Rhythm Tree

“Choreographer Abdel R. Salaam employs a collage of ballet, modern, and African movements, performed with exacting beauty, to examine how religion has sought to control the bodies of African women.”
- Dance Magazine

The life of a forest depends upon the strength, power and flexibility of each of its trees and their roots. These trees yield children of ripened fruit whose dance with the wind, the rain and the sun enables their seeds to join the earth once again as they take root.  Thus, new life may spring forth and dance in that eternal rhythm of growing, seeking and reaching for the light. Rhythm Tree becomes a visual metaphor for the birth, fall and recovery of life and its cyclical renewal.

EARTHRITES highlights the “Green Ballets” of Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, under artistic Direction of Abdel R. Salaam, whose commitments to environmental health, spiritually, and the survival of life on earth have been seminal themes of his choreography. In 1989, Forces of Nature presented its first Environmental Arts Gala entitled Eternal Earth. Whether known as GEB, GAIA, or GREEN, the movement to throughout history respect our planet and see it as a Living Being has inspired the work of spiritualists, artists, and scientists alike. Everyday people from all walks of life and different cultures are now working towards a healthier relationship with their terrestrial host. No matter who we are or where we come from, we all seek a higher quality of living for our families, communities, societies and the world at large. Forces of Nature continues to embrace the global movement of the 21st Century by offering “EARTHRITES”, a series of nine concert visions, lecture demonstrations, and creative programs that unite people to engage in Movement To Heal Our Planet.

Program Details

1987
Running Time: 13:19
Choreography: Abdel R. Salaam
Music: Steve Reich
Set Design: Abdel R. Salaam
Light Design: William H. Grant III
Costumes: Abdel R. Salaam