Gotta Dance

This weekend Ali and I helped out at a friend’s wedding. We did or best to make sure that the couple and wedding party were able to enjoy themselves without worrying about the incalculable details that come with the wedding reception. Although we spent hours on our feet with little time to slow down, the reward at the end of the night made it all seem worth it.

After the food was cleared away and order was restored to the kitchen, we were released from our duties and invited to join in the celebration. I was really tired and was considering heading home for the night – but then the DJ started to play. If you know me well, you know how much I love music and that it is near impossible for me not to dance no matter how tired I am. And boy did I dance! For the next few hours I made the dance floor my primary occupation. After about an hour Ali came in and joined me and we got down to funk music from the 70’s and 80’s.

Something happens when I dance – I become happy from the inside out and experience pure joy and childlikeness. I see something similar in others as we move together on the floor each bringing out unique styles to the playground. Everyone plays well together, there are no bullies and everyone gets their turn; the place is filled with laughter and intensity at the same time. Like kids at play, your language, age, or history do not matter when you dance. You create your own culture together and celebrate each other’s company, all without the hindrance of words. You just enjoy yourself and the others as the music moves you.

When I freestyle dance I experience a freedom like no other. For lack of better words, I really find my groove. There is no room for insecurities or malcontent, as the music plays I just express of who I am while mingling with others doing the same. Somehow on the dance floor we make room for each other’s essence when we really let go and just dance. It was great to be in a room full of people who get that and do so with out hesitation.

When I went out dancing in the US, that kind of experience only happened in the company of a few friends I could really clown with on the dance floor. If they were not with me, there was hardly anyone engaged that kind of autonomy as they moved and I would feel displaced. But when we got together with kindred soul, we would just enjoy what we created and embodied on the dance floor; maybe that is why we loved it so much and would go out of our way to do it so often. Dancing on Saturday made me miss and celebrate them. Veronica, Megan and Eddie were with me in spirit as I mused on the dance floor. I remembered all the freedom and laughter we shared and wished you were with me to experience the collective camaraderie. I know you would have loved it as much as I did and you would have stayed on your feet with me for as long as they could carry us.

4 Days

This weekend Embellish, one of Reckoning’s companies, participated in the Atelier Celebration in Amsterdam. Atelier is the Open Studios Tour in Amsterdam's Jordaan Area which started in 1988 as a small-scale initiative of fifteen artists working in this picturesque old neighborhood, it has, over the years, grown into a phenomenon that draws many visitors and has become internationally known.

The Open Studios attract thousands of visitors to the Jordaan’s artist community. This year there is art in abundance - to see, to buy, and to discuss with the artist. It is an ideal way for galleries to scout for new talent. Ali was able to make some major contacts for Embellish and Reckoning and it gave us a chance to meet new neighbors in the Jordaan.

Yesterday we participated in the Serve the City Amsterdam’s kid’s party in Bos en Lommer. Bos en Lommer is a section of Amsterdam with over 30,000 residents living in 2.71 km area (about 1.6 miles) representing over 178 cultural backgrounds. Many of the recent residents are new immigrants who are separate from much of Dutch culture. They are often marginalized socially, culturally and economically in their adopted country and the children are trying to cope within this reality without the necessary skills to navigate through such obstacles.I had fun playing with the kids, serving water to parents and making pannenkoeken, a tasty dessert, for the children.

There was one 18-month-old girl in particular I noticed when I first arrived. She was of Middle Eastern descent and at the park with her grand parents and she never smiled, not once, while she was walking around the playground. Her distraught grandparents tried to get her to play on the swings, slides and seesaw, but she wandered around resisting everyone and everything. Then the face-painting area set up and she was one of the first children to participate. She sat in complete stoicism as the girls touched her face and began to paint. What broke the dam was when she looked in the mirror and saw her little face a smile finally erupted and she giggled and clapped her hands! It was like watching a new child emerge from with in her. For the rest of the afternoon she was running and playing and engaging with others. It warmed my heart to see how something so simple and creative could have such a profound change in a child.

By using art as a platform to facilitate transformation, Reckoning hopes to address some of the essential issues, which shape a child’s personal identity and their place in the world.

Today we are headed to Bos en Lommer for meetings with Podium Mozaïek to discuss a proposal to hold a Reckoning Event and offer workshops in the Bos en Lommer area. We have such a desire to connect and become part of this community and we believe that there are incredible opportunities that lie ahead for everyone involved, but most especially the children of Bos en Lommer.

So Excited!

I am headed out the door to spend the weekend with 13thFLOOR’s UK team in Amsterdam. I am can not wait to see the team and hug all of them to death. I have really missed them because they are in many ways my kids that I have adopted while in South Africa. I am looking forward to hearing all their stories and sharing some of mine as well.

Please be praying for Lourens' visa to get straightened out so he can join us soon.

Over the weekend I will also attend a gathering of artists and friends who are proposing and artistic way of challenging people’s worldviews. I am looking forward to hearing their plans and consider what they are doing. Who knows it may spark something in me.

Have a great weekend, I know I will.