During World War II, Japanese women practiced a tradition known as "senninbari," which consisted of hand embroidering thousand-stitch belts for Japanese soldiers to wear in combat. These belts were especially unique because every single stitch was collected from a different woman of the community, representing a prayer for protection. This practice of interweaving individual prayers inspired the first chapter of dance choreographer Liz Lerman's project, "613 Radical Acts of Prayer."
On Jan. 21, Lerman brought the project to Brown in the form of a two-week residency - the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Residency - that includes workshops, gallery shows, speeches, open talks and performances. Mirroring the concept of senninbari, Lerman's approach to choreography is based on collaboratively creating art through conversation and spiritual contemplation. The concluding event of the residency will be a performance that features dances constructed by Lerman, students from Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design and Providence-area community members throughout the two weeks.
"613 Radical Acts of Prayer" covers two overarching themes - the relationship between dialogue and movement and the meaning of prayer, according to the project description. Through workshops, experimental activities and conversations, it explores the possibility that words can inspire movements, movements can tell stories and spirituality and social action can be reconciled.
The project description states that when activism and contemplative practice have come together in the past, "it has led to some of our greatest and most heinous human endeavors." Thus, its goal is to transform the meaning of prayer since people are often uncomfortable with the term in its traditional sense, said Shirah Rubin, director of engagement and special initiatives at Brown-RISD Hillel.
"I'm not a very religious person, but I was raised a Unitarian Universalist," said Laura Bayley '10, one of the student dancers participating in the residency. "It's a faith about questioning your beliefs and asking questions like what it means for something to be sacred and what it means to pray," she said. "That's what drew me to the project."
The residency, which kicked off last week, has a number of sponsors, including the Creative Arts Council, Brown-RISD Hillel and the Department of Theater, Speech and Dance. During the opening event - the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Action Workshop - Lerman and Dance Exchange members presented the themes of the project.
The program continued with an Interfaith Supper on Thursday, in which students and Providence-area community members were encouraged to share personal stories. Pieces of these stories were then translated into movements, combining means of expression in an attempt to unite body and soul.
"It's a very organic process," said Jori Ketten '02, who is part of the Residency Planning Committee. "The majority of the movements you'll see in the performances come out of the minds and bodies of the people involved. (The residency leaders) respond to their environment in the fullest sense."
Rubin said the number 613 represents the total number of commandments in the Bible and symbolizes the relationship between social action and ritual. The number also relates to the notions of counting and noticing actions, she said. For example, the dance exchange members lead an activity in which members can have conversations about occasions when somebody has stood up for them or they have stood up for somebody else. "A gesture from the story will get borrowed and put into the dance piece," Rubin said.
The residency will hold a gallery opening at Hillel this afternoon for an exhibit created by Brown and RISD students during the residency. Also on display at Hillel is an ongoing installation project - "A Wish and A Prayer" - by artist Pam Hall, who is in residence at RISD.
On Jan. 30, Lerman, a MacArthur "Genius Grant" fellow, will hold an open workshop in the RISD auditorium to present her critical response process, which includes "four steps for feedback on anything you make, from dance to dessert," according to the motto for this arts criticism method. Instead of viewing criticism as negative, Ketten said, Lerman's structured process is aimed at creating constructive dialogue about art. To present her process, Lerman will critique works-in-progress performed by artists from Providence's Perishable Theater. Lerman will also give a keynote speech on Jan. 31 with an introduction by Mayor David Cicilline '83.
The residency's concluding performance - its own embroidered belt made up of movements reflecting individual prayers, stories and gestures - will be performed twice on Feb. 3 and also be part of the Brown Festival of Dance in May.
