Thank You for Sharing the Dolphin Dance

We just returned from weeks of rehearsal with wild Pacific Spinner dolphins and wonderful dancers Jillian Rutledge, Dana Richardson and Gabriel Forestieri, new to the project, along with Kathleen Fisher, an old friend.

(you can also view this video on youtube)

In this ‘sneak peek’ from one of our rehearsals, the dolphin we know as CrossBite patiently gathers Jillian, Chisa, and Kathleen, and leads them in a slow spiral.  When Kathleen gestures and takes the lead, CrossBite follows her and guides the other two dancers to sustain the quartet’s lovely arc.

As the second year of the Dolphin Dance Project draws to a close, we are grateful for all the support and encouragement that has allowed us to achieve so much.  Our first film “Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins” has screened at more than 20 film festivals, pro-cetacean events and educational programs all over the globe. Our PSAs and other online clips have been viewed more than 50,000 times.  In the last six months, we organized more than six weeks of intensive training with several dancers … and thanks to the renown underwater filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall, we have amazing footage to share in our next short film.

With your continued support, we will be able to realize the potential of Howard’s stunning super high definition video to marvel audiences on giant IMAX screens.  Interest in and development of our feature length documentary will accelerate. Please consider a holiday donation to the Dolphin Dance Project this season.  Your contributions help build awareness about who wild dolphins are and transform how our societies appreciate and care for dolphins and their habitats around the world.

… and please continue to enjoy our work and spread the word!

In January 2012 (exact date TBA), “Together” will screen at the Artivist Film Festival in NYC. We’re also very pleased to announce that in 2012 it will be a part of Earth Island Institute’s children’s cetacean education program. We are always pleased to offer this film in support of pro-cetacean events and educational programs…please contact us if you would like to screen our film at yours.

Thank you for joining us in our work – by watching, by sharing, and through your generous donations of time, expertise, equipment and funds.

Thank you for all you do on behalf of dolphins and their habitats – for becoming educated about the issues, for informing friends, family, colleagues and others and for making even small changes in your own life. A special thanks to all the organizations and individuals who devote so much of their resources to protect our dolphin friends and all the creatures of the ocean.

Most of all, we are deeply grateful to the dolphins for their inspiration and generosity. It is an absolute privilege to honor them through our work.  We would like to share our wish for the well-being of all dolphins and cetaceans:  our endeavor is for them, and we hope that our films combine with the efforts of the many other individuals and organizations dedicated to the cause of increasing harmony between humans and cetaceans everywhere.

Best wishes for a joyful holiday season from the Dolphin Dance Project to you!

Chisa and Ben with two Atlantic Spotted dolphins. Photo by Michele Hall.

Up and Coming

After 3 weeks of rehearsal, our summer culminated in an extraordinary week of filming with Atlantic Spotted dolphins and the preeminent underwater filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall.

The first morning, the two adults at the beginning of this clip – BoxTail and FlatTail, as we call them – joined us for an extended underwater session of dance improvisation and play.  In this clip, they make space for a youngster for whom they were caring to have a solo opportunity to connect with the humans.  As we dive down, the calf loops around to meet us and then leads us to the surface, spiraling into the sunlight.

Often, dolphins this young seem too impatient to pay attention to the body language of humans and go slowly enough for such an extended interaction.  But this young one had been watching us move with the adults all morning.  He keeps his eye on us, going as slowly as he can, occasionally wobbling to stay at our slow pace.  We human dancers stayed in unison too – realizing what we had been working all summer to achieve in our rehearsals – humans and dolphins all listening to each other and moving in coordination.

That entire morning session was a beautiful dance where dolphins and humans collaborated as if creating choreography together. Loops and swirls unfurled themselves one after another in front of the camera. Our friends, Christine and Wendy, who had joined us, marveled at the cooperation between humans and dolphins and also between humans working together for the first time.

Working with Howard and Michele was a privilege and a pleasure.  They have over 30 years of experience making underwater films, including IMAX features such as “Into the Deep” and “Coral Reef Adventure” among many others, not to mention seven Emmy awards for their television productions. Their expertise and utter competence meant that we returned with an order of magnitude more amazing clips and stills than we had expected.  Furthermore, Howard was shooting with a RED ONE camera (in a Gates underwater housing) which means that everything was captured in super high definition and stunning rich colors.

