TRJE week #2

This past Saturday I again spent time with the kids at TRJE. I met at 1 pm with the group and was there for the opening circle, the creative writing class and about a half hour of actual practice (I had to leave by 4 for work and some of the time after the writing class is the kids lunch break and transitioning to the practice room). I was there for a total of 3 hours. Last week in my post I said that I wanted to ask about the plant that was placed in the center of the opening circle. Well, I didn't have to because it explained itself this week. It turns out that the plant is used to offer "libation." What happens is that one of the kids is chosen to do the libation ceremony (I don't know if this is the proper word, but it is the best one I can think of). That boy or girl then turns to the eldest member of the group and asks permission to begin. After permission is granted he/she says that as libation is offered the members of the circle should call out the names of those people who have gone before and have had a positive influence. These people can be family members such as grandparents who have passed away or any other person who the individual feels has had a positive impact on them or the world. Then the person performing the ceremony sprinkles water on the plant for a minute or two while all of the members call out the names. When no one is calling out he/she asks (I think it was 3 times) if there are any other names. If no one says anything the ceremony ends. I thought this was a really neat tradition and am really intrigued by it. Honoring our elders and ancestors is not something that is highly valued in our society, and I think it is really cool that the kids are learning this kind of respect for those who are older and wiser than they are and who have affected their lives. I also want to say that the houseplant gardener in me really wants to know where the libation plant lives between meetings of the group. It looks like it may not get a lot of light! I really want to ask if I were to find it an appropriate hanging planter if it could hang in one of the studio windows, but I'm not sure how to bring it up! Anyway, after the opening circle we had the creative writing class. This week we mostly listened to some of the kids read pieces they have written and offer feedback for revision and addition to them. It's amazing how many of the kids seem to have real talent, especially for writing poetry. As young as they are they write some really good and really interesting things. I feel a bit out of my element since I can't write poetry at all (at least none that is any good). After the class, the kids took a break for lunch and rest before switching to practice. As I said above, I only saw about 30 minutes of actual practice, but it was really cool. The group was going over the program for a performance that they had on Wednesday, so there was a lot of organizing and talking. I only saw them run through a couple of songs, but those were very powerful to watch, especially the dancers. One of them is a girl I will just call D (both to respect her privacy and because I would probably spell her name wrong) and she has so much energy in her dance. It was really great, and I hope to get a Friday off of work so that I can see a dance practice. I would love to see more of the practices/performances soon and may try to stay to watch some this coming Saturday. So . . . that was week 2, more later.