Dawn Branch Dance presents Eden.

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Cindy Michelle Heen, a dancer I’ve sketched before, was kind enough to invite me to a rehearsal of Dawn Branch Work’s production of Eden. The show is a soulful reflection on the challenging journey toward
self-actualization and spiritual connection in this story of Eve as she
leaves the Garden of Eden and attempts to assimilate with the world
outside. With a cast of performers aged 8 to adult, Eden features both
professional and emerging artists. Branch says, “The idea of creating a
work to give honor to the Lord is exciting. It’s clean, wholesome and
necessary for outreach. If we can introduce God to one viewer, then I’m
pleased. It’s evangelism through the Arts.”

Cindy and Celinah Umaray who performs as Eve talked to me briefly before warming up. Celinah who came from NYC, was incredible slender. She looked like she couldn’t be older than 16 but she is actual 19. She is the only dancer, I’ve ever met who wants people to know she is older than she looks. When Eve exits Eden she is confronted with the challenges of modern life. In that way the dances theme unites the old traditions story with a modern aesthetic. Although the show has a religious theme, it is also secular, offering inspiring dance that is universally understandable. The other dance I sketched was Eva who worked so hard she flushed red. Dawn stood at the front of the dance studio watching ever line the dancers created.

Cindy confided in me that once I saw Celinah dance, I would see why she was cast as Eve. Indeed, as she stretched at  the barre, I was amazed by her flexibility and the fluid lines she produced with every movement. She would arch her back, and lift a leg straight up over her head while entwining arm for support. I tried to sketch the stretch several times, but it was such an extreme pose, that it didn’t look humanly possible in a sketch. She never danced full out but even her warm up routine was incredibly graceful and fluid. Her grey hoodie and ponytail overlapped and added a flourish to every move. In the corner of the dance studio, dancers listened to the music for the show and I assume watched video tapes from a prior rehearsal. As the choreography is nailed down, it becomes important to see how every dancer helps to fill the canvas of the stage.

Branch explained, “I love the idea of having an empty canvas of space and
utilizing the dancers to fill it up with color and shapes and theme. The
dancers are so open to trying different styles.” Branch goes on to
explain that her choreographic style is a fusion of ballet and modern
dance along with elements of hip hop. “It’s a beautiful and creatively
challenging combination of movement that demands enormous technical
strength; dancers execute rapid and innovative choreographic transitions
that appear as effortless as breathing,” says Branch.I love that her description of empty space sounds just like my process as I find a way to fill a page when I sketch.

Mark your calendar! Eden will be on Sunday, March 6, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at Orlando Repertory Theater (1001 East Princeton Street Orlando, FL). Tickets are $22.09–$32.64.

A beach nap on the drive back to Sydney Australia.

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From Eden, Terry and I had a seven hour drive back to Sydney Australia. Our ultimate destination after a flight was Melboune where Terry was going to a reunion. Her senior year in high school, Terry was an exchange student and she spent the year in Melbourne going to Lauriston Girls School. Half way up the coast, we stopped at Malua Bay. We ordered lunch and ate it on the beach. I had a fish and chips. A couple sat contemplating the waves.  Terry took a nap while I sketched. Gorgeous yellow flowers bloomed all along the dune’s edge. This is what a vacation should be like with some rest and relaxation.

The nap was short lived however because we had many hours to go on our drive back to Sydney. Eden is more than half way down the coast towards Melbourne, so it would have made more sense to drive south to Melbourne. But car rental rates skyrocket if you drop a car off at a city other than the one you picked it up in. Apparently a plane flight was cheaper than the increase in the rental rate. The drive back seemed so much longer than the drive down. There wasn’t and sense of discovery. We had already traveled these roads.

By the time we were approaching Sydney, the sun had set and the stress lever rose as the traffic got faster and more aggressive. I must say however that Australian drivers are much better than Florida drivers. I drove at the speed limit and was only passed once or twice during the seven hour drive. There are signs on all the highways that insist that divers get some rest to avoid becoming a fatality. By this point, Terry and I were both used to driving on the wrong side of the road. Once or twice we each turned into a wrong lane but that’s when a side seat driver’s warning is appreciated. I scrapped up the hub caps on the car pretty good because I like to park snug to the curb. When I had an SUV, the tires were so big that only rubber bumped the curb. But the little rental and my gas saving Prius have tiny tires with hubcaps that look like they came from a war zone. I only scrap the tires on the passenger side, so as the driver I never actually see the damage. Out of sight, out of mind.

