photo by Tiffani Sunshine LaNeave

Verde (Green)

A dance theater production to inspire a sacred love for the planet

 

VERDE is sponsored in part by
The National Endowment for the Arts and the Carpenter Foundation
 

photo by Linda Clark

“Mother Earth, permit us to caress you, to clean your rivers and shadows,
to write poems on your air, to bless you for loving us…
Permit us to give to our children a healthy planet…full of new seeds.”

“Madre, permítenos besar los labios de tu tierra, limpiar tus ríos de sombras,
escribir poemas en tu aire, devolver bendiciones a tu amor...
permítenos legar a nuestros hijos un planeta sano... repleto de semillas nuevas...”
Marta Helena Barrera.

GREEN, I love you GREEN, a dance theatre work that focuses on the preservation and promotion of the sacred love and respect to our planet Earth is based on the principles of the Green and Golden Rules: “Do unto Mother Earth that which you would wish upon yourself. Do unto others that which you would wish done to you.”

Verde, Te Quiero Verde, obra creada con el propósito específico de difundir y recordar el amor sagrado a nuestra madre tierra. “No hagas a la tierra lo que no quieres que te hagan a ti.” No hagas a los otros lo que no quieras que te hagan a ti.”

photo by Linda Clark

“Your children will realize like our children know that Earth is the Mother of all of us. All of the aggressions that our Earth has suffered will inevitably be suffered by our children. Man does not own the Earth; it is man, who belongs to Earth. Man has not created the circle of life, man is only a thread of life.

“We cannot respect nature if we cannot respect ourselves. We won’t respect the nature until we learn to see nature as a living soul, as the soul of Earth with which we are engaged. Until we realize that we are also nature, nature that walks, breath and talk”

“Vuestros hijos han de saber como saben los nuestros que la tierra es la madre de todos nosotros. Que todas las agresiones que sufre la tierra inevitablemente las sufrirán sus hijos.  La tierra no pertenece al hombre, es el hombre el que pertenece a la tierra.  El hombre no ha tejido la trama de la vida, es sólo un hilo de ella.”

“No podemos respetar a la naturaleza si no nos podemos respetar a nosotros mismos. No llegaremos a respetar realmente la naturaleza hasta que aprendamos a verla como un ser vivo, como el alma del mundo con la que estamos todos vinculados; hasta que no nos demos cuenta de que nosotros también somos naturaleza, naturaleza que camina, respira y habla.” Lina Perez

photo by Linda Clark

“If we want to respect nature, we must find, both individually and collectively, a different style of life. We need not only to consume more ecological products, but also to consume less. This does not mean we need to go back to a primitively structured life, but instead to renounce the dream of material progress and to find better and simpler paths of life, to harness the technological progress, but without letting this progress blind us.”

“Si queremos respetar la naturaleza tenemos que encontrar, individual y colectivamente otro estilo de vida. No sólo se impone consumir productos más ecológicos, también hay que consumir menos. Esto no significa imponer un modo de vida ascético ni volver a estructuras primitivas, pero sí implica renunciar al sueño, a la pesadilla, del progreso material ilimitado y encontrar pautas de vida más sencillas y dignas, aprovechando las ventajas de la tecnología pero sin dejar que éstas nos deslumbren.” Lina Perez

photo by Davey King

The Amazon rainforest is home to over three hundred species of mammals, thousands of freshwater fish, tens of thousands of trees and nearly a hundred thousand other plant species. There are nearer two millions species of insects. New species of wildlife are discovered every 3 days in the Amazon!
 

photo by Linda Clark

VERDE is inspired by the beliefs of indigenous cultures throughout the world who all venerate nature and preserve a deep respect for Mother Earth.

photo by Linda Clark

The Program

Verde, te quiero Verde brings the vivid forces of earth, water, fire, wind, vegetation, flora and fauna to life and is a plea through the universal language of dance for an end to the abuse of our planet La Madre Tierra (Mother Earth)

