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| US Patriots at the Pyramids |
The White House’s first wave of assaults on government-funded programs left many defunct or disabled. But at least one group managed to carry out its plans, without federal funds and in defiance of an order to stop. These intrepid and inspired artists are the performers of Time Lapse Dance, led by New York choreographer Jody Sperling (center, above).
With a grant from the US Embassy in Cairo, the company spent three years planning a tour--- to perform for children and young people at Egypt’s Hakawy International Arts Festival. On Sunday, January 26th, the day before they were to depart, Sperling woke up to a message from the State Department: her grant was terminated and she must stop the program immediately. It was a short phone call, she says. She was in shock. The costumes were all packed, the plane tickets purchased. She began a frantic round of fund-raising, and re-negotiating contracts with her Egyptian hosts. “They can’t stop us from going,” she said. Long story short: the cancelled tour went on.
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| Time Lapse Dance in "Arbor" |
They performed in Cairo, Alexandria, and Aswan – to rapt audiences of children and families who knew little of America, and had never seen anything like Time Lapse Dance. Neither have most Americans.
JODY SPERLING: “Our mission is not just to make these dances, it's to share them. In some ways our work can speak more to a global audience. Egypt is a place that is suffering tremendously because of climate. It is dusty, and unbearably hot in the summer, and there are practically no trees in Cairo. Only the rich people have trees in their neighborhood, And plastic bags are everywhere.
"In post-show workshops, we would have the kids start off by standing, imagining roots growing from their toes into the ground, interconnecting with all the other roots of all the other kids. And those roots would keep you strong so that when the wind blew and you would sway, you had the support of everyone else. And I would talk about how trees are good teachers, we can learn from them. These were our messages. We weren’t saying, “The earth is one point five degrees warmer.” We were creating experiences that allow for transformative thinking, rather than just relating information.
"So I feel like our tour actually did ‘effectuate agency priorities,’ to use the State Department’s phrase. The priorities might have changed, but the priority of promoting peaceful connections between human beings is deeply embedded in our work. So we model this through how trees care for one another, and people need to care for one another. There are no national boundaries in the atmosphere, or underground.
"We decided to go ahead because we had an ethical obligation to fulfill the project we had begun. It was the right thing to do. And the tour was an unbelievable success, the feedback was overwhelming. We were showered with love by these kids, literally throngs of them wanting to take pictures with us. We left a lot of memories and a lot of images behind.
"I think we helped humanize the American people. There's a lot of conflict right now in Egypt and between Egypt and the US around what’s happening in Gaza. Everybody we met got to see that Americans are just people. Even if we weren’t mouthpieces for the administration, I feel we were a very positive representation of the United States. I feel we provided beauty, and harmony, and engagement, in a way that was not political at all and could only further the aims of diplomacy.”
Copyright 2025 by Tom Phillips and Jody Sperling
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| Maki Kitahara in "Plastic Harvest" |
Yay for Jody and her company, sounds like a wonderful program and - they are doing a global public service as well as being good American cultural ambassadors. (I hope some wealthy American(s) help them cover their costs!)
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