Solastalgia

In today's New York Times there's a remarkable article about the "ecological unconsciousness."

Here's a paragraph from it, and a link to the whole article:

"In Albrecht’s view, the residents of the Upper Hunter were suffering not just from the strain of living in difficult conditions but also from something more fundamental: a hitherto unrecognized psychological condition. In a 2004 essay, he coined a term to describe it: “solastalgia,” a combination of the Latin word solacium (comfort) and the Greek root –algia (pain), which he defined as “the pain experienced when there is recognition that the place where one resides and that one loves is under immediate assault . . . a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at ‘home.’ ” A neologism wasn’t destined to stop the mines; they continued to spread. But so did Albrecht’s idea. In the past five years, the word “solastalgia” has appeared in media outlets as disparate as Wired, The Daily News in Sri Lanka and Andrew Sullivan’s popular political blog, The Daily Dish. In September, the British trip-hop duo Zero 7 released an instrumental track titled “Solastalgia,” and in 2008 Jukeen, a Slovenian recording artist, used the word as an album title. “Solastalgia” has been used to describe the experiences of Canadian Inuit communities coping with the effects of rising temperatures; Ghanaian subsistence farmers faced with changes in rainfall patterns; and refugees returning to New Orleans after Katrina."

Here's the link to the full article.

Paul Taylor's "Images." Episode 3: The Oracle

The third installment of the "Inside Look: Images" series looks at the solo "The Oracle." CityDance's Elizabeth Gahl and Mr. Taylor's restager, Patrick Corbin, talk about the solo both from within and without. The challenge of taking on a great solo is as rich as the one of crafting it, and both involve the soul of the artist.

Staging "Images" by Paul Taylor: a beginning

On January 12th, 2010 Patrick Corbin, who today directs his own dance company but is also one of the most gifted of all the many generations of dancers of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, began the process of staging for CityDance Mr. Taylor's elegant 1977 work, "Images." The dance, which has never before been staged on an outside company, is deeply graceful and yet, as is so often the case, has layer upon layer inside it for the artist, the viewer and, in particular, the dancer.

This is the first episode in CityDance's multi-part video documentary series leading up the Company's March 12, 2010 Washington, DC premiere of "Images."

The documentary was filmed by Paul Gordon Emerson and Shannon Schwait, and edited by Ms. Schwait.

Staging "Images" by Paul Taylor: Part two

CityDance's Jason Garcia Ignacio, who is cast to dance the soloists role in the "Horses" section of Paul Taylor's classic 1977 work, "Images" talks about preparing for the part, learning the steps and understanding the meaning.