Howard also has a special relationship with this particular pod of Atlantic Spotted dolphins.  In the late 1970’s he was one of the first cinematographers to collaborate with Hardy Jones (who continues to be a leading advocate for wild dolphins around the world) to investigate their personalities and behavior.  Since then, more than 30 years of consistent observation and the longest scientific field study of wild dolphins provide us with unprecedented insight into their relationships and the implications of their participation in these human-dolphin dances.  We look forward to sharing these insights in our upcoming feature documentary.

At the same time, we are also editing this summer’s video footage into our second short dance film.  Thanks to Howard’s high definition camera – in full resolution you can see the expression in the eyes of the dancers – the film will be suitable for projection on giant IMAX screens.

Howard Hall films Chisa and Ben with Bluff and a calf

You can learn about the work of Howard and Michele Hall and see some samples from their extensive 4K video library by visiting their website: http://howardhall.com/

Introducing ‘Scratchy’

When we interact with wild dolphins, we get to know them as individuals with personalities as unique – and often charming – as you or me. We would like to introduce one particularly charismatic dolphin with whom we have had the pleasure of meeting and working many times this summer. We call him ‘Scratchy’.

Scratchy  is part of a very special pod of Atlantic Spotted dolphins that first approached some human divers more than 30 years ago.  Since then the relationship has deepened, nurtured by a few dedicated human researchers and the voluntary interest of at least three generations of wild dolphins.

Scratchy is a very young member of this special pod.  We know this because he is just beginning to have spots, which start to appear around 4 years. This is also the age when dolphins begin to explore their world independently of their mothers or baby sitters (developmentally comparable to a 6 or 8 year old human). He may have just recently stopped nursing and he is 8 or more years from being a sexually mature adult. Scratchy is a young kid – and as he has often shown us – a very playful one.  He is the one who often pushes his way between Chisa and another dolphin when they are making underwater loops. He has a mischievous look in his big brown eyes.

Atlantic Spotted dolphins can often be recognized by distinctive patterns of their spots, which increase in density as they age.  Sometimes, accumulated nicks and bite marks on fins and flukes can help to distinguish individuals as well.  With new spots appearing all the time, youngsters like Scratchy can be hard to identify by physical markings.  So far, he has a freckle on his left chin (rostrum), five recognizable spots in a little constellation over his left flipper, and a characteristic dark steak of grey on the left side of his neck. But it is never hard to recognize his personality.

Scratchy’s personality has also given him more than a young dolphin’s share of scratches around his head.  This mischievous youngster doesn’t hesitate to jump into a rumble with older males. He doesn’t hesitate to get close to humans, either – dancer or camera person, alike.

As you can see in the video clip, Scratchy even makes attempts to ‘talk’ to us – making sounds that seem to be meant for us to hear and understand.  This is quite a low sound for dolphins.  There is no mistaking his gestures (both physical and vocal) that he wanted us to put down the camera and give him more attention.

We’ve seen Scratchy make his way from one person to another as we float at the surface, pausing in front of each person to present one flank, then another, sometimes even his belly.  True to his namesake, you might think he was signaling his desire for a scratch.

We often encounter Scratchy with Itchy, a young female who, although she has almost no scratches, also likes to come very close to the human dancers. Gliding past us side by side, they are often in gentle physical contact. It is common to see mother or baby sitter dolphins flippering the head of a calf, like we might stroke a child’s head…or for dolphins to nuzzle each other, just like we might with an intimate partner. Touch is clearly an expression of affection between dolphins, and Itchy and Scratchy demonstrate their fondness for each other and their taste for similar adventures.  We believe they were already inseparable a year ago when they had no spots at all …

Whether Scratchy and Itchy’s behavior is a sign of youthful curiosity and playfulness or over-enthusiastic risk-taking, they certainly demonstrate incredible trust…not only on their part, but on the part of their mothers and/or babysitters.  We know that when groups of youngsters like Itchy and Scratchy are at play, there is always an adult female around…sometimes nearby, sometimes at a slight distance…making sure all the kids are safe. Adults will round up the kids and hurry away (usually when they’ve dallied long enough and need to keep moving towards dinner) …  the fact that the ‘babysitters’ never seemed to intervene when we danced with Itchy and Scratchy says a lot about how much wild dolphins trust us.

