Alllliiiiiiggaaaaaatttooooor!

Wait until you see HAT Co's version of this bayou beast. Thank you Ms. Linda for the inspiring print!

Dances for Wiley

Michael Walsh is working with the some of the dancers tonight. Their artistic challenges are to create:

1.   A dance that is culturally relevant to (and/or influenced by) the social community we have chosen for Wiley -- Southern Louisiana/Bayou/French Creole/Melting pot community. Bamboula and Ring Shout examples:

2.   Movement that is more abstract in nature, that works (in some ways) against the lyrical style of the song "Safe and Sound"

3.   Movement that supports and reflects the action of the scene and the relationship between Wiley and Mammy (the "Snoooogooooblooowww" scene, right after he returns from the swamp and she says she has to teach him more conjures now that he's seen the Hairyman once.)

Beasts of the Southern Wild

     Beasts of the Southern Wild is a movie following the life of a little girl called Hushpuppy who lives in The Bathtub, a community in Louisiana that's on the wrong side of the levy. Her mother's gone, and her struggling father isn't afraid to dole out the tough love. This film is in many ways similar to Wiley and the Hairy Man. Hushpuppy has the same childish, independent spirit as Wiley, and when she's on a mission, she does it with the same determination.
     One thing that I really loved about this movie is how it featured the culture of the people in that particular part of Louisiana. They celebrate everything-births and deaths, creation and destruction. When talking about the town on the other side of the levy, Hushpuppy remarks that 'they only have holidays once a year.' Even if something terrible happens to the little town, they celebrate what they have. They have a strict rule: no crying. Tears won't change anything.
     While I was watching Beasts of the Southern Wild, I noticed that their clothes weren't anything special, and they were often very dirty. The girls didn't do anything fancy with their hair, and didn't wear any makeup. These people aren't afraid to get dirt on their clothes, being a part of the nature around them is part of their way of life. Hushpuppy goes out into the wilderness near her home wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear, but that's all she needs. There is a freedom about it because no one is watching her except maybe her Dad or any animals nearby. I think it would be wonderful to live in a culture where keeping up appearances didn't matter so much.
     In the beginning of the movie, Hushpuppy's teacher shows her a tattoo of prehistoric beasts that used to live in The Bathtub. After that, whenever something bad happens that makes her scared, she thinks of the beasts. When her father collapses because he's sick, she imagines the ice caps melting and the beasts coming out from inside of them as a way of explaining things that her six year old mind can't understand. That made me think: what if Wiley's way of understanding his father dying was the Hairy Man?

A clip of a good part from Beasts of the Southern Wild:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqzWdcoq1Lc