Reflections By Melissa
Saturday, June 20th, 2009This week was our last rehearsal here in NYC and we are getting ready to go to Berlin for an intense rehearsal process and cultural exchange. As we are preparing for Berlin Melissa one of the Berlin Wall Project dancers shared her reflections on the process of the work as well as shared pictures taken by her mother Cheryl Brading.
Melissa: “I asked my mother what she remembered about the Berlin Wall. My parents are American and were living in Stuttgart. During their free time one day, they went to visit the Berlin Wall site. She said she remembers seeing a building that appeared to be a factory on the other side of the wall. Through a window, she saw 3 women and a man busily working with their hands- it held her gaze for a moment as she contemplated the idea of a different world on the other side of the wall. The workers were looking at the tourists out of the corners of their eyes, but were trying to concentrate on their tasks. One of the women looked at my mother and slowly raised her hand gave her a slight wave and continued working. This image has stuck with my mother all these years. I can't help but contemplate how often we put up walls, keep our distance, and then wave to our friends and loved ones on the other side. The idea of entering authentic relationships and sharing burdens or taking on others' burdens, loving others and letting them love you is too scary of an idea. So, we leave up the wall, and just wave. Sometimes we put ourselves on the other side of the wall, and the body waves to us- I guess we can learn to live apart. This project is making me examine the walls in my life. Not all walls are bad, some should stay- but it's very important to find the unnecessary walls and get rid of them. I am interested to see how this new awareness plays out in the project and in my dancing”.
