April 2007
Aug 29, 2009 2007
This month Rulan choreographed a project for Santa Fe Opera’s program for public school children. “AVANYU” was co-created with the Pecos Elementary School 5th grade, along with composer Milton Villarubia III who brought in a background of Brasilian and New Orleans rhythms.
While in New York City, Rulan visited choreograher Michael Mao, in rehearsal at City Center. Rulan was a featured soloist in Mao’s company in the 90s.
May 2007
Aug 29, 2009 2007
Another Santa Fe Opera childrens program was choreographed by Rulan this month: “Palimpsest” by director Acushla Bastible and co-created by the student performers was presented at the Scottish Rite Temple.
Rulan also performed and collaborated as an artist mentor with Little Globe Productions on a community opera called “Memorylines”, co- produced by Lensic Theater and Santa Fe Opera.
June 2007
Aug 29, 2009 2007
Four new dance works were choreographed by Rulan for the Santa Fe Film Festival at the Lensic Theater. Opening night featured “Origi-nation” to the mesmerizing Peyote Healing song from Robbie Robertson’s album, with 6 dancers spreading wet red clay on eachothers bodies. Special thanks to Santa Fe Clay for the donation of the clay! Dancers included Nichole Salazar ( a teen student of Rulan, newly returned from several years as a lead dancer with Cleo Parker Robinson in Denver), veteran dancer and painter Roger Montoya, Ballet Folkorico de Mexico’s famed dancer Jaco Cortes, amazing capoeirista and diversity lecturer Deollo Johnson, and talented apprentices Ria Thundercloud and Ruben Rascon. This dance reflected the re-discovery of a creation story, and was previewed outdoors at the courtyard of the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Roger Montoya and Nichole Salazar in front of painting by Leland Chapin, photo by Anna Dickinson
The Sunday community program featured 2 male and 2 female dancers dancing to the socially conscious lyric’s of Pomo hip-hop artist Ras K Dee’s “Mother Earth”, with bold yellow t-shirts stencilled by Leland Chapin with images of archetypal warrior/leader Tatanka Iyotanka.
Closing night featured a sensual duet inspired by people of land and water confluence, and an aerial hoop solo to Ulali’s compelling “All My Relations”.
Meanwhile that same week in Argentina, Rulan presented a performance installation with cultural artist Leland Chapin, entitled TIERRAS CUERPO-REALIDADES. The Centro Cultural in the Recoleto of Buenos Aires had over a thousand visitors daily, witnessing the artworks, body painting, movement and installation created inside the Gallery. Inspired by four decades of research by Leland’s father Mac Chapin, the installation used indigenous mapping symbols as the primary theme. Rulan and Leland attended many important lectures and workshops as part of the Hemispheric Encuentro of Performance and Politics, focused on this year’s theme of Body Politics.
July 2007
Aug 29, 2009 2007
DANCING EARTH was invited for a one week residency at the Idyllwild Arts Program in Southern California, at the recommendation of our long time champion Joe Baker of the Heard Museum. We were especially revitalised by several guest artists who raised funds from their government or private sources to join us, including Cherith Mark of the Nakoda Nation, Regina Aquilera of the Native Wellness Institute, music teacher Ariane Estrada, and KOROU Prouctions- a contingent of 9 Maori performers led by visionary Terri Ripeka Crawford and including fashion designer Tracey Marama LLoydd. Upon arrival we were greted with bird singers of local host Nation pf the Cahuilla people. The outdoor performance was truly a flowering of international Indigenous cultural exchange, featuring choreography by Rulan, Terri and Jaco Cortes’ adaptation of the Deer Dance in a seamless weaving of stories of earth, water , fire and air elements.
Ria Thundercloud in regalia at Idyllwild, photo by Anthony C. Collins
Later that month Rulan travelled to Southern Alberta to create a Kainai-culture based solo for her relative Andrea True Joy Fox. In preparation, historic landmarks of mountains and museums were visited as well as visiting with her grandmother and mother for language and story sharing. The soundtrack was sung by talented vocalist , sister Shaneen Fox.
August 2007
Aug 29, 2009 2007
Rulan is featured in this month’s THE magazine in a photo that depicts her solo “The Naming’, and her writing is featured in the El Dorado Sun along with a photo by Jennifer Esperanza, in fashions by Patricia Michaels.
Indian Market in Santa Fe brought opportunities for Rulan and Leland to present different sections of the HEMI ENCUENTRO installation, re-titled BODY LAND MAPS. At the Gary Farmer Gallery, they presented body paint and dance solo with theme of wild plant medicine, alongside paintings by emerging Aboriginal artists.
In the blue tiled courtyard of the prestigious Santa Fe Art Institute, director Diane Karp invited Rulan and Leland to develop the Encuentro material for an outdoor presentation that emphasized the symbiotic connection between sky and water, while Leland’s paintings were hung in an indoor gallery.
