Moving Words

As part of the All That! Dance Company Bunhead Boot Camp this past July, the young prima ballerinas reflected on the themes of acceptance and letting go. These themes were based on Bill T. Jones ensemble piece, Still/Here - a mix of choreography and spoken words from people dealing with death and terminal illness. The study of this unique and moving piece brought the young dancers to conclusions of their own through the thoughts and words of others. During the finale of their performance there was a moment of silence as they sat on the edge of the stage and shared these thoughts with their audience.

We find by losing. We hold fast by letting go. We become something new by ceasing to be something old. This seems to be close to the heart of that mystery. I know no more now than I ever did about the far side of death as the last letting go of all, but now I know that I do not need to know and that I do not need to be afraid of not knowing. God knows. That is all that matters.   - Frederick Buechner

The hardest part of faith is the last hour. - David Wilkerson

Some people think it's holding on that makes one strong; sometimes it's letting go. - Sylvia Robinson

Forgotten? No, we never do forget. We let the years go;wash them clean with tears. Leave them to bleach out in the open day or lock them careful by, like dead friends' clothes, till we shall dare unfold them without pain. But we do not forget. - D.M. Mullock Craik

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. - William Penn

This summer our dear, sweet Fa, grandfather to Dance Director, Sarah Beth Byrum and father in law to Executive Director, Eularee Smith passed away from this life and into that place of loving memory. He ventures into eternity with us strongly tied to him and he to us. As the spoken words moved gracefully through each dancer and across the floor, his spirit smiled on.