Just lean back, and Susie and I are going to take you. Why am I living?" That is-I think about that constantly. My name is Tawnni Simpson I'm 25 and I think about "Why the hell me? Why do I have cystic fibrosis, but not only why do I have cystic fibrosis-why am I still living and all my friends that I grew up with, with cystic fibrosis and been in and out of the hospital with, are all dead. Their gestures and stories became the inspiration for "Still/Here" and a demonstration of the healing power of art. Nearly 100 people volunteered to talk and perform for Jones' cameras. I fear that my struggle to survive will be too painful. My name is Jay, and I love to make others smile. And the things that I fear are plane crashes. My name is Val, and the things that I love my husband, my children. Jones asked them to tell him what they loved, what they feared, what they wanted. Jason, Arnie, Val, Susie, Edie, Andrea, Louanna. reaching out to men and women who had never danced before. The words we hear, many of the movements we see, come directly from people facing sickness and death.įor over a year, Jones traveled the country -to Milwaukee, Austin, Pittsburgh. The creation of "Still Here" is the story of an extraordinary collaboration. But what makes "Still/Here" so powerful goes beyond the dance itself. Critics will call this his most important work, a landmark of 20th century dance. "Still/Here" will go on to critical and audience acclaim. I wish I was out there with you, but you know, I don't. Tonight is the American premier of his most ambitious dance yet - Still/Here. JONES:, this is the exciting and climactic moment. Just the sort of thing before a performance, huh?īILL T. That's the best cooked roast beef I've ever seen. Can I have just a little bit of a downstage cut, off the How could you conceptualize your lives if you draw it as a line? But sometimes I'm ready to go, like an angel. And I'm going to take it, I'm going to make it song, I'm going to make it movement. What do you know? What do you know that I don't know? What do you-what do we have in common that the average person does not? Tell me it. I said "Let's go out and deal with the people who know-who are front-line. įor me, as a person who has to deal with his own possible early death, is looking at people who are dealing with the same thing. These are all just places, but there's no reason you couldn't - they couldn't move. Well, my job is to evoke the spirit of survival. When I became sick, the pain overcame me.Īnd I overcame the pain to stand up straight and face the world. What does it look like? What does it feel like, taste like, smell like? The profoundest questions that I can ask can be answered with other people who are not in the dance world -literally, the issue of life and death. Peace I will find.Ĭindy -this is "a bird flying in the breeze." This is me now, remembering what it was like to nurse my little boy when he was a baby. This is me before I was diagnosed with cancer. WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT, Member of group of people, all with terminal illnesses: Grab it up." Bill-"Drink to me only with thine eyes." Devin -"Torn." Don -"Don't tie my hands." Chris -"Reaching up to a higher power, coming up empty-handed, coming back to myself." Bonnie -"Engulfing the whole universe.
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