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