Beyond trust, there are sometimes gestures that seem to signal affection or appreciation.  On a recent night, we entered the water to watch Scratchy and other adult members of the pod, fishing for squid, a staple of their diet.  All the dolphins intermix moments of socializing with feeding – and Scratchy, true to form, was one of the more enthusiastic.  Ben, in particular, had a sweet interaction with Scratchy, during which he darted away only to return a moment later to drop a stunned fish in front of his face, as if offering it as a gift.  This is a common behavior between dolphins – but it was exceptional and very touching that he included a human in the pod with the gesture.

Each wild dolphin that chooses to dance with us has a distinct personality.  We know from decades of research that they have an internal life of emotions and thoughts at least as rich as ours.  We see it expressed in the way we dance together. We see it in the way some choose to dance, while others do not.  Dolphins deserve all the rights that we would feel obliged to give to a human community – a right to freely determine how they live without humans imposing burdens on them.  Pollution, hunting and capture, and fishing gear that turns dolphins into ‘bycatch’ impose a terrible cost on dolphins worldwide (see dolphin-dance.org/protect for a review of threats dolphins face).  But dolphins have no legal representation in our human society, no legal standing to defend themselves.  We hope that sharing these dances with a wide audience will raise awareness and understanding that each individual dolphin is precious just like each individual human.

Scratchy (and his babysitters) express such trust in us and so much generosity in sharing their lives (and the occasional fish) with us.  We would like to inspire everyone who watches our dance to recognize that dolphins are people too, and to be considerate, respectful, and generous in return.

Scratchy and his friend Itchy with Chisa and Ben

We thank Steve Ando and Takaji Ochi for allowing us to use their beautiful photos in our blog!

A Video for Japan Dolphin Day

When we met Kayoko Sawamura, she had just encountered wild dolphins for the first time. We could see that she was transformed just as we have been (and as so many people are) by the experience of meeting these fellow creatures respectfully on their terms, as a guest in their home.

The generosity and trust, curiosity and affection that wild dolphins so clearly express towards humans awakens our moral instincts. We instantly recognize that the only proper response is to offer the same courtesy in return. As with all our work, we offer this video in the hope that a visceral experience of who dolphins are will naturally elicit concern for their well being and the health of their environment.

For us at the Dolphin Dance Project, the power of connecting with dolphins lies in its potential to transform how we see ourselves in relation not only to dolphins but all animals and all of planet Earth. We believe that the experience of watching humans and dolphins collaborating as equals can awaken (or re-awaken) a profound recognition of ourselves as a part of a larger, sometimes mysterious web, and a renewed sense of responsibility towards other animals as we make decisions and choices in our daily lives.

Today, the dolphin drive hunt season resumes in Taiji, Japan. Now well known to many because of the Oscar winning film “The Cove,” the village of Taiji is where about 100 dolphins are captured each year for distribution to Japanese and other aquariums, and about 2,000 per year are killed for food. The number of dolphins killed in the drive are small, compared to the hundreds of thousands killed around the world as by catch in fishing gear. However, the drive hunt (oikomi) method is particularly cruel, and the captures of live dolphins is particularly problematic.Like many of you, we are horrified that the inhumane killing and capture of wild dolphins continues in Taiji.

There are many Japanese people who love dolphins. Japanese groups like ELSA Nature Conservancy and Circlet have been working diligently against dolphin slaughter for decades, and continue to do so.  However, in the last couple of years, many major stories in the mainstream Japanese press have focused on the antagonism between foreign activists and the local fishermen. A recent news story reported on the 100 strong police force who have been put into place to control foreign activists who are anticipated to arrive in Taiji, much as they did last season. When stories such as these dominate the press, the general public in Japan is not able to understand the issues fully or identify why they should become involved no matter what their sentiments about dolphins may be.

