Santa Fe Vaccay... Sept. 1-14, 2008 Zozobra and 'Dance Camp' National Dance Institute

The National Dance Institute Teaching Excellence Teacher training workshop was a wonderful, albeit challenging and exhausting two week experience. I'd wanted to go last year but a wedding and my father's recent cancer diagnosis held me back. Good to train with these fine folks and dance with the beautiful children of Santa Fe. NDI-NM provides performing arts training to the children of New Mexico. They have a sister organization here in NY, the origianl NDI. It is a rote pedagogy used to inspire excellence and a sense of acomplishment in public school children grades 3-5. Keep on doing your magic, NDI. Perhaps one day I will join your ranks.

While I was there I was introduced to a local holiday called Zozobra. It is the annual burning of a 5 story effigy of a boogie man type character. It originated with the historic repossession of Santa Fe by the Spanish from the Native Americans. Today, the Zozobra represents the evil spirit the city dwellers want to annihilate to keep the city of Santa Fe safe and evil at bay. Children and adults chant 'Burn him! Burn him!" in primordial rounds before the growling puppet is tourched by fire dancers and little goblins. Very much like Burning Man, but local and public, the Zozobra is stuffed with little pieces of paper with items the community wants to rid from itself. They are collected prior to the burn at banks and grocery stores and go up in a firework filled explosion. The two items I tried to give up were written on a piece of paper that I'd folded my gum into earlier that day and akwardly would not burn when I tried to take a bic lighter to them standing there in the field as Zozobra burned to the ground. I met a lot of beautiful Santa Fe sisters that night wandering to some house parties on Artist Road. "Que Viva Las Fiestas!"

"Y Que Viva NDI-NM!"