Thursday, March 24, 2011

The Dance (viewer discretion advised)


Unscripted, unrehearsed, soul stimulating... 
DANCE

Hands shaking, I pass my camera to a stranger - ask her to shoot the Monkey as best as she can.

  

Damn that felt good.  I will remember that leap forever...  

Eyes focused on the MC,  
Stomach sucked in - tight,  
Leg kicked back, 
Toe pointed - hard,  
Arms stretched, gallantly in flight.  


This was the year I twirled fire, topless.

WARNING
blurred out breast


This was the year I shot cocks - dusty, sun drenched, cocks. 

WARNING 
exposed genitalia 



This was the year I captured emotions - photographed an eclectic array of eager participants, portraying their answer to the question WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?







This was the year I pushed myself, hard.  I gave in, gave up.  I cried.

But mostly, I danced.

The RED dance was challenging.  I arrived expecting to evaporate into a large crowd and instead, found a small troupe of beautiful, young, succulent women.

I thought about hiding behind my lens. I thought about peddling my bike in the opposite direction, as fast as I could. I thought about my age, my body image issues, my stiff knees and lack of limberness.

Hands shaking, I passed my camera to a stranger - asked him to shoot the Monkey as best as he could.

A crowd started to develop even before the dance began.  They were THAT beautiful.

My inhibitions meshed with their resistance to incorporate me, a middle aged grandmother, into each abstract, emotion inspired, self interpreted, pose.

The proof is in the snap... frames do not lie.

Monkey Me, fought hard from the outside.  My bad ass, black hat as low as it could go.  Chin, neck, shoulders, tight.





Eventually, I let go and... the blend began to show.






Damn, that felt good.

Later, back at camp, we eat and laugh and drink it all in.

As the sun begins to set, we leap into the street.  And together, we dance.


WARNING 
fishnet clad bottom




This is where I've been for the past 6 months.  When I'm not writing, or working, I'm tweaking photo's taken at Burning Man 2010.

Over 500 pictures paint a 10 minute dance in the street.  This is my first attempt at turning photo's into a movie.

I hope you enjoy this jamboree of DANCE performed on the dusty streets of Black Rock City - to the thump and constant, churning, beat of Burning Man...


Green Monkey ME tagged with a red heart.  
Ignited at the Temple of Honor - Burning Man 2003
In celebration of the true, joyous spirit of my beautiful son, Kerry Ryan Magann.  



And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.  Fredrich Nietzsche


18 comments:

  1. Shannon, this post was awesome. The video even better!! Can't tell you how impressed I am! -Jay

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  2. Love it and we stole some stuff...sorry lol

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  3. SEXNFRIES, let me guess.........
    DID YOU SNATCH THE COCKS??? why you naughty, naughty, girls......! :))))

    Thanks Jay! and yes, you can tell me how impressed you are... I'm all ears. Perhaps over a liquid lunch!

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  4. The pictures are great. I love your free spirit!

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  5. Love it Love it LOVE it!

    So widly creative.

    Dance on darlin'

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  6. Thanks for your comment. :)

    Youngest and I eat Gluten Free, so I have to make alot of things from scratch, including chicken soup. I usualy make it with wild rice, but I was trying to make a homemade rice noodle to drop in (Yes) by hand.

    Thanks for reading. Hope things are still well with your dad. :)

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  7. GO, GO Monkey! Damn what a video, pictures aren't bad either. :) I have got to get there some year!

    We will have to compare notes sometime on video editing.
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  8. That's so cool it's crazy!!! :) Did you use a special software to make the movie?

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  9. Jules ~ sooo wish we lived closer! yes, lets compare notes :)
    Toemail - Thanks! Made it with Imovie on the macbook
    Myrna - thank you for viewing and appreciating (without judgement)
    Julianna - love that you LOVE it

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  10. Great post and pictures! As the Gentry's sang: "Keep on Dancin'"!

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  11. GO monkey!! wow , cool photos. nice cocks. im thinking .. looks like FUN!
    ~laura x

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  12. I loved your video, that was great work.

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  13. Great post - love the photos and the commentary.

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  14. Thank YOU for coming by my place... :oD I am excited to have found YOUR blog... this is GREAT!!!

    I look forward to getting caught up on it!!! ;o)

    ~shoes~

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  15. It took me a second...and then...BURNING MAN!! I will go. I will dance. I will most likely want to take you with me.

    Also, please be advised that there are deeply sex-deprived women out there who are giving it all up for your freedom...penis pictures are...delicious and give us a serious case of blue balls. You know what's unfair?? Prisoners get to have sex...why can't they fly those Soldiers home every 4 days...um...weeks?? Keep it all comin...even the penises. I will find *a way* to deal. :-D

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  16. talk about a WAKEUP CALL!!! 400 Thank you's to YOU and all the women who are deprived of sex so that we can frolic in freedom! OH...I am sooo taking you to Burning Man! word to the wise...heels get stuck in the sand. Just saying'

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  17. I so miss and love all our Orhan Eaters siblings. Literally can't wait to see, hug and dance with them all again. The Dusty one and I still watch the video to get our fix of playa. All thanks to the wise and wonderful Green Monkey. Love, Bull Bunny & Dust Bunny.

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  18. Ohhhh your bunny timing is perfect. I'm in a doctors office waiting for the pain killers to kick in so I can have a precancer laser procedure. I've got my headphones on and in my mind I'm dancing in the dust !!!

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Thank you for encouraging my JOY of writing. By reading and commenting you are feeding my soul, stroking my heart, and in the end...making me a better writer.

Thank You For Encouraging My Joy of Writing

Thank You For Encouraging My Joy of Writing
greenmonkeytales@live.com

Shannon E. Kennedy

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Photo by Joan Harrison