Ultimately it is the responsibility of Japanese citizens to protect the dolphins, whales and other marine life of Japan. And while it is appropriate for Americans and others around the world to share our concerns, it is essential that we support and embolden Japanese people to act to protect dolphins and whales in order to be effective. Our success will be measured by how many Japanese people we win over.

Sadly, Taiji is not the only threat to dolphins. If you have not previously visited our ‘Protect’ page, we hope you will take this opportunity to to review the primary threats to wild dolphins, all of which are man-made, many of them originating from our own countries.  Many of these issues are being worked on, and there are lists of organizations you can join or support.

A Pod of Spotted Dolphins and Three Human Dancers

As I dance eye to eye with one dolphin, a second dolphin will often be dancing with us, in perfect unison with the other dolphin.  Sometimes even more dolphins join in, always in beautiful synchrony with the rest.

The precise coordination of the dolphins movements never ceases to amaze me, not only because it is so thrilling to experience, but because it speaks so clearly of the intentionality of the dolphins’ participation and also of the cooperative relationships between the individuals. Amid a group of beautifully synchronous dolphins, I wonder – can humans join together in this way? Can humans be harmonious and unified enough so that a second, even third human dancer could join in the swirl as elegantly as two or three dolphins might join in?

This was the challenge for Kathleen, Ben and me during a recent rehearsal week.

Working with a resident pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, we explored how to move in synchrony with the dolphins and with each other. We were fortunate to be on this trip with talented photographers Yukiyo Sakai and Takaji Ochi, a highly regarded nature photographer in Japan.

Kathleen, Ben and I all have experience dancing with dolphins. Yet joining another human dancer in a swirl of dolphins was not always easy…or even possible. Just keeping track of each other in the water was often difficult, with masks limiting our view. How do we keep our bodies aligned with each other when we are too close to see the other person fully? or when the other person is above, to the side, or otherwise out of view?

As we worked, we experienced what we already knew – that the dolphins are much more expert in this dance than we humans are. With eyes on the sides of their heads, their field of view is much, much wider than ours…their bodies are streamlined with no arms and legs to dangle this way and that…their skin is exquisitely sensitive to the flow of water all around them. For them to stay in sync seems much easier than it is for us.

For dolphins, it seems, unison is not only a skill for which they are anatomically and physiologically well-equipped, but an activity that is necessary for survival and full of social meaning.

The smallest calves are expert at following their mothers’ every move, maintaining ‘baby position’ under mom’s belly everywhere she goes. By necessity – mother can’t hold the baby’s hand or strap him on her back or in a stroller. Slightly older, juvenile dolphins tumultuously swirl around but then suddenly transform into an orderly unit as one of the moms or older siblings –  a babysitter – rounds up the troops.No doubt that moving in synchrony helps keep the pod – and especially its youngsters – safe from harm amid the ocean’s vast expanse. Perhaps through its lifelong practice, synchronous movement even becomes an expression of unity that gives the dolphins a sense of belonging or safety.

To think that the dolphins willingly invite humans into this dance of inclusiveness seems incredibly generous and trusting. It is hard not to feel grateful, being allowed to join the dolphins in this intimate way. It gives us motivation to learn to communicate through this important ‘dolphin idiom’ of synchrony as we work towards an ever-more communicative interspecies dance with them.

[To see more of our rehearsal photos in a Flickr slideshow, click here.]

To support the development of future dance films and an upcoming documentary, please visit our Donate page, download our first film “Together“, and share our project with all your dolphin loving friends and family.

Dolphin Dancers – Ben, Chisa, Kathleen

Advocating for Dolphins at the IWC

The Dolphin Dance Project is supporting an international effort at the International Whaling Commission – whose annual meeting begins July 11th in Jersey, UK –  to raise awareness that small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) deserve the same protections we grant their larger cousins.

