Choreography of Interdependence

Constructing-Deconstructing

Working virtually I am able to accomplish so much more but it is in the setting of Zoom. When I go out on morning bicycle rides there's an opportunity to see living systems. But I have to take the time to notice, be present, use my senses.

Riding through Jack London Square in Oakland, near the Amtrak Station, I heard men yelling to each other above the street. As I searched for the source I noticed a construction site that was alive with workers moving through the scaffolding.

Stopping to take notice it was clear that they were disassembling the intricate exoskeleton of a newly born building - shedding its cocoon. The men were like tiny organisms coordinating their interdependent system through voice and movement. A practice of trusting communication. 

Citizen Dance

Walking through San Francisco's Mission District is so much like being part of a giant, improvisational citizen dance. People linger, run, pause, panhandle, scream, cry, and meander the streets day and night. The best way to self-choreograph through this dance is to walk with confidence but without aggression, with purpose but with casualness, with certainty but with room for spontaneity. It requires a learned movement vocabulary that is unique to this area of the City.

This dance reminds me of the unique movement of London. Walk on the left or the right, you're never sure but you have to move with swiftness and purpose. You are certain to brush up against other folks with nearly every step. I recall walking down an empty street with just another person across the block. For some reason we both crossed the street towards each other and actually brushed shoulders in the middle of the road. It was a beautiful moment of Londoners finding each other. In The Mission I would say it is an effort to avoid that moment of contact if you want to keep safe.