From The Past

This image made its way to me via the Walter Anderson Museum. A woman associated with the Crosby Arboretum sent it to the museum store manager, who sent it to me. It was taken  in 1987. I am not sure by whom, but I like the photo.  As a woman who loved to share her dance, I was frequently asked to dance in settings that offered some challenge. In this instance, at the beautiful Crosby Arboretum in Picayune, Ms., 

I was dancing on an apron of sand beyond the open air structure where my audience was gathered. The sand had been soaked by recent rains, and every gesture I made was countered by sinking ankle deep in wet sand. My dance, long based upon equal and opposite reaction, was definitely put to the test. I was forever telling my students to bear down on the exhaled breath in order to truly rise on the return breath. In the picture, I see that some effort is involved in the rising. But she was game. After all, she had a reputation for taking flight, for transcending the various wet sand situations in life and art. May she not forget...