California Democratic Convention

They saw our summer show and decided that the troupe should perform for their California Convention. Fun but weird to perform infront of all these "suits" who apparently loved the show.

Rumi

Some beautiful man from Sweden, I have been in communication with lately sent this to me.

Beyond the sanity of fools is a burning desert
Where Your sun is whirling in every atom:
Beloved, drag me there, let me roast in Perfection!

- Rumi

I think it's perhaps the best thing anyone has ever quoted to me. I am completely enamored.

History

When I was a little kid my mother used to take me to the circus. Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey. Every year like clockwork when the circus rolled into town, we went. By ourselves, with young relatives, friends, classmates, etc. I remember that the perks of having a hot mom included getting backstage so that we could feed and touch the elephants, see where the animals were kept before the performances, say hello to the performers, getting front row seats all the time, and the best, being chosen to ride the clown car around the stadium and after the other kids were sent back to their parents, being able to stay with the clowns and watch the trapeze act sitting on top of this huge silly car with all these zainey characters. I guess if you really think about it, she’s probably to blame for the obsession I’ve always had to “run away” with the circus. Thank goddess. I prefer being this way than the alternative. Open and accepting and in tune with the arts.

The very last time I went to that circus was the day they revealed the much hyped unicorn. It was a white goat with a twisted horn, most likely from the mountains of a distant land. Maybe I had begun to get too old? But at that moment it struck me that the animals involved were in captivity and being made to perform. It just began to take me down a different thought process and after that day I never went back to Ringling Brothers again. But the past lingered.

For many years I had had the thought of going to San Francisco to this huge circus school. First I wanted to be a clown but then I discovered juggling, tightrope walking and trapeze. This school offered all of these and more. I began to plot my next moves.

I never made it to that school but I did begin to go to Cirque du Soleil which opened my mind and horizons and took me to a whole other level. It was amazing. And it felt like home. Though I had thought at the time I was too old to begin to learn, I’m not sure who poisoned my mind at the time and made me believe that there was ever any truth in that statement “too old”, but I never took true advantage of anything at that time at least. It was not until later, not until I found the community I'm involved in now that all those thoughts dreams and desires and cravings surfaced again. They were always there mind you, I dabbed in this and that, but never completed training,I never really dove as deeply as I have now into the circus arts. And now that I’m in it I can’t get enough.

I’m not sure if one would call them circus arts? The range I’m interested in is so much more grand. But a many number of the community are “clowns” and acrobats. Maybe with a slight twist.

I have also a very strong interest in Taiko Drumming, the Fire Arts, Ariel Arts, Photography, Gymnastics, Tribal Belly Dancing, Tabla and Sitar, Stilt Walking, Juggling, Samba, Bhangra and as always music. I have a five piece drum kit that was given to me by a friend as well as a beautiful replica musicman bass given to me by a Russian man I once was Engaged to. I’ve a ear for music I’ve been told, can play by ear? My first instrument was the autoharp (hippie mom) and over the years I’ve dabbled first with the trombone, then flute, horns, drums, piano and other various stringed instruments but aside from the flute, autoharp and trombone, I never sat down to master anything though I am getting to that point in life where I want so. So I have taken the time to train in these things that interest me.

So this is how it all began for me. My history and what helped form who I am today, what I’m into.

My excitement grows as my art does. Guess I’ve found my passion.

Renaissance Faires

For two years I traveled around the country doing various Renaissance Faires. If you’re unsure it is an outdoor weekend gathering ostensibly focused on recreating life as it was during the Renaissance, give or take a few liberties obviously.

I remember when my friend A. (the former punk rock traveler) and his girlfriend were headed out to Boston to do the Faire out there and asked if I wanted to tag along. An adventure? To Boston? Going through Canada to see Niagara Falls? OF COURSE I wanted to go. I had never been to either and when opportunity knocks especially when it concerns travel, I’m always up for it.

I remember arriving in Carver with them, a quaint little beach town a bit away from the city having no place to stay or no work but within two days I had a place to stay and a incredible job with a “wizard” named Artemis and his huge white dog Zeus. The house I found was rented out by a friend of mine, the flute maker, and I shared it with a dulcimer player, and a hardcore vegetarian who wore genuine buffalo hide shoes – that always made me chuckle, he played the tabor.

I sold jewelry for Artemis. Puzzle wedding rings, dragon claw/rune/Celtic necklaces, and other odds and ends. Made a living getting a solid wage plus commission so obviously the bodices I wore were very low cut and revealing and the flirtation much. I even managed to get a positive compliment or two out of a down to earth musician as he visited our quaint little festival. I didn’t realize it at the time, me being me, i.e. I rarely get excited over status all I cared about was that the guy was nice as were his kids and friends and that he complimented me in a sincere way. Basically I just liked his vibe. Oh it was Steven Tyler.

I made good friends with the gypsies, who adopted me in a way and taught me how to dance, my first experience with belly dancing, and better, taught me things I needed to know being that I was a “rennie” – a traveling renaissance faire worker, a gypsy if you will. There were four of them that were my favorite, two men who also did puppeteering at the festivals and owned a puppet making business in Vermont and led parades down in Newo, can’t remember what the other one did and a nice Italian woman who called me one of the chocolate people – in a endearing way – her English was not too good. She was a puppeteer as well.

The house I lived in was always full of music; being that I lived with musicians I guess it’s not that surprising. We constantly had people over and constantly there were jams, though with more of a Renaissance feel. Flute players, Didgeridoos, Djembes, Dulcimers, Dumbecks, Lutes, Trumpets folk singers, harp…Fun times.

From there I traveled around the country finding work at various faires, Georgia – where every Saturday night we went Swing Dancing and every Sunday we gathered at a Mexican Restaurant for Margaritas and dancing to the beats of tribal drums, Illinois, Florida, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, all over the states I’d go from faire to faire finding work as a jewelry seller, a candle maker, a gamer, a beer wench, etc. and hang out with musicians, gypsies, knights (men who actually jousted, as dangerous now as it was back then), actors, blacksmiths, storytellers, etc. I slept in tents for the majority of time on the Faire sites along with other Faire participants.

I remember once while doing the Chicago Faire how a family of raccoons discovered how to get into my tent by unzipping the front rather than ripping the side.... I have never been so scared in my life! Imagine waking up to the sound of your tent opening and shining a light on it only to see these crazy reflecting eyes staring right back at you in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done the Faires (I think perhaps I’ve found a new output with the community I’m involved with now but the same energy no wonder I feel so incredible and inspired with these folks) but looking back on it, it was a pretty great experience in the book of me.