Los Poderes de la Naturaleza (The Powers of Nature)
Aire (Spirits of Wind)
Spirits of Justice and Wild Animals
La Selva (The Jungle)
Las Aguas (Spirit of Waters and Motherhood)
Tormenta (Warrior of Thunder)
Arco Iris (Rainbow)
El Fuego (The Fire)
Nuestros Hijos (Our Children) - Peace & Harmony in Earth
The Reunion - All forces of life join together to protect “La Tierra”
 

photo by Linda Clark

 

The love and respect for nature has been known since immemorial times. Primitive cultures from all over the world have cultivated traditions to honor Mother Earth. The Indigenous commitments are founded in nature. The rivers and rocks deserve as much respect as the human being.” We live surrounded by trees, waters, air, sun…with our work today we do not see the necessity of exploring the richness of the forest and minerals. We do not need monies and automobiles… the exploitation of nature makes the Earth sterile and breaks the path of life. There are some that do not want to hear the voices of Mother Earth and her children that are crying in agony… Tayrona Indigenous Organization from Colombia, SA – Sierra Nevada, Colombia

photo by Elli Morris

photo by Elli Morris

PLANET EARTH

Planet Earth, my home, my place
A capricious anomaly in the sea of space
Planet Earth, are you just
Floating by, a cloud of dust
A minor globe, about to bust
A piece of metal bound to rust
A speck of matter in a mindless void
A lonely spaceship, a large asteroid

Cold as a rock without a hue
Held together with a bit of glue
Something tells me this isn't true
You are my sweetheart, soft and blue

Do you care, have you a part
In the deepest emotions of my own heart
Tender with breezes, caressing and whole
Alive with music, haunting my soul.

In my veins I've felt the mystery
Of corridors of time, books of history
Life songs of ages throbbing in my blood
Have danced the rhythm
of the tide and flood
Your misty clouds, your electric storms

Were turbulent tempests in my own form
I've licked the salt, the bitter, the sweet
Of every encounter, of passion, of heat
Your riotous color,
your fragrance, your taste
Have thrilled my senses beyond all haste

In your beauty I've known the how
Of timeless bliss, this moment of now.

Planet Earth, are you just
Floating by, a cloud of dust
A minor globe, about to bust
A piece of metal bound to rust
A speck of matter in a mindless void
A lonely spaceship, a large asteroid

Cold as a rock without a hue
Held together with a bit of glue
Something tells me this isn't true
You are my sweetheart, soft and blue
Do you care, have you a part
In the deepest emotions of my own heart
Tender with breezes, caressing and whole
Alive with music, haunting my soul.

Planet Earth, gentle and blue
With all my heart, I love you."

Michael Jackson

 

photo by Elli Morris

photo by Linda Clark

How to preserve Mother Earth?

• Do not waste water
• Make reforestation a priority
• Plant more seeds
• Take care of plants and animals like they are your best friends
• Eat healthy and exercise
• Make art with your recycle objects
• Celebrate the beauty of nature
• Do not litter and RECYCLE
• Eat GREEN
• Do not expend electricity unnecessarily
• Consume less gasoline
• Drive energy efficient vehicles, carpool, use mass transit whenever possible
• Promote the Love to Mother Earth everywhere you go


Como preservar la Madre Naturaleza?

• No malgastes el agua
• No cortes innecesariamente los árboles
• Planta mas semillas sanas
• Protege las plantas y los animales como si fueran tus mejores amigos
• Consume menos y productos saludables
• Construye arte con objetos de reciclaje
• Celebra la belleza de la naturaleza
• No arrojes basura y RECICLA
• Come “VERDE” (productos ecológicos)
• Consume menos gasolina
• No malgastes la electricidad y el gas
• No conduzcas un auto grande cuando no es necesario
• Promueve el amor a la naturaleza en donde quiera que estés.

Many thanks to the wonderful photographers who helped us capture the beauty of VERDE.