Dancing wildflowers

In the uplands just east of the bog, there are about three and a half acres of native grasses punctuated with some 200 species of wildflowers. Each year, it is a surprise as to which flowers will emerge and which will stay dormant for another season. I don’t know enough about botany to name many of them; I do know that their blooms are smiles on the landscape.

About eight miles west northwest of the bog (as the proverbial crow flies), is another stand of smiles. The Tree of Life Cultural Arts Studio (www.treeoflifestudio.org) sits just north of downtown Chelsea and is a tapestry for the senses. Its proprietors, Jenabah and Sundance, offer lessons in dance and drumming, Thai massage and other healing arts, entertainment and community gatherings, internationally sourced merchandise, and they make a mean fruit smoothie!

Their Friday drum jams are a happy cacophony for the soul. Sundance leads a circle of drummers in West African sourced rhythms that offer such primitive sophistication that even to my untrained ear, I nearly trance in appreciation. Jenabah, other instructors, and students will dance to these rhythms with a wild abandon and subtle grace that I wish I had words to describe.

Can you tell I’m a little enamored?

Tonight, I was among 20 devotees of the Center who gathered to discuss the future of their performance troupe: Tree of Life Drum and Dance Society (TLDDS). The Society’s performance art is shared at festivals, schools, senior homes, recovery centers, and a further miscellany of venues. Also, each year, a cabaret of sorts is held where the instructors and students share their craft for the local community. Dubbed their “Showcase,” this event is a mixture of exposition, community outreach, and good old fashioned recital for family and friends.

The Showcase loses a bunch of money for the Center – part of the reason we gathered. The idea is to separate the TLDDS from the Center and create a non-profit. This would, our thinking expects, allow the troupe lower rental fees at performance venues, grant seeking opportunities and healthful collaborations. Our theory continues that the troupe could extend its outreach to school systems, senior centers, homeless centers, prisons – to any audience who can’t afford performance art.

Now, no illusions, this may very well be a tall order. What I do like, however, is the approach: let’s connect potential benefactors with skilled artisans for the benefit of the community. The artisans realize that support is not entitled, but must be inspired.

I again must admit ignorance: I certainly don’t know enough about dance and drumming to tell you why their efforts are of such quality, but I happily attest so.  One other thing I do know: their passions are genuine and their goals are earnest.