For this month’s newsletter, the editor of the newsletter, Christos Galanis, takes a moment to share some significant news for our global CI community:
Here in the Hilltowns at Earthdance we’re having our first warm days of pre-spring, as the patchwork of flowing waters, mud, and leftover islands of ice and snow inform us that we’re on the threshold of both endings and beginnings. The bitter cold days that are surely still to come remind us that we remain firmly in the arms of Grandmother Winter, where all things here in the north go to die, or at least sleep deeply. And yet, the lengthening days and basking in the return of sun-drenched afternoons also remind us of the quickening of life to come, when all things new shall arise once more. So it should come as no surprise that - as above, so below - here at Earthdance we are both saddened by the news of a significant ending in our global community, while at the same time very excited to officially launch a new programming initiative whose seeds are so deeply and intimately connected to that particular ending itself.
For those who have not heard yet, Steve Paxton passed away this past February 20th at the age of 85. Considered the initiator of the thread of movement exploration and experimentation which would come to be known as Contact Improvisation, it would be impossible to fully grasp or describe the impact of Steve’s life on this organization we call Earthdance. Those earliest explorations and performances in NYC in 1972 gave birth to almost forty-two years now of the continuous evolution, development, and dissemination of this dance form which Steve consciously chose to never patent or gate-keep behind certifications and professionalized credentials. As the oldest CI-based intentional community in the world going back to 1986, Earthdance’s very existence and purpose is intimately derived from Steve’s original visions. Like everything, we have also evolved, diverged, and expanded more or less over the years. But in this month’s newsletter, let us take a few moments - and perhaps a dance or two - to honor, recognize, and offer praise and gratitude to this extraordinary life which is now complete.
Thank-you Steve, for all the dances, and all the ways your imagination and generosity have nourished countless people around the world.
Steve Paxton
January 21, 1939 – February 20, 2024
If you wish to take a few more moments to watch some of the earliest footage of the birth and evolution of CI and see Steve Paxton and other early founders dancing together, here are parts one and two of the short documentary Fall After Newton:
FALL AFTER NEWTON:
Part One:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k768K_OTePM
Part Two:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iGtJSxNUpI |