Chisa Hidaka, founder of the Dolphin Dance Project, translated and edited a report on the 2010-11 dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan that will be distributed at the IWC. Researched and written by Sakae Hemmi of the Elsa Nature Conservancy, the report challenges the degree to which dolphin hunting can be described as “traditional” and documents the government’s failure to supervise it. The English summary of “The Dolphin Drive Hunt: Appropriate Management?” is posted below; the full report (Japanese) can be found at the Elsa website.  Hardy Jones of Blue Voice, a long-time advocate for dolphins and whales, will distribute the summary at the IWC and give a press conference on the Japanese dolphin hunt.

Representing 89 countries, the IWC has been in the past and could continue to be a powerful force for protecting all cetaceans. It is time that its members recognized that, given all the human activities imposing severe survival pressure on cetaceans (oil and radiation spills, mercury and other pollutants, fishing, boating, sonar, ocean acidification and more) commercial whaling is now environmentally and economically unsustainable. We urge the IWC to shift its focus entirely to conservation. On this year’s IWC agenda is a proposal to create a South Atlantic whale sanctuary – we hope this will be passed and rigorously enforced.

We are proud to support cetacean conservation efforts through our films and other efforts. For more information on protecting dolphins and their habitat, please visit our Protect page and related blog post.

Thank you for your support of the Dolphin Dance Project!

Dolphins are our friends. Let's protect them! photo: Connor Cassidy

The Dolphin Drive Hunt: Appropriate Management?

Observations from the Emergency Extension of the Hunting season of the Dolphin Drive Hunt in Taiji

The following is a summary of the report of Sakae Hemmi of Elsa Nature Conservancy (ENC) investigating the circumstances of the unusual suspension and resumption of the dolphin drive hunts in Taiji this year (2011), as well as ENC’s assessment of the current state of the dolphin drive hunt in Japan. The major findings were as follows:

Irregularities in the dolphin drive hunt season were found to have occurred due to a severe decline (to zero) of the pilot and false killer whale catches in February. The extension of the hunting season through May to attempt to fill the quotas for those species was found to be legal and within the regulation of Wakayama.  Pressure from foreign pro-cetacean activists was likely not a significant contributing factor in the suspension or extension of the hunting season.

Inquiries to the Japan Fisheries Agency and the fisheries section of Wakayama prefecture regarding the regulation of hunt seasons and catch quotas revealed systemic deficiencies in the management of the dolphin drive hunt. Catch quotas were calculated and administered in a manner that systematically responded to the needs of fishermen but ignored the biology and ecology of dolphins, making them irrelevant as a mechanism for supporting the sustainable use/consumption of dolphins as a marine resource. Oversight was lacking, with all catch data reported by fishermen in the absence of independent or scientific verification. Enforcement was weak, with no penalties in place for the mismanagement of quotas. In Futo the quota system failed to prevent or explain the depletion of striped dolphin stocks. A similar trend in Taiji is not unlikely.

Despite previous appeals from ENC to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Consumer Affairs Agency and other relevant agencies, toxicity information was still missing from the labels of packaged dolphin meat. In some of the samples tested for this investigation, levels of PCBs were 19.2 times the allowable national limit.(See the table attached.)

Glaring inconsistencies in the official position of the Japanese government with the realities of the town of Taiji were found. Records showed that while whaling does date back 400 years, the “traditional” whaling actually ended in 1878 after a whaling disaster that decimated the Taiji whaling fleet. Regular dolphin drive hunts date back only 42 years to 1969 when pilot whales were captured on a large scale for display at the Taiji Whale Museum. Currently only 8.5% of the people in the town  are employed in the fisheries and only about 100 people at the most depend on whaling or whaling-related activities for their livelihood. Historical records and demographic data do not support the contention that “Taiji is a ‘Whaling Town’ that cannot survive without whaling.”

By supporting the dolphin drive hunts, the policies and position of the Japanese government harm not only dolphins but the health and well being of Japanese people, particularly in Taiji. We are hopeful for a change that will bring our nation closer to those of other ‘modern’ countries and with contemporary, global views about the appropriate treatment of wild animals and natural resources.

