“Be Water”
Artistic Director’s notes for summer 2026
“BE WATER..”
I lead with w Bruce Lee , who has inspired and influenced so many creators of colors, to step up and make spaces that didn’t exist, by taking on the unfathomable work of producing, defying industry limitation and stereotype by making empowering cross cultural art for the masses. By the way my friend Jeff Change recently published a biography of this cultural icon, and I was blessed to attend the San Francisco Chinatown One Family celebration where the book was featured… To learn more about Bruce Lee through this writing please check out Water Mirror Echo ( https://jeffchang.net/water-mirror-echo/#book )
Now, about DANCING EARTH Summer 2026 …
… the Movement of WorldMaking: Creation in Confluence ….
Vision + Intention :
Confluence of creative intercultural collaborations - for Movement of WorldMaking … Movement as a source of knowing… Movement ss medicine…. Movement is living : a vital force that brings organic migrations ( a remedio for the current anti immigration energy and xenophobia ) …
As Artistic Director, I also want to surface the inspiration of
an embodied collective response to Venice Biennale’s “ ‘In Minor Keys’ …
an invitation to “tune into the subtler emotional frequencies made possible by the arts”
to provide “a radical reconnection with art’s natural habitat and role in society,”
that of “the sensory, the effective, the subjective”
to platform artistic practices that are “generative and generous, that invite collaboration, alchemize, and radiate back to the ways that we are human together:
within “broader geopolitical context in claiming that the exhibition will provide “intimate and convivial universes that refresh and sustain even in terrible times.”
- quotes from ArtNet article on Venice Biennale
Our Confluence resonates in parallel , generating :
EBB sanctuary with ethos of converging for Rest ( for contemplation , attunement , listening , enchantment of the subtle magic of the everyday )
FLOW Shrines and Processions: collaborative creation of contemporary rituals that make embodied offerings to ground directly below each artist , or alternately the infinite space of migration, calling in ancestral and futuristic to the multi sensory present
WATERMARK imprint : spanning ephemeral to lasting with embrace of creative archives of all that body intuition can awaken
There are times to stand strong and fierce, and to also carry the ability to move like water. As a middle aged woman of color, there is an invisibility that I can feel in US society, that I now wield as a superpower , to be seen and unseen when I choose, to light blazing torches or soothe with calming waters. Maybe combine both for enchanting natural hotsprings visit during recreation time !
That’s what is igniting and flowing my dreamscape and landscape , and I invited you to join me for this collective dreaming, doing and being !
"Be Water, My Friend. Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend." - Bruce Lee
Dancing Earth artist's featured in TEDxTalks in Three Cities & Two Countries
Dancing Earth artist's featured in TEDxTalks in Three Cities & Two Countries
Dancing the Arc of a Story from Origins to Re-Creation
Every day we have the opportunity to witness the depth and beauty of the world unfolding all around us, of the promise of creation and the renewal of spirit. Growing up on the farm allowed me to perceive it closely, to recognize growth and birth; to understand that even in death, there is life. As an adult, I am closest to it in the work of creativity.
Review by KK Báez, Co-Founder of MoveWest
In the 1980’s PBS “Dancing” series, dance was introduced through three lenses - that of ritual dance, theatrical dance and social dance. As it turns out dance is not so clearly pigeon holed. Rulan Tangen’s work. ” …SEEDS: REGENERATION…” performed by her company Dancing Earth, has its roots in both modern dance, Graham-like in moments, and dance as ritual rooted in indigenous traditions.
DANCING EARTH makes history at Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage
DANCING EARTH makes history at Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage
- Standing room only at all performances!
- With 1.6k views of the live stream in 48 hrs.
- 2.2k people visited the Kennedy Center website page during the two weeks prior to event.
Indigenous Futurities Photo Shoot
Dancing Earth is proud to work with many talented artists within the Native community. We would like to acknowledge all the supporters and talented artists who worked with us on “Indigenous Futurities” photoshoot.
“INDIGENOUS NOW” event in Santa Monica's Tongva Park
On Saturday, May 11, 2019 Dancing Earth will participate in the Santa Monica’s second annual Indigenous Now event at the award winning Tongva Park. The festivities begin at 12 noon with opening ceremonies and continues through until 4 p.m. offering dance, music, spoken word and contemporary visual art by Indigenous artists based in Los Angeles, Santa Rosa and Santa Fe. photo by Pam Taylor Photography
