One year after the release of ‘Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins,’ I’m more excited than ever about the Dolphin Dance Project! I’m especially happy that the film is being screened at pro-cetacean events and educational programs that support the protection of cetaceans and the oceans. I hope that our films can continue to increase respect and protection for dolphins and their habitats.

I’m also very excited about the investigation and training we have started to do this year with several talented human dancers. Working together as an ensemble, we are delving into a deeper level of species to species communication than I have been able to on my own.

The more I work on Dolphin Dance Project, the more I feel that wild dolphins are incredibly precious! They are rare - maybe unique - in being creatures who are truly wild and yet who are willing to reach across the species divide to approach humans voluntarily, out of their own curiosity and interest to interact. What happens if we respond to this invitation by offering ourselves as their equal? The possibilities for paradigm-shifting experiences are profound.

In 2009 Loui produced a short film, A Big Ball of Foil in a Small NY Apartment, which won a Chris Award for narrative short film in the Columbus International Film and Video Festival and which has been screened in Europe, Canada, and in the United States as an official selection of several film festivals including the Big Apple Film Festival, NY Independent Film+Video Festival and Brussels International Film Festival among others.

In addition to working on the Dolphin Dance project, Loui is currently developing three shorts films with Chicken Truck Productions, Pavaline Studios, Monkeyandweasel.com, and Wood Shop films.

Based on his visual arts training, Loui has also worked as scenic artist and art director on several projects. In 1996 he worked as a scenic artist for Brooklyn Scenic and Theatrical, where his work was featured in off-Broadway plays Papa, Dark Rapture, Acts of Providence, and Babes In Arms. As Art Director, Loui has recently worked on several independent feature films including Spring In Her Step (2006), Buddy Gilbert Comes Alive (2008) and the current production of Kevin Jordan's film Flicker Box. Loui has also exhibited his artwork in New York galleries like the Rotunda Gallery (1988), the Ward Nasse Gallery (1996), and the New York State Museum in Albany (1997). His highly developed sense of visual imagery is a guiding principle in his style as a producer as well.

Between projects, Loui runs his decorative painting company, Leo & Raf, whose client list includes: Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali, James Gandolfini, Robert De Niro, and Moises Kaufman, among others.

Loui currently lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn with his 5 year old son, Rayne.

When Chisa shared with me her first inspiration, I was instantly captivated by the prospect of two intelligent species finding a common ground through dance to not only communicate but to create a work of art.

Bryce’s award winning photography and videography has been featured in magazines and newspapers, numerous television networks as well as in over 30 International Film Festivals, Aquariums and Museums around the world.  Some of his shark footage is currently on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History as well as in multiple anti-shark finning television campaigns across Europe and China. His recent film on sharks, “Requiem” (2007) has won several awards including the Telly (2008), Aurora (2008) and Accolade (2007). In 2007, his shark footage was part of a Congressional Lobby Video produced by WILDAID with a push to help implement shark legislation within the US. Most recently he has been working on the team of Mission Blue with producer Steven Fisher and scientist Sylvia Earle, PhD.

In addition to his work on sharks, Bryce has photographed and recorded many other marine species in waters around the world, including Egypt, Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Raratonga, Japan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mexico, St Lucia and the Bahamas for diverse a list of clients such as A&E Television, Travel Channel, PBS, Telemundo, Sony Ericsson, PEW Charitable Trusts, Starwood Resorts, EA Sports, The Art Institute of America, Kona Blue Water Farms, Pacific American Foundation and The Kohala Center among others (full list available on request).  Some stock footage can be viewed here.

Dr. Reiss’s research focuses on cetacean cognition, communication, comparative animal cognition, and the evolution of intelligence. Much of her work focuses on vocal communication and vocal learning in dolphins using observational and experimental approaches. She pioneered the use of underwater keyboards with dolphins to investigate their cognitive and communicative abilities.  Another focus of her work is comparative cognition and Dr. Reiss and her colleagues demonstrated that bottlenose dolphins and an Asian elephants possess the rare ability for mirror self-recognition previously thought to be restricted to humans and great apes. Her efforts also involve the rescue and rehabilitation of stranded marine mammals including the successful rescue of the renowned Humphrey, the humpback whale in the San Francisco Bay waters. Her advocacy work in conservation and animal welfare includes the protection of dolphins in the tuna-fishing industry and efforts to bring an end to the killing of dolphins in the drive hunts in Japan. Dr. Reiss’s work has been featured in hundreds of articles in international and national journals, science magazines, television segments and features, and newspaper articles.

Chisa Hidaka

Loui Terrier

Bryce Groark

Rick Osburn

Diana Reiss, PhD

Benjamin Harley

Encountering wild dolphins in their world truly moved me. One remarkable moment came when a juvenile eased up next to me from behind, rubbed its torso along my side as if to ‘hug’ me, then looked me in the eye only inches away, as if to say ‘Hello friend, my name is…lets play!’ Gazing into the soul of one of these wondrous creatures eye-to-eye left no question in my mind as to their intelligence and mutual sense friendship and community. If they could only speak with us…I thought…just imagine!

…But more compelling was witnessing an extraordinary interaction: At one moment, Chisa dove very deep near a small group of dolphins. As she arced toward the surface they ‘swirled’ about her in a graceful embrace that completed encompassed her, shoulder-to-shoulder, as if to ‘dance’ with her, whirling vertically together as they lofted to the surface.

Without doubt, her vision for a film of humans dancing with dolphins would be magnificently beautiful.

