Talking Roots: Trees of Witness is a new outdoor vertical dance production investigating scientific theory and traditional understandings of forest systems, land management, and environmental justice, and will feature the songs, voices and stories of our Ohlone community. It is a collaboration between the vertical dance company BANDALOOP, the Confederation of Ohlone People, and the Lucas Artists Program.
Led by BANDALOOP choreographer Amelia Rudolph and culture bearer Charlene Eigen-Vasquez of the Confederation of Ohlone People, Talking Roots; Trees of Witness investigates scientific theory and traditional understandings of forest systems, land management and environmental justice, and will feature the songs, voices and stories of our Ohlone community. The centerpiece of this groundbreaking project is a new outdoor vertical dance production performed by BANDALOOP, as they take their signature aerial style to the forests of Montalvo, turning tree boughs into their dance floor.
Phase one of the project is being developed through an immersive week long residency that will engage an extensive network of Indigenous elders, healers, scholars, scientists, and artists, urban youth and audiences from throughout the South and East Bay. Talking Roots: Trees of Witness hopes to illuminate the interdependent and interconnected nature of forest systems, and the trees within, and serve as a model to safeguarding the health of our natural spaces and the communities that care for them, assuring their sustainability for future generations to come.
The day's celebration will also include a live performance by Rupa Marya, along with poetry, storytelling and spoken word. Audiences will be invited to participate in a variety of ways, and the program will be followed by a Q&A with artists. Artworks will be available for sale throughout the day, live craft demonstrations, along with face painting and forest hikes. Join us as we call for a renewed commitment to sustaining our natural spaces and creating more resiliency in our environments and communities as we face the implications of climate change in our Bay Area forests.