Table 1. Toxic Substances in Dolphin Meat, Taiji 2011

The Elsa Nature Conservancy was established in 1976 with the aim of global nature and environmental protection across a broad spectrum, from one’s own doorstep to the sky. Elsa always looks for the blind spots of the conservation movement — things others have forgotten about – and has campaigned for the protection of animals that are going extinct unnoticed, such as the Japanese reed bunting (Embriza yessoensis). Furthermore, the organization was campaigning for dolphin and elephant protection before the media took up these issues. It has also continued the debate in opposition to vivisection, as well as criticism of safari parks, zoos, and aquariums. Additionally, Elsa has from the very beginning used recycled paper for its publications, and makes its own stationery and note-pads out of paper with only side used, and from computer printing scraps, in order to save as many trees as possible. Elsa’s basic approach is “Each person practices nature/environment protection in whatever way is personally possible.” While the organization sets forth grand ideals, individual members carry out their own modest but diligent activities.

Elsa Nature Conservancy: Box2, Tsukuba Gakuen Post Office, Tsukuba 305-8691, Japan

Contact Improvisation with Wild Dolphins

An interview with director Chisa Hidaka provides a compelling perspective into the experience of dancing with wild dolphins.  She also eloquently explains the broader mission of the Dolphin Dance Project, to encourage respect for and protection of wild dolphins and their habitat.  (If you would like to know more about the threats to their well-being, please visit our ‘Protect’ page.)

Features Chisa Hidaka (speaker and dancer), Erzsi Palko (dancer) and wild Atlantic Spotted Dolphins and Pacific Spinner Dolphins. Underwater videography by Bryce Groark, Brett LeMaster, Loui Terrier, Benjamin Harley and Chisa Hidaka.  Produced and edited by Benjamin Harley. Video of the interview and sample clip of contact improvisation filmed by Sanford Lewis and provided courtesy of his ‘Contact Improvisation: An Intimate Dance‘ production

This video clip is an example of the kind of context we intend to provide in the feature length documentary we are developing.  Our goal is to give the audience  a profound appreciation for these human-dolphin interactions, exploring their significance with the help of expert scientists and artists, incorporating knowledge of dolphin biology and cognition and how humans communicate with body language and dance.  (If you haven’t seen our first film,’Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins,’ visit our website, and if you would like to support future productions of the Dolphin Dance Project, please visit our ‘Donate’ page.)

Chisa was inspired to found the Dolphin Dance Project when she recognized that improvised dance, specifically the practice of contact improvisation, enabled a depth of communication with wild dolphins comparable to what she experienced with human dancers.  Training in this form hones our ability to perceive, interpret and understand the physical communication of others – a skill sometimes called “physical listening” – as well as our technical facility to respond and deepen the conversation. The art of contact improvisation proves to be very precious indeed when it can facilitate mutual understanding between two intelligent species in such a direct and intimate way.

The interview was conducted at Earthdance, originally the communal home of a group of visionary contact improvisers, now a beautiful retreat where the form continues to be developed and taught.  (If you are interested to learn more about this form, there are workshops and classes year round – visit http://www.earthdance.net/ )  Sanford Lewis, who is currently producing a documentary about the dance form, “Contact Improvisation: an Intimate Dance,” filmed the interview. The producer of numerous environmental films, Sanford provides more information about his new work at http://ContactImprovOnScreen.com.

Dolphins communicate through body language as much or more than we do. Whether or not dolphins have a concept of “dance” similar to ours, their intentional, communicative and beautiful movement is exactly what we mean by the term.  Perhaps they understand it better than us, for we are discovering that, “When you approach dolphins with dance, they recognize it as intelligence.”

- Posted by Benjamin Harley

Ben and Chisa Improvise, Video Still: Sanford Lewis

Was That Choreographed?

The Dolphin Dance Project is well embarked on developing its next film which will feature multiple human dancers.  We have been scouting for talented improvisers who can dance exquisitely underwater while maintaining relationships with dolphins and fellow humans at the same time.  We have been honored to be joined by some very talented dancers (and some very talented dolphins too) for practice sessions, and we look forward to more rehearsals in the coming months.

On a recent trip, we fortuitously met Matisha who has years of experience with wild dolphins, and a website of his own (www.SongofHome.com) where he shares videos, music, and other inspirations he has received from these extraordinary fellow creatures.  Having met Matisha underwater, already in the company of dolphins, it was amazing to see – with almost no words exchanged – everyone naturally begin to dance together.

