UNION
Art, Spirit, and Community 
Union @ Grace Cathedral
Friday April 20th
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Where Love is Met, the Marriage of Earth and Sky...
An evening of music, poetry, dance, and ritual woven into a mystical
participatory experience in the majestic Grace Cathedral on the Eve of Earth Day.
Musicians & Peformers
Rob Brezsny - Marry Yourself Ceremony
(Free Will Astrology)
Dana Dharma Devi - flute, harmonium, vocals
(Dharma Rose, Jagadambe)
Travis Wernet - mystical spoken word & didjeridu
(Pele's Tears, Axis Mundi, DarkShine)
Ken Becker - cello, bass
(Pele's Tears, NADA, Bless, Out of the Blue, Serendeep)
Taressa Bell - vocals
(NADA, Bless, Out of the Blue, Serendeep, Dream Jungle)
Josh Brill - guitar
Aharon Wheels Bolsta - tablas
Ashanna Solaris - ritualist
Papillon - ritual bellydancing
(Pele's Tears, Tribal Echo)
& more special guests
The Union of Heart and Mind, Earth and Sky, Voice and Vision, the Known and the Mysterious.
As the Sun rises and begins to adorn the Earth with its full presence once more, enter into a celebration of the Mystical Muse and the relationship of our Imagination to the Earth, through the sacred intonations of a deep musical and ritual offering . Come play and vision with us as we join to powerfully re-create the wellspring of Community and rejuvenate our spirits amidst the vast horizons of our shared personal visions in this deeply soulful chamber of dreams and awakening.
As an added scrumptious treat and in the spirit of 'Free Will Astrology', participate in a humorous yet poignant Self Marriage Rite with Rob Brezny, in which he reminds us that we are connected to each other as well as our own souls and will guide us in a joyous remembrance of our own essence.
Union is a rich monthly event bringing together our deep desire for ritual and togetherness as well as our yearning to create and express beauty and spontaneity through music, dance, art and ceremony.
On this - the Eve of Earth Day - Union will offer up participatory and magical co-creation in which we may recall our relationships with one other as they are powerfully held by the Earth and the Sky - two vast containers for our human longing and profound mirrors for experience of the Divine.
The Details
Friday April 20th
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
(Doors open at 6:30 for meditation)
Ritual starts on time!
Grace Cathedral
1100 California Street @ Taylor
San Francisco
$10 - 20 sliding scale. (Payable at the door)
Presented by Artsfest
Creative Direction by
Mardi Storm & Travis Wernet.
Information: www.artsfestsf.org
415-561-7822
Mardi Storm: 415-515-7995
www.mardistorm.com/Events/GraceCathedral.htm
Parking: Masonic Garage across the street
and underneath Grace Cathedral.
Public transportation advised.
Future Dates: May 25, June 15, July 20
More about Performers...
Rob Brezsny is an aspiring master of curiosity, macho feminist, and founder of the Beauty and Truth Lab. He writes "Free Will Astrology," a syndicated weekly column that appears in the Village Voice, SF Weekly, and 128 other publications, as well as on the Web at FreeWillAstrology.com. Brezsny's latest book is "Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings." Novelist Tom Robbins has given it his blessing, saying "I've seen the future of American literature and its name is Rob Brezsny."Dharma Devi (Dana DeLong) is a gifted musician, composer, international recording artist, and kirtan/chant leader, who began playing piano at 4 years old. Dana brings groups all over the world, from Bali, to Maui, to India to immerse in their culture and sacred music, and leads other healing & music events and retreats as Clarity Productions. She is a talented flute player, and has opened for Jai Uttal and has played with many well known artists including Shimshai and Rasa. Her passion is devotional music in all its forms. (www.clarity.org)Travis Wernet was a member of Axis Mundi for 9 years and has recently begun collaborating with other Bay Area musicians. He plays with Pele's Tears, a Gypsy-Fusion group and has performed his solo material in India with Dharma Devi, and at the Harmony Festival, Burning Man, the Ambiotica Lounge and Studio Rasa. Currently he is working on a new Didjeridu~Dance CD with Ben Leinbach and is launching his new musical project, DarkShine. (www.myspace.com/traviswernet)Ken Becker, playing cello and electric basses of his own design and luthiership, reveals the listening mind as a portal to divine communion. Abiding in emptiness and bliss, he melds silence and emergence to portray sublime reverence to grüves/groves of primal forest no mind.Taressa Bell is a singer-sound healer-recording artist known for her exotic melodies, six octave range and sound channelings devoted to awakening us all into deeper love, joy and peace. She's been involved in sacred sound ceremonies, concerts, kirtans and trance dance bands since the eighties. She performs Music Meditation Concerts the first Sunday of each month at Harbin Hot Springs and is currently working with electronic music artist Dwight Loop (www.dreamjungle.com).Aharon Wheels Bolsta is a percussionist working with an array of music-makers in the SF Bay Area and internationally. He is a long-time student of Indian tabla master Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and, while striving to perform traditionally, his background in jazz and improvisational music has enabled him to play in non-traditional projects ranging from Turkish & Persian traditional music to Indonesian, Indio-Balkan fusion. Aharon has performed, studied and recorded in the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Mali, Bali, Varanasi, Istanbul, les Etas-Unis and the SF Bay Area. (www.rhythmwheels.com)Ashanna Solaris is a practicing priestess/minister, healer and facilitator of both personal and collective transformation and change. She has been involved in the healing and performing arts for over 20 years, has studied numerous modalities and facilitiated groups around the world. Some of her favorite work is to combine breathwork, dance, music, inner journeys, ritual and energy healing for individuals and groups. (www.breatheinlove.com)Josh Brill is a Bay Area live electronic artist who explores downtempo and ambient sonic environments via laptop, guitar, voice, loopstation, keys, and various other instruments. (www.brillmusic.com )
Papillon is a talented dancer incorporating a lifetime of study to ethnic dance. Recently transplanted from Maui, she brings her own unique fusion of African, Bellydance, East Indian, and Tahitian dance to the San Francisco Bay Area and into a sacred ritual context. She further mesmerizes her audiences into the state of open-hearted trance often evoked by the musical groups she accompanies. (www.tribalecho.com) |
UNION was inspired by the Council of Grace
Brad Nye, Colette van Praag, Daniel Lappin, David Chang, Dwight Loop, Eve Bradford, Gordon Davidson, Karma Moffett, Lynn Augstein, Mikael King,Ron Tofanelli, David Shamanik, Samantha Sweetwater, Sarah A. Drew, Vinit Allen
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