What Tethered Dreams May Come - published in Pasatiempo
The Arts and Culture section of the Santa Fe daily newspaper, the New Mexican, ran a feature story on Wise Fool in December 2007. Scroll down or click here to read the article on the New Mexican website.
What tethered dreams may come
Rob Dewalt, The New Mexican
12/27/2007 - 12/28/07
Have you ever been to the circus? Have you ever seen children so caught up in the pageantry and magic of a three-ring performance that, for one brief moment, your eyes become as wide and brimming with imagination as their own? In this whirlwind age of e-mails, deadlines, and the collective rush to get ahead, wonderment is fast becoming a dying sensation. And now that Santa Claus and his elves have done their dutiful service for the year, where does all of that unspent awe disappear to until next year? In Santa Fe, thank goodness, it never goes away.
In 1998, Amy Christian, Alessandra Ogren, Robbie Ann Pino, and Jaime Smith formed Wise Fool New Mexico, a nonprofit that brought a unique brand of performing arts to the City Different: circus acts, aerial displays, stilt walkers, puppeteers, masked theater, and costumed storytelling. An eight-point mission statement on the group's Web site focuses on strengthening community bonds through the arts, and almost 10 years later, Wise Fool has chased that goal with enduring spirit. Through performances, workshops, classes, and traveling educational programs, Wise Fool continues to share its dreams with the world, all without asking for much in return. But as with everyone else, the bills have to be paid.
At 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30, Wise Fool New Mexico presents its last Raise the Rent cabaret of 2007, a family-friendly collection of acts steeped in the folk traditions of storytelling, circus entertainment, and marimba mayhem. Wise Fool hopes to secure one half or more of next month's rent.
Organizing the event are 20- to 30-somethings J.D. Carmona and Diana Berkowitz. The energetic pair met during a Wise Fool women's workshop called Bust!, and they have been close friends ever since. "After that, we just got addicted to the circus arts," said Carmona during a recent interview. From there, it was a perfect fit: substitute teachers by day, they spend their off time volunteering for Wise Fool by putting together and promoting shows and collecting talent. In return, they earn study time on Wise Fool's equipment, like steel hoops and trapezes.
"Everyone is a volunteer here," explained Berkowitz. "We're always actively looking for volunteers. My dad is even volunteering for the next show." Carmona, who juggles her teaching responsibilities and a dog-walking business, chimed in: "I'll be working concessions, too."
Ten acts are slated for the event, including the Salida Circus of Colorado. Some of the troupe's members, who have been in town practicing and conducting workshops with local kids for about a week, offer juggling, plate spinning, and an "acro-balance" performance on Sunday night. The Hoop-a-Loop girls, who can be seen in Circus Luminous at the Lensic Performing Arts Center each year, are also on hand. Children and their families who have been studying with Wise Fool also perform.
The Wildmakers marimba ensemble of Santa Fe tops off the evening with an all-ages dance party, so leave the holiday formal wear at home — unless, of course, a juice stain on your Donna Karan camisole makes you feel hip and edgy. Wise Fool's enigmatic emcee, Cynthia Ruffin, promises to keep the evening's momentum in check with her much-lauded good humor and patience, and given the mind-numbing variety of young talent she must corral, Godspeed to her!
Carmona and Berkowitz spoke casually about their experiences with Wise Fool, but their words perfectly reflected the organization's purposes and successes. "People want to 'break in' to what we have to offer," Carmona said, "because they want to know what Wise Fool is all about. It's basic human curiosity. People will push themselves when someone gives them a chance, and we give people that chance to do something out of the ordinary." Carmona and Berkowitz know by their experiences in the classroom that children are often more willing to take risks than adults are. "Kids are more malleable," Berkowitz said, because "they're more apt to challenge themselves without being embarrassed. There's an innocence there that doesn't care about what other people think. They can be themselves and have fun doing it without worrying about all of that pressure." Oh, to be young again.
There's also good news for Santa Feans coping with male-pattern baldness, mortgages, and menopause. Wise Fool wants you, too. It wants to reverse your paper-shuffling adult ways and have you dangle from a tethered tightrope in front of a sold-out crowd with a big ol' smile on your face. If that's too much for your hardened heart to handle, there's always room for another volunteer soda salesman or box-office attendant.