Thar she blows!

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Terry and I took a walk along the beach in Eden Australia to go bird watching. We were looking for a trail that cut off into the woods. Her birding book said this was a great spot to see local birds. We had seen Goffins Cockatoos and other parrots right at the apartment at Eagle Heights. I looked out at the ocean and spotted a column of mist. It was a whale, actually a mother and child. They were no more than 100 yards off shore. Excited, Terry got out her binoculars to get a closer look. It was a cold and very breezy day. After I took a quick look through the binoculars, I found a tree that cut the wind a bit.

I knew Terry was in her zone, when whale watching, so I did a quick sketch. We guessed that the mother must have been teaching the child how to feed in the bay’s relatively calm waters.  In town, the siren sounded, announcing that whales had been sighted. We were proud that we had spotted the pair before the experts. We had visited a spotting station manned by a volunteer on top of a cliff. He keeps track of all the nautical traffic that enters and leaves the bay. It was raining when we were there, and he was nice enough to invite us up into the tower to look at the vista. To pass the time, he scanned the ocean horizon for whales. He claimed that he could spot whale blows from miles away. He would see one and then hand me his binoculars to look. When I looked I wouldn’t see a thing. Spotting these two whales so close to shore therefor was quite rewarding. Whales don’t make great models however. They submerge and stay hidden under water far too long.

At Eagle Heights still looking for whales.

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When the whale watching catamaran pulled into Eden Australia‘s dock, I rushed down the gangway, thankful to have solid ground under my feet. I sat on a park bench and my wife Terry went to talk to the crew of the whale watching boat. The ground still swayed under my feet. I put my head in my hands and sighed. It would take a while to recover. Amazingly, Terry wanted to go out on the boat again for their second cruise of the day. The boat wasn’t full and she wanted a closer view. They didn’t charge her for her second time on board.

I was thankful for the time to recover. I thought of sketching the boats in the dock but I wasn’t up to the task. After maybe an hour of sitting like a zombie, I stood up and decided to walk over to a small cafe to get something back in my stomach. Locals gossiped with their dogs at their feet. After lunch I returned to the bench and waited for Terry to return. She got off the boat excited to have seen another whale, or perhaps the same one at another location on his route.

That night back at Eagle Heights, Terry sat vigil watching for whales in the bay. I had no desire to look out over the water, so I sat on the couch and sketched. Dusk turned to night and the stars came out. I imagine the stars must be different in the southern hemisphere but I never took the time to identify the constellations. I needed rest. The room still swayed slightly.

Whale watching off the coast of Eden Australia.

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We got up at the break of dawn in Australia to get ready for a whale watching tour. I had a bowl of Cheerios and just as we left our Eagle Heights apartment, I took a Dramamine so it would soak into my system before we got on the boat. Cat-Balou Cruise leaves Eden‘s port every morning and in season, they guarantee a whale sighting. Before we walked the gang plank, everyone was warned that there were pretty high seas out there which made spotting whales challenging. If anyone wanted to turn back, this was their chance.

Inside, I sketched what I thought was the steering controls.  No one ever touched the steering wheel however, so I assume the catamaran was actually being steered from upstairs. Terry immediately sat up front at the bow and I included her in the sketch. Once we left the harbor, the seas got worse and the boat pitched violently. My drawing hand started to go numb so I slapped it on my calf to try and wake it up. A crew member asked me to go back to the bar to sign some documents. I lost my balance multiple times as I walked the short distance to the stern of the boat. After signing, I couldn’t bring Myself to walk back to my seat. I clutched a metal pillar for support. I’ve heard, that if you start to feel sea sick, you shouldn’t stay inside. Instead you should get out and stare at the horizon. I stumbled out a door and stood at a railing. Then my knees gave out and I knelled at the railing as if in prayer. “Dear God, please let this pass.” I stayed like that for the longest time. A crew member approached and told me that sniffing eucalyptus oil would settle my stomach. She gave me a napkin soaked in oil and I held it up to my nose. I took a sniff. The sharp smell immediately caused me to wretch, sending Cheerios over the railing into the churning sea. eucalyptus wasn’t a cure, it was the cause. Terry had bragged about how good a patch was for avoiding sea sickness. Where was she? I could use that darn patch. I wasn’t able to walk up to the bow to find her. My knees no longer worked.

