review
by Melanie Fire Salamander
A goddess falls from the moon, swathed in veils; a peasant approaches her lustfully, only to be encircled by fire spirits. A professor describes a Indian temple dance form she has revived and performs dances from that tradition. Ishtar goes to Hell and returns, donning again her robes and jewelry. A woman in red sings the Sumerian creation hymn, in Sumerian, to the accompaniment of a cello. Belly-dancers shake and enchant; Transylvanian music plays.
These attractions and more brought me to the Anunnaki Project's "Origins," a multimedia show staged May 12 at the Consolidated Works gallery and theater, 410 Terry Ave. in Seattle.
The Anunnaki Project describes itself on its Web site, www.anunnaki.org, as "a research group that focuses on the exploration of myth through artistic expression, focusing upon belief systems of cultures that have passed on to antiquity." The project takes its name from the Anunnaki, a group of Sumerian gods. "Origins," according to the Web site, was intended to "cover the source material that has inspired such works as `Vocem Dei,' `Surpu Masu,' `The Genesis of Ereshkigal' and a host of other performances."
One of the Anunnaki Project's creators, John Murphy, described the project's beginning in a Fremont holiday parade. His performing group did a show around the Greek scapegoat myth that the group found focused audience attention much more than its other events. Intrigued, the performers formed the Anunnaki Project, a nonprofit group, to further explore myth as a basis for art. Theater and dance seem to be the working focus of the project, though "Origins" also featured poetry, music, film and visual art.
I heard about "Origins" through my friend Karin. My reaction to her invitation was a little stronger than feeling intrigued. Being an aficionado of Sumerian myths, I felt I had to go to this event where people I didn't even know performed the myths. And I was not disappointed, though the high points of "Origins" didn't fall where I expected.
What moved me most at "Origins," what brought tears to my eyes, was the lecture and performance by Dr. Ratna Roy, an Evergreen College dance professor engaged in researching and reviving the Mahari tradition of Orissi dance. This dance form from India is much like the better-known Indian male classical dance but features women dancers and can be traced to significantly older origins, in the second century C.E. Dr. Roy single-handedly pieced together this tradition from ancient texts and art and has revived study in the tradition here and in India.
For us, Dr. Roy performed a dance of joy she choreographed to show off certain moves, and also excerpts from several other dances, including a long, traditional piece in which the lead female dancer invokes into herself the goddess Durga. (Dr. Roy made clear she was not in fact invoked, a nicety that I appreciated as a pagan.) Dr. Roy pointed out that, unlike in male classical dance, the female lead in this dance is the active party, while various male characters react to her. She further distinguished the Mahari tradition as being less angular and abrupt than male Orissi dance, which was introduced as a protection for female dancers. When Muslim invaders attacked temples and kidnapped dancers, the invaders found the graceful beings they'd grabbed were not women but young male dancers in drag who'd been trained in the martial arts.
I'm far from being a dance scholar, but the grace and expressiveness of Dr. Roy's movements and gestures touched me deeply. The idea of a Goddess dance form nearly 2000 years old has to speak to any pagan, and to find one retrieved and brought to life blew me away. Karin was lucky enough to participate in a dance workshop by Dr. Roy and was impressed by her approach and the dance's complexity. I gather enough interest in the Mahari tradition has formed that Dr. Roy may be visiting Seattle to teach more frequently in the future.
After Dr. Roy spoke, dancers and musicians performed on the main stage, including Orchestra Halam, a Middle Eastern musical group; the Corybante, a belly-dance troupe that is the dance arm of the Anunnaki Project; and Elizabeth Dennis, a belly-dancer who came to the form from yoga and whose technique and beauty wowed the audience. My companions and I next wandered to the theater and watched Adapa Films' "The Descent of Ishtar," a movie of the myth of Babylonian goddess Ishtar descending to the underworld ruled by her sister, Ereshkigal. The stylized work had a strong visual impact on me initially, but as the videotape went on, I found it a little slow. But I must applaud anyone who celebrates Ishtar.
I similarly appreciated a performance of the Sumerian creation hymn, sung in Sumerian by Janna Wachter, accompanied on the cello by John Ames. (I'm not sure if the music was from the Sumerian; I'm guessing not.) Wachter did us the favor of explaining the myth beforehand, which made the piece easy to follow. However, the performance was marred by not being well-amplified, which left the audience straining to hear the subtle parts, and Wachter sang in a classical-music style that seemed over-mannered to me. But the fact these musicians learned and performed the myth impressed me.
Back on the main stage, a little later than the projected 9:30 start time, we watched "The Celestial Robe of Feathers," a performance by the Cabiri. The Cabiri's shows tell stories through fire art, dance and physical theater, including stilt-walking and puppetry. The group's name comes from Herodotus, who mentions the Cabiri as spirits of the Greek island of Samothrace, the location of a mystery cult. Later, on the steppes of Anatolia, the Cabiri were worshipped as fire genii. Anyone fascinated by fire art has probably already seen the Cabiri perform around Seattle either alone or in collaboration with the Cirque de Flambé and others.
But flame merely formed a backdrop for "The Celestial Robe of Feathers," based on a Japanese myth of a goddess who falls from the moon and is found by a mortal. The trapeze work of the goddess dancer formed the center of the piece. I found her dancing extraordinary and the fire artists supporting her superb, but unfortunately the piece as a whole lacked energy in spots. I'm sorry I wasn't able to stay and see the Cabiri's second performance, "Dreams of Fire," staged with the Let's Dance house band, which was billed as "a very special performance at the end of the night."
After the "Robe of Feathers," we did stay for a while listening to Ensemble Sub Masa, who played Transylvanian folk music, but it was getting on for 11:30, and we were yawning; we had to leave. On the way out, we inspected some paintings and sculpture, worthy items technically but not to me as moving as the performances we'd seen onstage.
"Origins" wasn't everything I'd hoped it could be, though Dr. Roy, the Cabiri and the belly-dancers were worth seeing. But "Origins" proved to be more than I might have expected. Even when the performances and art didn't entirely captivate me, I sensed behind them respect for the myths and cultures represented, respect often lacking in this culture, where "myth" can equal "lie." I'm not sure if the Annunaki Project members identify as pagans; I'm not sure if it matters. They bring to pagan myths a desire for visceral understanding, understanding that is expressed in art. For myth to be more than dry scholarship, it must come to life through art and ritual. (Art, it can be argued, is ritual.) For bringing the myths they touched to life, I salute the Annunaki Project.
To learn more about the Anunnaki Project, see www.anunnaki.org. June 21 at 10 p.m., the Cabiri perform "Salutation to the Sun" at the Fremont Fair.
I must say also that, while waiting in the Consolidated Works lobby for the main show, consuming excellent chai and food from Mr. Spot's Chai House, I saw information to the effect that Consolidated Works is losing its space. I don't know much about Consolidated Works, a contemporary arts center that supports the visual arts, theater, film, music and related lectures (www.conworks.org). However, judging merely from their space, the group has put an intense amount of energy to the service of art. Their shows are affordable and interesting-looking. Their current visual arts show, "Notice of Proposed Land Use Action," 10 new site-specific works by local and national artists reacting to the imminent demise of Consolidated Works' space, runs through July 18, costs $5 and is free for members.