ROBERT VENTE, PHOTO ON RIGHT BY R. BALTAR
our mountain.’ “ wears Old Navy overall jeans on top of a pink Some participants rode a bus to the top of man-tailored shirt with a turquoise bolo the mountain. Others ran to the peak. They tie and wire-rimmed glasses. Except for the stopped at each of the murder sites and left deep wrinkles on her weathered face, nothing offerings. They planted a tree, sang songs, about her appearance hints at her age. Her read poems, told stories and danced. A helienergy seems shocking for an 89-year-old, let copter followed them overhead, and together alone for a woman who underwent radical they hiked down. surgery for intestinal cancer 35 years ago. “There was a very strong sense of comShe discusses the influence of her grandfather, a Hasidic Jew who came from the shtetl, mitment of dedication and a kind of cela small Jewish town in Europe, and spoke no ebration of having reclaimed our voices as a community,” Halprin English. “My grandsays. “And then the father had a long, miracle happened. white beard,” she The killer had been says. “He was the on the loose for two love of my life. He years, and he was apwould dance when prehended a few days he prayed. He looked after the dance. So it like my image of became kind of a little what God is suplegend.” posed to look like. Today, the trailside Hasidic Jews jump up killer, David Carpenand down and throw ter, remains incarcertheir arms up in the ated on San Quentin air, and they form a State Prison’s Death circle for where the Row. Torah was. For 29 years, “He really couldn’t Halprin has led the talk to me. But he “Planetary Dance.” was so affectionate Each year, participants and warm. I used to perform the ritual always sit on his lap, dance. Each year’s and he would kind of dance represents a sing to me in a non- Anna and Larry were married for 70 years; the above photo was taken by the Pacific Sun in 1981. different theme. One verbal way. I really year, it was breast thought he was God, and God was [a] dancer. All my adult life, I’ve cancer, another year AIDS, another violence been searching for a dance that would mean as in the schools. Last year, promise was the much to me, have as much soul and spirit as theme. This year, on June 6, to mark the 30th anniversary and to honor Halprin on the eve his dance meant to him.” of her 90th birthday, the theme will be unA dance that might win that distinction is Halprin’s “Planetary Dance.” The dance began certainties. “But we’re celebrating,” Halprin says. “We’re not looking at it from a morbid in 1981 during a free nine-month workshop point of view but from a place of strength, Anna and Larry Halprin offered to address that we can come together as a community what they saw as the environmental degradaand pray together.” tion of Mount Tamalpais. “The engineers Like her grandfather’s prayers, people were coming in and cementing the creeks around the world simultaneously perform the that led to Mount Tamalpais,” Halprin says. “This was wrong. They were doing it for flood “Planetary Dance.” “It’s like indigenous dancing,” Halprin says. control, but it didn’t work anyway. We were “You do a corn dance so the corn will grow. responding to what was happening to our environment and how can we develop a voice You do dances for your community to make things happen. If you dance because your to be heard.” grandmother has cancer, you’re dancing for As she does in her dance classes, Halprin everyone who has cancer.” had workshop participants draw images in 16 > response to their feelings. People I really thought he kept drawing the DON’T MISS mountain but not Breath Made was God, and God only out of conVisible opens was [a] dancer. cern about polFriday, April 2, lution. They were and runs through terrified about Thursday, April 8, a series of murders dubbed the “trailside at the Rafael Film killings.” During 1980 and 1981, six women Center in San Raand one man were killed on trails in Marin fael. Anna Halprin and Santa Cruz counties. Many of the slain and director Ruedi women had been raped. Gerber will talk to the audience after the “The mountain was closed,” Halprin 4:15pm screening on Sunday, April 4. For says. “We could not walk its trails. It was more information on the documentary, off bounds because of the trailside killer. go to www.breathmadevisible.com. I said to them, ‘Let’s do a dance to reclaim APRIL 2 - APRIL 8, 2010 PACIFIC SUN 15