After wrenching I felt better for a while and I stood. I held ceiling beams and imagined myself surfing the high seas. There was no way I could get back inside to my sketch. Eventually my extremities went numb again. All the other passengers had crowded onto the bow of the boat since a whale had been spotted. I stood at the stern with my head out over the railing. I wretched but there was nothing inside me. Then, a few feet from me, a whales eye appeared and he stared at me. Time slowed down. I swear I saw concern in that eye. Every nerve of my body snapped to attention. All my misery passed. The eye submerged followed by the immense length of body, and then the tale fluke. Wow! For the rest of the trip I stood up watching the ocean for another appearance. We basically tracked that one whale the entire trip. Spotting whales in the distance was impossible in the high seas. A Japanese man was as bad off as I was. He kept his eyes closed the entire trip. Developing my sea legs became a game. I let go of the ceiling beams once in a while to see if I could surf the pitching deck without getting thrown overboard.

For much of the trip I was so miserable, I wished I were dead, and then there were moments where I never felt so alive. If I had an opportunity to do it again, I would jump at the chance. Next time there will be no Cheerios, and I’ll wear a patch behind my ear. Sea sickness is largely psychological it is a confusion in which fluids in the inner ear send different signals than what the eyes perceive. Since I’m such a visual person, I guess I’m more susceptible. Terry told me that sketching is what caused the sea sickness, but I refuse to believe that.

We spend our wedding anniversary in Eden Australia.

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Our wedding anniversary was on October 19th and we spent the day making domestic preparations. We found the town supermarket and got essentials like Cheerios and milk for breakfast. We picked up some pre baked barbeque as well for dinner that night. The Eagle Heights apartment  in Eden, Australia had a full kitchen along with a microwave, so we cooked our food in minutes. I sat on the couch and used my tablet to sketch Terry making plans for the next day. We planned to go out on a charter boat to finally see some whales up close.

We were both still jet lagged and the drive down from Sydney had taken all day, so we were exhausted. On social media, hundreds of people might wish you happy birthday, but wedding anniversary’s are quiet introspective mile stones. There was a TV and an assortment of movies but it was never turned on. The apartment had two bedrooms and we used them both. I fell asleep in seconds.

Eden is the place to go for whale watching.

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From Sydney Australia, Terry and I rented a car and drove south to Eden. It was a full days drive. Australia is deceptively large. We stayed at Eagle Heights (2 Yule Street, Eden NSW 2551, Australia) which is perched right on the edge of cliffs over looking the bay. From our little patio you could look out over the expanse of water. I love the twisted ways that trees grow when they are affected by salty winds. A gazebo offered a telescope in case whales were spotted. Terry becomes incredibly patient when wild life viewing. We never did spot whales from our cliff perch but we might have spotted blow spouts which are the fine mists created when whales exhale. The spouts were so far out that they might have just been sea mist.

At the foot of the hill there was a place where we ordered fish and chips for our first dinner. It was the best fish and chips I had ever tasted. Exhausted we immediately drifted off to sleep. I believe this sketch was done the next day, very early in the morning as the sun rose. Just beyond that fence is a steep drop to the bay. Waves crashed the rocks that had spilled into the water. We had come to Eden to see whales and come hell or high water we would find them. The town has a siren that fires off any time whales are spotted in the bay. It was a rare instance where we hoped to hear a siren blaze. From October 31 to November 2 this quaint fishing village is home to the annual Eden Whale Festival. The festival is celebrating its 19th year in 2015 and will combine art, street
theatre, film, music, exploration, seafood and local produce along with
good old fashioned festival fun. Terry and I missed the festival by a week, but it sounds like a good reason to go back. Our time was divided between bird watching, whale watching and the occasional sketch.