In the Center for Contemporary Arts’ lobby of graffiti inspired wall art, Rulan and Leland created an exciting site specific body art and dance focusing on the modern rift of society post-separation from Indigenous land values, including scaling a ladder and traditional powwow dancing in high heeled boots! This was shown as the pre-show entertainment before the premiere of “Water Flows Together”, Gwendolyn Cates thoughtful bio- documentary on dance collague Jock Soto, a Navajo/Puerto-Rican prinicpal dancer at the famed New York City Ballet for over 2 decades.
at CCA
DANCING EARTH films “Of Antlers” ( by Ed Griegos) and “La Renaissance Indigene” ( by Larry Blackhorse Lowe) were also presented at the Native Film Festival during Indian Market.
September 2007
Aug 29, 2009 2007
DANCING EARTH lead dancer Jaco Cortes moved to San Francisisco where he is initiating DANCING EARTH BAY AREA – offering dance classes for community youth, focusing on Mexican Folkloric and contemporary dance training to develop the next generation of DANCING EARTH performance artists . ( Please contact us for more information on classes, or for referrals for workshops or performances by Mr Cortes)
In New Mexico, we celebrated the end of summer at the Isleta Feast day, and a feast of agricultural self sufficiency at the Tesuque Pueblo, and the coming of fall at a spectularly beautiful San Geronimo Feast day at the Taos Pueblo.
At the Justin Roberts Gallery, Rulan was featured on the cover and as writer of the foreward for the newly released art photography book “Human Landscapes” by Phil Miller.
DANCING EARTH made an appearance at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on September 20th; and while in California Rulan filmed outdoor beach footage as promotion for Kalani Queypo’s first script , entitled “Ancestor Eyes”.
DANCING EARTH also performed and offered workshops at Native Wellness Institute’s conference at Mystic Lake, Minnesota.
October 2007
Aug 29, 2009 2007
headress by Iscah Trujillo, in character of Queen Uxanya
Raoul in costume, with the Urundun
In Phoenix Arizona, Alex Meraz gathered DANCING EARTH core members including SAG actors Raoul Trujillo, Kalani and Rulan to portray lead roles in his ambitious film epic “THE END”. The film builds on themes of bio-diversity and seed gathering to develop a futuristic urban tribal aesthetic, with interesting characters and adventures from his innovative perspective as an emerging Indigenous filmmaker. Please see www.flickr.com/iscah for stills from the film, taken by Raoul’s talented wife Iscah.
Edgar Garcia as one of the Urundun, with Queen Uxanya
Kalani, Queen Uxanta and the Urundun
DANCING EARTH performed at “Dinner In The Canyon” hosted by the Aqua Caliente Cultural Museum of Palm Springs, and Rulan also offered a lecture and master class at UC Riverside at the invitation of Professor Jacqueline Shea Murphy, a devoted advocate of Native contemporary dance.
November 2007
Aug 28, 2009 2007
Video artist collaborator Susanna Carlisle developed several new works with Rulan, in which dance footage is presented inside a vintage suitcase, nestled in folds of velvet. These works can be appreciated at the Linda Durham Gallery in Santa Fe.
Meanwhile in LA, Kalani won the Creative Spirit Screenwriters awards , to produce his screenplay in a program called ‘Script to Screen in Seven days’. Rulan co-starred with Tantoo Cardinal , and cameo appearance by Raoul Trujillo in this intimate portrait of a mother- daughter relationship. The film debuted at the LA Skins Festival several days after shooting was completed!
Colleague Raoul Trujillo and Tantoo Cardinal reunited as co-stars
director Kalani Queypo on set with Tantoo
December 2007
Aug 28, 2009 2007
Ria Thundercloud takes over the Kwaa Katsina solo, created by Rulan Tangen, in Moving People’s Swinging Suites.
As the Santa Fe Film Festival kicks off, Rulan performs with flamenco musicians at El Meson, and presents young flamenco soloist Graciela Gonzalez to a room full of enthusiastic filmmakers.
Raoul Trujillo is the host of the SFFF awards ceremony ( look out for his new mini-series this month on the sci-fi channel; he is Raw the Cowardly Lion in futuristic Oz story entitled “Tin Man”. He commissioned an aerial chain act by Alessandro Ogren and Kayo of Wise Fool, with local DANCING EARTH multi-cultural contingent in elaborate masks, which they remove for an urban tribal dance in honor of the subsequent Indigenous Filmmakers Award.
The film THE END by Alex Meraz is shown in teaser form at the Armory For the Arts, on a program with a great new live concert called “In The Blood” by Robert Mirabal.
On December 11 at 6 pm, Rulan will appear as the Spirit of the Desert in a peformance art fairy tale tableau at the Lewellen Gallery in Santa FE, wearing the fashions of avant garde designer Elisa Jimenez, who recently to Santa Fe from New York City and is featured in this season’s Project Runway. Her stunning creations are cut and sewn directly on the body for flattering sculptural fit , and are ‘poly-morphic’ – meaning they can be worn in several different ways.
Winter Solstice blessings to all, keep the light aglow through long dark nights with a dancing spirit!