Inquiry and discovery are the themes that tie together the varied experiences of Chisa Hidaka, MD, Director of Dolphin Dance Project. Chisa has a 20+ year history in the NYC downtown dance scene and also has experience as a dance educator and musculoskeletal research scientist. Described by the NY Times as moving ‘excitingly, as if she is consumed by the dance,’ Chisa began her career in modern dance while attending Barnard College, where she received her BA in Dance in 1986, and where she currently teaches. As a choreographer, Chisa’s work is largely improvisational, using formal structures to organize spontaneous choreography in performance. She is very active in the NYC contact improvisation community, and recently joined the board of directors of Earthdance, a retreat in Massachusetts dedicated to improvisation. Holding firm the belief that art can be an engine for social change, Chisa also serves on the board of Artist as Citizen. With an MD from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Chisa has been on the faculty at the Hospital for Special Surgery since 2001 pursuing research in orthopaedics. Bringing together her medical/science and dance training, Chisa has taught Applied Anatomy at the Barnard College and Manhattanville College Dance Departments.

Through the Dolphin Dance project, Chisa also brings together her dance and science expertise. She brings to bear her extensive training in improvised dance to interact with wild dolphins through aesthetic choices that are respectful of the dolphins participation as equal partners in the creative process. She uses her scientific background to collaborate with dolphin scientists to investigate whether dance can be used as a model to study inter-species communication.

Rick Osburn’s (production coordinator) true love for the ocean began in the spring of 1992. Coaxed to the island of Kauai by an associate to assist in the rebuilding of homes, schools and churches after Island was devastated by Hurricane Iniki, he quickly found himself in the water. He explains: “Once in the ocean with a mask on, I was captivated. The undersea community fascinated me; I was in the water at every opportunity.”

Two years later, work, family and college brought him back to the mainland. A decade passed, and after earning an HBS in Chemical Engineering at Oregon State, launching a new career and raising a family, memories of warm, blue waters beckoned him back to Hawaii, where he settled in on the Big Island.

On a recent visit to Hawaii, a serendipitous invitation from Dr Hidaka to tagalong while she studied the dolphins introduced Rick to these marvelous creatures.  Soon after the magical interaction between Chisa and the pod that day, Rick enthusiastically volunteered his help in the production. His knowledge of the shoots’ location, experiences as a business owner, project manager, theater and stage management, coupled with his passion for the arts and love of the oceans’ wonder, quickly landed him in the ‘role’ of Production Coordinator.

Rick resides in Bellingham, WA, and part-time on the Big Island.

I am deeply grateful to all the humans who support us in this work, and all the dolphins who make this work possible by choosing to dance with us! I look forward to continuing to developing and sharing our work with and for humans and dolphins alike.

Benjamin Harley (producer) started diving at fifteen, studied anthropology, philosophy, and theatre at Yale University, and fell in love with dance.  Drawn into a productive career providing strategic advice to large corporations and startups, he travelled extensively, living in Europe and Asia.  Taking time for creative and spiritual development has included, among other things, immersion in the practice of dance contact improvisation.  Initially a confidant and advisor, Ben has become a de facto producer, collaborating on all aspects of the Dolphin Dance Project, stepping in to create supporting materials and to advise on the overall development of the work.  He is particularly keen on sharing video recordings back to our wild dolphin collaborators - it is only fair they know what they are participating in, and who knows what creative sensibility will emerge when they see themselves in ‘performance’.

It is compelling in so many ways - to nature film audiences, as a uniquely beautiful artwork, reconfiguring expectations about the relationship between humans and dolphins and the world.  In my own experience, meeting the gaze of a dolphin and recognizing it as a true equal has been a transformative experience, profoundly reordering my relationship with nature as a whole.  

When we humans use our big brains, not to dominate the world around us, but to live in ever increasing harmony with the natural web from which we were born and on which we depend, then our intelligence will be proved.  After waiting 15 million years for intelligent company, I think dolphins and whales are yet to be convinced.

Kathleen Fisher is a dancer, teacher, improvisor, and Healing Arts Practitioner.  She was a member of Trisha Brown Dance Company (1992 to 2002). Jane Comfort and Company(2003-2005), and Bebe Miller Company (2003-2006).  She has taught master classes and workshops and led lecture-demonstrations for professional and aspiring dancers, children, and educators around the world. Throughout her dance career, her ongoing self-education included forays into theater and film, and studies of the Healing Arts. She is a Certified Kripalu Bodyworker, Nationally Certified and LIcensed Massage Therapist, and practitioner of Craniosacral Therapy. Conti-nually intrigued by the communicative and transformational power of sound, movement and gesture, she has been playing and dancing with Bimini’s resident pod of wild spotted dolphins since 2003. Her approach to the Healing Arts and to life has been profoundly changed by her experiences with the Spotted dolphins. Currently, she lives most of the year in Bimini, Bahamas where she teaches yoga, and practices eclectic massage and Craniosacral Therapy in and out of the ocean waters.  Beginning in 2011, she will be partnering with the most experienced local guides in Bimini to offer Healing Arts Dolphin Retreat weeks through her Bimini Healing Arts

The experience of being with the dolphins is exhilarating and joyful to me, one of bliss and blending.  I find the dolphins profoundly communicative in a way that transcends language, and time as I normally experience it.    I am certain we are learning and communicating with each other in realms both within and beyond our conscious awareness.

Kathleen Fisher

ka@biminihealingarts.com

design: ben harley

©2010 Dolphin Dance Project  

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