In this clip ‘Dolphin Choreography’, we see a beautiful set of changing relationships.  A dolphin leaves his pod, approaches a couple of human dancers, engages one of them, as the other human joins the ‘chorus’ of the pod.  Dolphins negotiate like this with each other all the time, understanding who wants to be with whom, joining in, separating, coming back.  But in this case, a dolphin invites the humans to participate.  It is a remarkable example of mutual understanding that these intuitive humans and (dare we say) ‘open minded’ dolphins can participate actively in this exchange.

(as always, this video will look better if you choose 720p and press the fullscreen button in the lower right hand corner, or watch on Vimeo - http://vimeo.com/21578920 )

As dancers, the humans have trained their abilities to perceive and understand shifting relationships as they are expressed through movement.  This is one of the essential building blocks of human choreography.  In a sense, dolphins are natural choreographers – and dancers have the training to engage with them intelligently.  In future posts, we will look more closely at these parallels between human ‘terrestrial’ dance and the natural way dolphins communicate as they move together.

We are actively developing this work, but we still have a long ways to go to finance it.  Working hard writing grants, we know that many foundations are in difficult economic situations. Do you know any dolphin lovers who might consider supporting our work? We would be grateful for an introduction.

We have a number of ways to thank you for donations you make, including our new poster  (below)… you can see them all on our ‘Donate’ page.  For no cost at all, you can do a lot to help us expand the project by simply tweeting or facebook ‘liking’ our website or forwarding links to your friends.

As much as anything else, however, we value your appreciation.  Thank you for your continued interest in the Dolphin Dance Project.

Please check our website for a list of upcoming screenings of our first film “Together: Dancing With Spinner Dolphins” – there are two screenings in NYC in April, one in May, one in LA, CA in June …

Just like dolphins invite us to join their pod, we invite you to join our company and help support the Dolphin Dance Project

 

Popping the Cork on an Exciting New Year!

We’re ringing in the New Year with a sneak preview of things to come…more human dancers! Here is a lovely moment caught in an exceptional single shot last summer in Bimini by producer Ben Harley:  a sweet young Atlantic Spotted dolphin dives directly towards Kathleen Fisher and me and leads us, with a clear intention, in a basic dolphin ‘figure’ that we call the ‘corkscrew’.

Has the dolphin noticed that we were practicing moving with each other like dolphins?  Does he intend to show us?  Has his interest simply been piqued to join in?  One thing is certain, there is an attempt to engage in a moment of meaningful, shared movement – we are all listening to each other, we are all working hard to be connected.

Kathleen is a beautiful dancer, whom I met years ago, when she lived in NYC, dancing for the Trisha Brown Company. Kathleen has been living in Bimini for several years in order to spend more time with dolphins.  Following my week with Diana Reiss’ research trip last August, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with her as the Dolphin Dance Project begins to explore the possibilities for composing dances with multiple humans.

In 2011, our goal is to develop this work and for several humans to dance with each other like the dolphins dance amongst themselves – fluid groupings of synchronous members gliding and twirling, often in unison, sometimes in tender physical contact. I am  eager to experience the dolphins’ reactions. How will they dance with us if we can show them that humans can be cooperative and harmonious underwater, just like them? Will it mean something to the dolphins? As dancers, we can also explore the emotional impact on us of moving this way together.  We will be asking questions like these and documenting them on video as we develop the material for the feature length dance film and documentary we aspire to make.

As we work on the next phase of our project, we will offer more of these previews … and we will continue to let you know about additional screenings of “Together,” our award-winning debut film. In January, we have a few screenings in NYC:

On January 15 between 4 and 8.30 pm, “Together” will screen during the Japanese American and Japanese in America (JAJA) New Year’s party at the Japanese American Association (JAA) Hall at 15 West 44 Street, 11 floor. Admission is free and you will enjoy many performances and exhibits by Japanese and Japanese American artists living in NYC.

