Ascend with Poetry and Dance

By Natica Angilly

The Dancing Poetry Festival is a rare jewel in the community arts scene!!! Natica Angilly, artistic director of the event and pioneer of "dance poetics," serves as an its arts ambassador. She's been honored with the title "World Muse" at the First World Congress of Poetry and Culture, held in mainland China. Find this longtime OPEN EXCHANGE lister under Dance.

The spirit ascends in the act of "becoming a poem". It creates, interprets and illuminates hopes, wishes and realities. It may be more important in being and building the parts of the essentials of the "show" in the great "cosmic web" of time and space. Poets, dancers, readers, performers, artists, and the great of heart and mind, continue to seek to reveal current feelings, and relate the timeless wisdom honored through the poetic arts and communications.

Many performing artists seek to contribute to the making of memorable moments through the practice of inter-disciplinary arts. Creative alternative possibilities, brought through the fusion of poetry with dance in performance, strive to open access to enlightening wisdom which illuminates messages and meanings inherent in moving poetry, movement and music. Guides and "references" given by the words, intent and portent of the poetry, give the dancers current subjects to bring into being, to dance about, or to give refreshing interpretation or enlightenment with their moving visual achievements.

"We are all poems of God", said Fr. Alfred Beodekker, who was sometimes called the "Saint of San Francisco." This statement made a lasting impression on me. Wow, the universe must love poetry, I realized. During a recent speech broadcast from the Commonwealth Club, Deepak Chopra gave extremely informative data filled with new hope to the possibilities created by the wealth of knowledge and information from new discoveries, as well as ancient teachings about our own creative abilities and responsibilities. He spoke of the imperative need for wisdom and love to be practiced with this vast new information accessible from the world wide web. His paramount reminder is: "Action without love is meaningless and love without action is irrelevant". I remembered a paper delivered at a World Congress of Poetry, by my own husband and poet, Richard Angilly, titled "Poetry and Technology", with references to the vast possibilities for the poet to effect positive imprint and extension of new poetic inspiration to a waiting world. Our friend Dr. Kenneth Fan, a Poet Laureate of China, has written a best seller in China called "Poetic Management", which gives guidelines for business and personal management with an eye to the beauty of poetry.

"Let's change our world one poem at a time!", is a quote from the website of "Poets Lane", an announcement site for poetry events. Angor Mora, well known art entrepreneur of Marin County, said recently that the artists' thought to encompass inspirational ideas that called to the viewers artistic response could create meaningful opportunity for individual unfoldment, interaction and co-existence. In trying to apply a practice of creative realization in a world that uses words filled with power and promise, why not consider the dance of life a poetic dance? Dancing out meaningful messages could again become key in expansion of self expression and may help us keep in more intimate touch with ourselves and how we think and feel. It is said that one of the great gifts of the arts in education is that of developing a greater vocabulary for social communication and interaction

There are many creative events available for the practice of poetry in motion. Educational conventions, important social ceremonies, celebrations, dedications as well as international congresses and peace conferences. The Dancing Poetry Festival is an annual event created to encourage poets and dancers to collaboration and to give witness to what is currently on the minds of a world wide diversity of poets. Held annually at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, it is sponsored by Artists Embassy International in order to further understanding and excellence though the universal language of the arts. Performing artists are chosen from open proposals to give an overview of the diversity the art has to offer in making the case for spoken word and movement performed in unity. The discovery of new artists and re-connecting with returning artists is always exciting.

The challenge to new and veteran performers can only assist in the continuing human endeavor of self realization and creation with loving participation with thought, words and motion. Guidelines and "references" given by the words, intent and portent of the poetry give the dancers truly "something to dance about". The vast creativity and presence in the poetic ideas presents a continuous fountain of possibilities. New poetry is discovered though a world wide search with cash awards offered for poetry entered into the annual dancing poetry contest which closes on May 15. Winners are invited to read their work at the Dancing Poetry Festival. Three grand prizes are chosen to be choreographed, costumed and premiered at the event by Natica Angilly's Poetic Dance Theater Company.

All the inspirational muses for poetry, art and science might cajole each one of us with an invitation to join in the great poetic dance, and ascend or transcend with poetry and dance!