Friedensglocke

Friedensglocke is a piece I choreographed for the children's and Youth dance company in Salzburg I co-directed 1996-1998. The performance happened right after a national violence awareness day in a public theater of Salzburg. Unfortunately, the videotaping is not done well in places, but I think with some help you all can still see what it was about.

The piece is about domestic and societal violence. The beggar in the beginning is ignored, business people walking through appear cold and have no time but to think of themselves and their business. Children at play are not noticed anymore. There is no time and friendship to play. There is strife and disagreement among individuals, couples, families, and in the end society as a whole. Society falls apart. Only war brings them together. They have noticed how far they have come. After everything has been destroyed, a hardened soldier is in charge. Everyone is hiding. But then the freedom bell rings (original Berlin Freedom Bell). People have the courage to come forth again and humbly give themselves to the common cause of peace. A child has the courage to confront the soldier and convince him to soften his heart, heal, and to surrender to peace as well.

The music is Sacre Du Printemps/Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. I got the recording of the Berlin Freedom Bell from the city of Berlin in 1996. The bell still rings in Berlin every day at noon. I have grown up with a lot of the history of Berlin. I have many stories of my relatives living there around WWII and some relatives still live there. My mother was born in Berlin and remembers the bombs of WWII. As a child, I stood in front of the Iron Curtain and was in awe that there would be a place in the world where people would be shot if they tried to cross the street. I was in awe that families would be separated by a wall. I was most touched by the sound of the freedom bell, which had a deep, satisfying and in a way calming tone. It had a most dramatic influence on me when I heard it ring over the city of Berlin that carries yet has risen above so many scars of violence and war.

You can read more about the freedom bell on this link:
http://www.berliner-friedensglocke.de/glocke_e.html

Some of the kids participating in this video were not dancers and on stage for the first time. I would like to restage this piece some time and do a more thorough job. If anyone knows of an opportunity, let me know!