“Higher Ground”

 Daipan’s first annual 30/30 Butoh Dance Concert

featuring dances by: Sheri Brown, Mary Cutrera, Diana Garcia-Synder,

Joan Laage, & Helen Thorsen

June 22nd &23rd

Velocity Dance Center 8pm

1612 12th ave. Seattle WA

tickets 20$

Helen Thorsen’s latest dance for this concert s “Higher Ground”. This work takes a penatrating look at madness and transformation in contemporary society. 5 Dancers bring heart and grit to work inspired by David Maisel’s photos of the Oregon State Mental Hospital and the 3500 of cannisters of the remains found on site there.

 Higher Ground is a butoh inspired performance for 5 dancers: Mary   Cutrera, Briana Jones, Lin Lucas, Alan Sutherland and Helen Thorsen.  There are duets, trios and unison dancing.   The work uses movement, gesture and chairs to explore the interplay between   paranoia and serenity in the struggle to maintain control in the face of   madness.  The dance exams the beauty   and vulnerability of a soul coming to grips with their own unraveling. This   dance closes with the dancers finding their own resolution their higher   ground. The inspiration for the work comes from the Stevie Wonder Song “Until   We Reach The Higher Ground” and the documentary “The Library of Dust” based   on David Masiel’s photos of the Oregon State Mental Hospital where “One Flew Over   The Cuckoo’s Nest” was filmed. Masiel’s photos document the decay of the   hospital and the 5000 copper canisters which hold the remains of residents of   the mental hospital.  Over the many   years the hospital operated a crematorium on the premises. The dance explores   the interior life of our most vulnerable, the throw away people on our   streets, the loneliness of being unwanted in life as well as in death, and   the resilience of the human spirit.