Knowing our Roots

Maman Germaine taught class yesterday in the morning. She is the founder of the school and a very powerful woman who commands presence and respect. When going across the floor during a specific exercise, she asked us all to keep our heads straight. You must know the base, the beginning, she said, so that you can know who you are. Even in contemporary dance, you must know your roots, for clarity. When you know who are and where you come from, you are a very powerful person.

Then she had us create a simple movement signature. Something we must show her every time we see her. I'm glad I kept mine simple!

We watched a video in the afternoon showing the beginnings of School on the Sand. It was fashioned after the idea of a New Babylon, where people around the world could come and share what they know and who they are. One dancers in the video said, black or white, art is not hypocritical. It does not lie. Maybe we do, but in art we show our hearts. Ciré Beye, who came to teach us Sabar at UC Berkeley was in the video. He was one of the first students to arrive here. Maman Germaine said in the video that at first there was nothing but sand. We put our tents down and called this our home! We take our time to know each other. We sleep together, eat together, dance together, and we take our time. It was an incredible video. Good for us to know the roots of L'Ècole des Sables. Good for us to think about our own roots. And how when we stomp the floor in the beginning of Patric's class, we are waking up our ancestors.