the Annenberg’s Zellerbach Theater, I felt grateful to witness the company’s remarkable resurgence following an unprecedented eight year hiatus, during which time the administration concentrated on fundraising and re-organizing. I remember hearing the devastating news that because of a multimillion dollar deficit, they were shuttering their doors, so I felt an almost spiritual obligation to support their revival. Three ballets were presented the night I attended: “Gloria,” choreographed by Robert Garland; the classic “Agon,” choreographed by George Balanchine and “Contested Space” choreographed by Donald Byrd.

With a floaty, fairy-like presence, prepubescent ballerinas opened and closed “Gloria,” a ballet choreographed in the traditional form by Robert Garland. Current resident choreographer and former principal dancer for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Garland hails from Philadelphia; he studied dance under John Hines and Joan Myers Brown. The Mt. Airy native and Creative and Performing Arts High School graduate propelled “Gloria” through a series of poetic and lyrical expressive sequences that were performed with strength and dignity. The spiritual legacy of Harlem inspired the piece, which Garland dedicated to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, and its current pastor, the Reverend Calvin Otis Butts, III.

Donald Byrd’s “Contested Space” was the complete antithesis of “Gloria.” I found the choreography invigorating.  Its bold, modern aesthetics skillfully combined the restrained technique of ballet with the audacious attitude of hip hop. The piece was a complex inquiry into the meaning of relationships. I was absolutely blown away by the dancers’ amazing ability to showcase their formidable athleticism while portraying a piercing emotional depth.

In between Garland’s “Gloria” and Byrd’s “Contested Space” the company performed George Balanchine’s “Agon” a break through in dance which premiered on December 1, 1957 to the striking music of Igor Stravinsky. "Agon" was also a break through in race-relations because Arthur Mitchell and a white woman, Diana Adams, danced in the ballet’s central duet, or pas de deux. The legacy of this masterpiece is upheld with integrity by the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s current company. So they truly deserve kudos. And they also deserve props for perpetuating a grand tradition in dance and African American culture, whose greater mission is to “build community, inspire and uplift through the power of art.”

Asante Sana. Peace and Blessings Always

Dance Theatre of Harlem Upcoming Performances:

June 7 & 9, 2013 – Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington, DC

June 18-23, 2013 – Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Lee, Massachusetts

Contact: www.dancetheatreofharlem.org