From the Cincinnati Regional ASD Program, April 27, 2002
A Dream that wanted to Talk and so became…
A Dream Story that wanted to Move and so became…
A Dream Dance…
"The Crow and The Phoenix"
dreamt, told, choreographed and danced
by Valley Reed, Dallas, Texas
with Heather Britt & Amy Burns, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photo Suite, Paul Grundy
The Story: The Crow and the Phoenix
Once upon a time...
there lived a Crow who liked to stay in darkness. Crow lived deep in
the earth. When Crow was lonely, it would fly up out of the earth and find
someone to take into the underworld. One day a girl named Anna Belle was
walking in the rain with her most favorite companion, her umbrella. She
loved to walk under the gloomy, wet, gray, skies protected by her faithful
umbrella. Anna Bella and her umbrella were quite a pair. Suddenly she
heard a great thunder and it felt as if the earth beneath her was shaking
from the sound! She wondered if the earth were going to swallow her up,
when a great Crow swooped down upon her and carried her and the umbrella
deep inside the earth..
She lived deep inside the earth with Crow, until she forgot who she was.
Not even her umbrella could protect her from the darkness that surrounded
her. She lived in the darkness of Crow.
One day in the depths of her slumbering darkness, Anna Belle was awakened by a mysterious blue light that shone like the stars. She was frightened and could barely look into the brightness piercing through the underworld. She caught the glimmer of light as it flashed from high above and she held tight to her umbrella. Crow tried to pull her back from the light by grabbing her umbrella just as the bright wind caught Anna Belle up in a swirling torrent, taking her up into a world of light and love. Crow was left holding only the umbrella, alone once again in the darkness underground.
The bright wind that caught up Anna Belle and lifted her away was really the wings of a magical blue Phoenix. The Phoenix took her high into the heavens to a mountain cave. There in the cave was a magical reflecting pool.. The small girl looked into the water and was shocked to see a girl covered with dirt looking back at her. She had forgotten who she was in the depths of darkness.
Phoenix gently guided her into the healing waters of the pool, where she was cleansed of all the darkness that had been surrounding her life. She stepped out of the water, and looked again into the reflecting pool. She saw a beautiful girl named Anna Belle and her eyes gleamed from the light of her heart. Phoenix knew it was time for Anna Belle to return home, and placed her in her warm bed where she slept peacefully. The Phoenix whispered gently, "You may return to the waters of remembering whenever you feel lost."
Anna Belle awoke with a start! What was that?...a dream? She looked
down and saw on her bed a mysterious feather. When she picked it up she
felt a familiar light in her heart. She remembered her dream.
The Crow and the Phoenix
Dreamt and Choreographed by Valley Reed
Costumes by Robin Reed
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| Scene One: The Crow Danced by Heather Britt Music: "Blackbird," the Beatles |
Scene Four: The Realm of the
Phoenix Danced by Amy Burns Music: “Living Light,” Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Richard Souther |
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Scene Two: Anna Belle and Her Umbrella Music: "Blackbird," performed by Ed Smith
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Scene Five: The Reflecting Pool Danced by Amy Burns and Valley Reed Music: "The Annointing," Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Richard Souther |
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| Scene Three: Into the Underworld Danced by Valley Reed, Heather Britt, Amy Burns Music: "An Angel Falls," by Gabriel Yared
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Scene
Six: The Return Home Danced
by HeathScene Six: The Return Home |
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VALLEY REED, choreographer & dancer, has performed with Abilene Metropolitan Ballet Company, Dallas Ballet, and Natasha Krassovska Ballet Jeunesse. Valley was previous Assistant Director and soloist with Mahogany Dance Theater and a founding member of Nine Fish Jumping, a dance improvisational theater. She is a dance teacher as well as performer and facilitates a dream group which incorporates movement in the process. Valley lives in Dallas, TX with her family.
HEATHER BRITT, dancer, is a graduate of School for Creative and Performing Arts majoring in dance. She performed in San Francisco for four years with Dance Repertory/SF, Landini Dance Company, and Potrezebie Dance Project. Heather has brought a dance workout, franchise, Rhythm in Motion, to Cincinnati from SF. Currently she teaches adults of all levels, children at the Otto Budig Academy of the Cincinnati Ballet, and at Uptown Arts in Over-the-Rhine. She collaborates with local choreographers Linda Rieff, Diane Germaine and Michele Bump.
AMY BURNS, dancer, was a member of the Longwood College Company
of Dancers in Woodbridge, VA. At Longwood College she received a B.S. in
therapeutic recreation and a minor in dance education.. She moved to
Cincinnati in 1999 and joined the dance team for Cincinnati Stuff
Basketball Team.. Amy is the new dance director at Hyde Park Gymnastics
and Dance. She is also an instructor for Rhythm in Motion. in association
with Heather Britt.
To make this dream a reality., thanks go to the World Peace Dreams Bridge, Jody Grundy, Robin Reed, Laurel Stearns, Keyna Flowers, Dana Powers, and Valley Reed's family (Kevin, Jordan, and Delaney Clark)., the Cincinnati Ballet (Victoria Morgan, Daniel Simmons, and Sasha Hart), Contemporary Dance Theater (Jefferson James), Paul Grundy and Jim Fitzpatrick (for videography), and David Grundy and (stage crew).
A video of the performance was made and will be available for viewing at the ASD Boston Conference at Tufts University. It will also be available for sale in the near future. Please contact Jody Grundy : grundyj@fuse.net for information on obtaining a copy of the video. This article will be available in Dream Network. Contact Roberta Ossana DreamKey@lasal.net for details.