Be Here Now Festival - Starks, Maine

Taina Asili

ResistDance

Like so much of our culture, dance is very often presented without a context. Certainly dance can and should be an opportunity to sway your hips and forget your troubles. But limiting dance to simply the role of entertainment, seduction, and physical release is to not fully understand where dance can, and perhaps should take us.

Now imagine a gathering where dance is something more. Where dance refuses to slip away into the great forgetting and instead makes us remember. Makes us remember our history, our hopes, our collective responsibility, our pain, our joy, and challenges us to create something different in a world that stands on the brink.

Imagine dance whose backdrop is Bob Marley, Spearhead, Buffy Saint Marie, Lila Downs, and other voices of struggle. Imagine dance that communicates the energy in your body, the thoughts in your mind, the surges of your heart, and the boundless possibilities of your spirit.

It is not a new concept. Humans have been communicating with their bodies since the beginning. But we have lost the practical, the ritualistic, and the spiritual components of dance in our culture. RESISTDANCE seeks to bring this back through choreography that makes us ask questions and seek answers.

One World Puppetry

www.geocities.com/oneworldpp/home.html

One World Puppetry is where imagination greets reality. They facilitate a whole spectrum of visual art being brought to life. They have performers ranging from drummers, stiltwalkers and hula hoopers to puppets of all sizes and characters.

One World Puppetry specialize in festival puppets and performances, such as Street Dragons, Fae and Mystical Beings of all sorts. One World Performance Art can entertain groups or any nature, age or size; from small, intimate gatherings to large crowds. The presence of our puppets and performers can add an air of wonder and fun to all occasions. We invite you to join in the fun with us!

The main Creators and Animators behind One World Puppetry are The Puppet Guy and Honeybee.

Sean Donahue

http://www.greenmanhealingarts.org

We are brought up to believe that health care is something we receive from doctors who give us drugs made in factories to fix the broken down machines we call our bodies. But for most people around the world throughout history, our bodies and the world around them were alive, and medicine came from the plants that grew from the ground where they lived, helping their bodies find what they needed to exchange balance. Everyone knew a little bit about what the plants had to give, and a few in each village learned to talk to the plants and unlock their secrets. Herbalist Sean Donahue will lead us through the history of how and why this original science and art of wild green medicine was suppressed, how it was kept alive at the edges of our culture, and how all of us can begin bringing it back into our lives to heal our bodies, our spirits, our communities, and our planet.

The MOONSHIP

http://www.themoonship.com/

THE MOONSHIP is the brainchild of Jason Berube and Jenn Bliss. Hey wait, that's US!

We wanted to create a production company which could house and further our extensive and diverse backgrounds in art, performance and education.

A MOONSHIP production, whether it is a touring show or band, a collage or community festival, seeks to engage and educate "PASSENGERS" while giving them a vehicle for self discovery. We will activate all the senses of young and old on this journey through history or fantasy while giving them a
safe space for exploration and creativity.

Trash into Art

Rijah Newell is a multi-media performance artist who creates giant theatrical puppets that enact socio-political and environmental issues as a way to educate and entertain audiences.

Founder of Trash Into Art a grassroots community collective that promotes awareness about the environment with energetic street theater productions. Rijah has been performing at various festivals and fairs throughout Western Maine since 2006, and continues to involve community members and local civic groups to create space for community activism and unity.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nevaeh-Dance-Group/112377962125842

"dance like nobody's watching"

We are a bunch of crazy dancing fools from Maine that like to think outside the box, with a creative, fun and unique style.  Dancing is our passion! And we hope that the gifts God has given us shine though in all of our work.

RADICAL KIDZ BRIGADE

- Radical Kidz are everywhere! and on the Hill these are the children with the bright eyes and the light all around them! we gather several times in seussland to bring our energy together and spread it all over the hill. with stories, glitter, dances, songs, and silliness we will shine!  RKB is created and led by Amanda Parkhurst of Cowpasture productions / RESISTDANCE , and Jah Sun of Moonship Productions/The Scallywags

DRUM WORKSHOPS - RhythmicExplorations.com

-If you are interested in hand-drumming, weather or not you've ever touched a drum, a Drumming Workshop with Zach Nazar is the place to be. These workshops will be very laid back while incorporating some structure and instruction. Skill level will not be an issue, as the world of rhythmic styles are explored through technique, dynamics, tempo, composition and improvisation. These are the perfect workshops for beginners and professional musicians alike as all are sure to have fun and benefit from learning new world rhythms.  If you don't have a drum, no worries, extra drums and percussion will be provided!  If you do have a drum please bring it! The drumming at Harry's Hill is going to be off the hook this year, make sure to tap into it!!!

About Zach Nazar:

Zach has been playing hand drums professionally seven days a week performing (All of the Animals, Bloco Afro-Brazil, Bill Champitto), teaching classes (3yrs old - Seniors), facilitating drum circles/events (sometimes with 200+ participants!) and accompanying dance classes (martial arts, meditations, fire/poi performances, DJ collaborations). 

Moondream Tea Visions

http://www.moondreamtea.com/blends.html

Our mission is to search the far reaches of the Universe to find the best Teas. While only selecting the kyndest herbs from Earth’s Organic Farms to sell you, MoonDreamTea then uses time honored and tested techniques to create a unique blend for you and for your family and friends.

Barefoot Truth Dancers featuring Nova Wagg

Hoopnosis

Boabom Workshop