An interpretive dance teacher is let loose among innocent schoolchildren:
Berkelely performance artist Patricia Bulitt was ready to give an Oakland elemantary school class an hour that was strictly for the birds. Specifically, it was for the local birds, a tribute to the winged denizens that inhabit nearby watersheds, from stately herons to common pigeons...
The children first listened to a story about a pair of birds, the ill-fated Hector and his mate, Helen, residents of the Lake Merritt watershed. It was a classic Greek tragedy -- Hector got tangled up with carelessly discarded fishing line and perished. The class then used felt-tip pens to write their thoughts on little shirts and dresses from the Goodwill Store.
And then the dancing began. Picking a cloth partner, the children fluttered four at a time as Bulitt recited their written words in a sing-song manner, which was repeated by the kids who were not dancing:
"Dear Hec-tor," sang Bulitt.
"Dear Hec-tor," echoed the class.
"I'm sor-ry."
"I'm sor-ry."
"That you got stuck in the fish-ing line."
"That you got stuck in the fish-ing line."
"When you died."
"When you died."
"From, Ja-cob."
"From, Ja-cob."
The class, initially shy, warmed up quickly and soon nearly everyone was vying for a chance to do a shirt dance...
"To children, the notion of the shirt or dress is like feathers," Bulitt said. "Clothes hold memories, and they can write something down and leave it behind for the birds."
Eric at Classical Values is unimpressed:
...in my local Berkeley Gazette, there's a picture of the artist flapping about in front of the kids -- and a boy in the picture does not appear terribly interested in "environmental performing art." No wonder they have to resort to Ritalin!
I guess I should be glad I don't have kids. Otherwise, I might have to spend my time Googling for stories about "Hector" and "Helen" at Lake Merritt. I found an actual account of the tragedy:
....two white pelicans, Hector and Helen, and seven other half-growns, were brought to the refuge from Pyramid Lake courtesy of the Fish and Wildlife Department. The two were picked to remain at the lake through a partial pinioning that kept them from full flight. Although the others eventually flew away, H & H remained behind to delight thousands of people through the years with photographic beauty and comical antics...a noble sacrifice that they seemingly enjoyed. They were fed three pounds of smelt every day, plus scooping up some lake herring on the side, too! Hector became tangled in a rope and drowned in the mid-1980's, but Helen lived on alone for ten years, escorting wild visiting white pelicans around the lake, and she was often courted by a white mute swan that mysteriously appeared off and on.
Captive bird tangled on a rope, huh?
So what's with the the "fish-ing line" line?
I don't know, but the artist also dances with trout. (The latter was a performance for "Culvert Action II" -- a precursor to an ongoing (if economically chaotic) program to "daylight" a creek which runs through downtown Berkeley.) Daylighting creeks is a deadly serious business (and I don't think hunting and fishing is on the agenda)...
...I'm not a little boy. As I've said before, boys prefer toy guns. And I think they'd rather go fishing for trout than dancing with them.
Under the circumstances, who wouldn't need Ritalin?
The school which brought in the performance artist was Montclair Elementary, which seems to have a good reputation - and a strong PTA. API's not bad, either. Let's hope all the fluttering and flapping doesn't get in the way of the real education at the school.
Posted by kswygert at February 6, 2005 04:45 PM