Knot of Fire  by Terrance Henderson for Vibrations Dance Company, is a relatively new work  (just added to the repertoire last year) in celebration of the Sun, featuring principal dancer Brian Richardson, with poetry by Lucia Pirisi-Creek, and the music of Peter Gabriel.

Knot of fire ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

(to Terrance Henderson)

 

In the play “The Darker Face of the Earth” Rita Dove describes the Sun as “a knot of fire”.....

 

It certainly looks and feels that way

In those hot Summer days in Carolina,

When the Sun fills up the sky, 

Bombarding all things below

With implacable rage.

 

Grasses wilt. Trees struggle

To hold up their branches

Under the heat.

Humans and beasts alike

Retreat to cool places,

Exhausted by the very thought

Of motion.

 

Only a few creatures thrive:

Powerful birds that love to fly,

Defiant,

Into the sun's face.

 

It still feels that way

On a bright Spring day,

When people, young and old,

Leave their worries behind

And all come out to play,

Greeting strangers and friends

With the same happy smile.

 

All too soon the Sun sets

In a triumph

Of ephemeral color:

Pink, purple, orange, and tan

Spill over the blue

Of the evening sky,

Where a few stars peek

Inconspicuous, in comparison.

 

Just for an instant all is calm

As a warm, golden glow

Casts a mantle of gems

On the humblest of objects,

 

And living things pause

To bid farewell to the radiant

Disc now melting

Far into the horizon,

And celebrate the promise

Of yet another day.

 

......It's no wonder that all cultures, from the beginning of time, have worshiped the Sun as their primordial source of energy, beauty, and life.

 

Lucia A. Pirisi-Creek,  May, 2003

 

Author’s Notes

 

⁽¹⁾     Knot of fire: This poem is the result of a collaboration between Terrance Henderson and me. It was born when Terrance asked me to edit and expand upon his choreographer’s notes for his dance “Knot of fire.” In so doing, I found myself placing into verses not only his original notes, but also and primarily my own impressions of the dance, which I had seen develop from the very beginning. Thus, the piece took a life of its own. I have also come to think of “knot of fire” as a representation of Terrance himself as a dancer and a choreographer.

 

^{(2) From: "The Nature of Things," Copyright: Lucia A. Pirisi-Creek, 2003.}