On January 27th at 6 pm, our festival tour continues with a screening of  ”Together” on the Big Screen Project, a huge new outdoor screen near 6th Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets in NYC as part of the 39th annual Dance on Camera Festival. The best viewing will be from Bar Basque, which will be hosting the Dance on Camera short film celebration that evening; but “Together” and the other short dance films in the program will be visible from the street, the Eventi Hotel plaza and Foodparc.

If you can’t join us on the 27th, the Big Screen Project will show “Together” and the Dance on Camera shorts program several times following the celebration. For specific dates and times, please check their calendar.

As always – thank you so much for continuing to support us through your Facebook ‘likes,’ Tweets, word-of-mouth and your attendance at our screenings.

Happy New Year!

Thanks to a stellar 2010, the Dolphin Dance Project is well underway!

The Dolphin Dance Project has enjoyed an amazing first year.  We look back on 2010 with deep gratitude, and forward to 2011 with much excitement.  The next phase of our project is just beginning – a feature length dance film and documentary with multiple human and wild dolphin dancers and interviews with leading scientists, the dancers themselves, and more to give viewers a deeper appreciation of these profound and beautiful interactions.

Chisa with a Spotted dolphin...Spotted dolphins will star in "Sharing the Dance"...photo by J. Rutledge

In January 2010, we spent a week shooting our first footage of dolphin and human dancing… and after many months of work, in late October, we released our first film, “Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins,” which won ‘Best Experimental Film’ at its world premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival! At two more festivals, the Colorado Environmental Film Festival and the International Underwater Film Festival of Beograd, the film was an audience favorite; it was given extra screenings due to popular demand!

Online, the trailers – in four languages on Vimeo and Youtube – have been viewed over 3000 times already (and all our clips combined have been viewed more than 15,000 times)!  The film itself can be downloaded and watched from our website – a higher quality (HD) version can be ordered as well, and received on a DVD, for a more substantial donation. There is even an option to send a download of the movie as a holiday e-card for Christmas, New Year’s, or whatever occasion you want to celebrate with a gift.

Thank you for helping us spread the word by continuing to forward the link for our trailer to your friends, tweeting it, facebook sharing it, liking it etc ….  or sending the movie itself as a holiday gift.

In 2011, there will be more screenings of “Together”. On January 27th at 6 pm, it will screen at the Big Screen Project, as part of the Dance on Camera Festival. The Big Screen Project is visible from the street between 28th and 29th Streets near 6th Avenue or the FoodParc or Eventi Hotel. The best viewing will be from Bar Basque, which will be hosting the Dance on Camera short film celebration. We will also have screenings at Ocean Inspiration, a celebration of Jacques Cousteau’s 100th birthday, and at Moviehouse (Brooklyn) in March. We are also on the program for the 25th anniversary of Performance Mix in April. We will continue to submit to other festivals – so please stay tuned for screenings in your city and/or country!

For the next phase of our project – the creation of a feature length dance film and documentary ‘Sharing the Dance‘ – we need a substantial amount of financial support.  We are actively seeking major donors – so please let us know of anyone who might be interested in supporting this important project.  They will not only help to create a uniquely beautiful work of inter-species artistic collaboration but also contribute to the conservation of wild dolphins and to a sea change in how humans think of their relationship to the natural world.

Over the next year, we will be publishing clips related to the development of this new work.  You will see clips of more human dancers, introductions to Spotted dolphins, interviews with scientists and dancer/choreographers, and insights that enrich one’s experience of watching human-dolphin interactions.

As this year comes to an end, we want to say ‘Thank You!!’ to everyone who contributed to the Dolphin Dance Project in its first amazing year, to all of our supporters and to the small but dedicated team that made “Together” happen.  And we express our deepest gratitude to all to the dolphins – on camera and off. The more I learn about our cetacean friends, the more I am awed.

Wishing you wonderful holidays…and a healthy and happy new year!

P.S.  As a holiday offering to our supporters, we have published a short children’s story about a lovable and adventurous dolphin who likes to go dancing everywhere.  ‘Can a Dolphin Dance There?’ was written originally for my little dancing friend Ari, but now you can read it online and share it with any little ones you think will like it.  You can also receive a printed copy (dedicated to whomever you would like) as a thank you for donations of $100 or more.