Pele's Gift
by Laurel Victoria Gray
from THE GILDED SERPENT
Magical adventures at the 1999 Visionary Dance Retreat in Maui, Hawaii.
"I know exactly what I want to do for the ritual dance into the sea. I want to be
Pele," I told the sponsor . Only later did I realize how audacious was my
decision, a decision which launched me on an unusual adventure into another
culture.
I was ecstatic when she asked me to be the guest teacher at her annual Maui dance retreat. For years, ever since she first
conceived of this event, I had watched from the sidelines, observing all stages
of the preparations. And after each retreat, I would hear the magical stories
of what everyone had done; I enjoyed watching amazing video footage. But as
much as I, too, wanted to be part of this event, I realized that my particular
specialities -- Persian, Uzbek, Georgian, Russian Gypsy, Ancient Egyptian and
such --seemed too esoteric and out of the mainstream of the general "belly dance" current. Delilah has long understood the connections between these forms and her beloved belly dance; after all, she was part of my 1989 performing arts delegation that traveled to Uzbekistan. But we both knew that many others had not yet arrived at that consciousness. To finally receive an invitation to Maui suggested to me that these non-Arabic forms had finally been embraced by the
Middle Eastern dance community.
One of the reasons that this sponsor chose Maui for her belly dance retreat is her devotion to dancing with nature and a yearly highlight is the ritual dance into the sea. Participants prepared by creating "seafaring" costumes. I had decided to portray the Hawaiian volcano
goddess Pele, a deity near and dear to my heart since she is a redhead and there are not that many redheads in mythology. (As a child I despaired whenever the fairy tales spoken of maidens with flaxen hair or raven tresses. Were there no copper tops?)
Over the months I had worked on the design and then began crafting the actual costume for Pele. The skirt had flames appliqued on it, the top had glittering, starlike sparks, as did the headdress. With Pele's special garments packed away safely in my suitcase, I began the last leg of my journey -- the flight from Los Angeles to Maui. It was then the magic began.
Read the rest of the story...
http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles6/lauerelgraypele.htm
from THE GILDED SERPENT
Magical adventures at the 1999 Visionary Dance Retreat in Maui, Hawaii.
"I know exactly what I want to do for the ritual dance into the sea. I want to be
Pele," I told the sponsor . Only later did I realize how audacious was my
decision, a decision which launched me on an unusual adventure into another
culture.
I was ecstatic when she asked me to be the guest teacher at her annual Maui dance retreat. For years, ever since she first
conceived of this event, I had watched from the sidelines, observing all stages
of the preparations. And after each retreat, I would hear the magical stories
of what everyone had done; I enjoyed watching amazing video footage. But as
much as I, too, wanted to be part of this event, I realized that my particular
specialities -- Persian, Uzbek, Georgian, Russian Gypsy, Ancient Egyptian and
such --seemed too esoteric and out of the mainstream of the general "belly dance" current. Delilah has long understood the connections between these forms and her beloved belly dance; after all, she was part of my 1989 performing arts delegation that traveled to Uzbekistan. But we both knew that many others had not yet arrived at that consciousness. To finally receive an invitation to Maui suggested to me that these non-Arabic forms had finally been embraced by the
Middle Eastern dance community.
One of the reasons that this sponsor chose Maui for her belly dance retreat is her devotion to dancing with nature and a yearly highlight is the ritual dance into the sea. Participants prepared by creating "seafaring" costumes. I had decided to portray the Hawaiian volcano
goddess Pele, a deity near and dear to my heart since she is a redhead and there are not that many redheads in mythology. (As a child I despaired whenever the fairy tales spoken of maidens with flaxen hair or raven tresses. Were there no copper tops?)
Over the months I had worked on the design and then began crafting the actual costume for Pele. The skirt had flames appliqued on it, the top had glittering, starlike sparks, as did the headdress. With Pele's special garments packed away safely in my suitcase, I began the last leg of my journey -- the flight from Los Angeles to Maui. It was then the magic began.
Read the rest of the story...
http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles6/lauerelgraypele.htm
