It's time to get in gear for that big event you're
putting on. Great! You just send your requisition list
over to your buyer; Public Relations hops to it on the
ad copy; your facilities manager handles all the space
set up...

Obviously this is not your typical belly dance event.

Chances are, if this is your dance event, the buyer, PR
guy, facilities manager, etc. is YOU. If you have been
spoiled by such a support team as described above, in a
corporate setting, with volunteer work or whatever, you
can appreciate what it takes to pull off a gala affair!

Last issue, Naraya wrote about the occurrence of PURE,
Public Urban Ritual Experiment, where over 30 dancers
took to the streets of Lower Manhattan, New York City,
USA, on Saturday, July 17th to promote communal healing
and peace. Here, Naraya shares the organization details
it took for PURE to succeed.

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FEATURE ARTICLE
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PURE: Putting it together
By Naraya

How does a group of more than thirty participants go
from strangers without much experience with ATS to
synchronized ritual in just a few short weeks?

"Through a lot of e-mail communication and efficient
use of rehearsal time," says Kaeshi Chai of Bellyqueen
(New York City, NY, USA), co-facilitator with Darshan
of Gypsy Caravan (Portland, OR, USA).

The Dance.
Diagrams of formations and detailed descriptions of
step sequences gave participants of PURE a level of
organization that could be referred to at home for
individual practice. Most importantly, according to
Kaeshi, "...we worked on using our peripheral vision
and sending our energy out to each other so it helped
develop our group chemistry."

Looking Good.
The high cost of living in New York demanded that
costumes be inexpensive and utilize what dancers already
had in their closets. As black is the basic color of
just about every New Yorker's wardrobe, it became the
foundation. Instead of buying new choli tops,
participants took an innovative route: black pantyhose
were converted into tops by cutting out the crotch,
turning them upside down, and putting arms through
where legs would normally go.

Dancers rummaged through their jewelry drawers to find
ethnic and Afghani style jewelry or ordered items off
ebay. Next, brightly colored flowers were added to the
hair, dramatic eyeliner applied to the eyes, gorgeous
indigo dyed silk veils draped at the hips. Black boots
or Chinese slippers were worn to protect the dancer's
feet.

All Dressed Up and...
The next question: where was PURE going to go?

New York has been a city in the midst of change and
current events not only in 2001 with the terrorist
attack of 9-11-2001 (9-11), but for all its history.
Sites needed to be chosen that were relatively close to
one another and that conveyed the PURE goals of local as
well as global solidarity, harmony and peace.

Astor Place and Cooper Union were selected as the first
site. Cooper Union is the only private, full-scholarship
art, architecture and engineer college in the United
States. It is the brainchild and legacy of Peter Cooper,
who believed education should be free to those who
desired it regardless of economic background.

The PURE route then continued to other meaningful sites
thoughout Lower Manhattan. Each site highlighted a
specific message, such as the World Trade Center
(Remembrance), the National Museum of the American
Indian (Working in Harmony with Native Culture) and the
East Coast Memorial and Statue of Liberty (Freedom and
Sacrifice).

The Red Tape
In order for PURE to perform at each of these locations,
clearance had to be obtained from various city
officials. There were concerns about getting the project
sanctioned because of the heightened security the city
was under after 9-11. The Community Affairs officers
from the 1st and 13th police precinct, as well as
authorities in charge of Union Square, Battery Park and
Port Authority were contacted. It took persistence and
repeated phone calls to make sure that PURE was given
the green light.

Who, Exactly, Pulled This Off?
As an unpaid event, volunteers became an indispensable
part of the project. All the dancers donated their time
and paid for their own costumes; the Bridge for Dance
Studios contributed rehearsal space; Tagine Dining
Gallery sponsored printing the postcards and donated
food and space for the performers to prepare for their
journey. Assistants worked crowd control, carried water
and distributed postcards to the public; videographers
and photographers generously donated their time and
skill to document the event. Over the course of 3 hours
and 4 miles of dancing and meditation thousands of New
Yorkers and tourists, bore witness to PURE's messages of
peace and hope.

Impact
In the city that never sleeps, one dancer was told by an
observer following the event that "for one day, New York
finally was silent." The response to PURE was
extraordinary and we could hardly imagine the impact
that would be made not only on the public but within
ourselves. When describing the influence July 17th had
on her, Mimi Fontana, a PURE dancer, remarked, "Seeing a
never-ending line of women, all kinds, communicating
with each other through movement - it almost brought
tears to my eyes."

Kittarina, another PURE dancer, adds "I was deeply moved
when we walked through the World Trade Center site.
Being in the city on the day that it happened (9-11)
always made me feel empty, sad and depressed. What
happened that day and the losses that occured were
enormous and it is humbling and a major reality check
to be at the site in person. Dancing by the site has helped
me to put some of those feeling to bed and now when I
see that site I can think of something else besides our huge loss."
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PURE will continue the ritual on September 11th, in NYC.
For questions, comments or to find out how you can
create similar events in your hometown please visit the
PURE website: http://www.bellyqueen.com/pure