Wandering Ensemble’s Praise Ritual for Inclusive Community

The Wandering Ensemble is a fusion of Dandelion Dancetheater and the CSU East Bay Inclusive Interdisciplinary Ensemble that came together at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to share resources, energy, and community creativity.

In spring of 2020 we embarked on a 40-year creation process to collaboratively develop an inclusive performance work called Wandering in the Wilderness, inspired by the Torah story of the Jewish People spending 40 years in the desert after escaping slavery in Mitzrayim--wandering and giving time to the process of unlearning old ways in order to move into a new way of living together.

We have a core movement phrase and song collage to add into the cauldron of this praise project. We perform the ritual of this song/movement structure multiple times a year, during each year of our 40-year project. Everyone has their own unique way of engaging with the material. Each has their own ways to praise inclusive, creative community.

The song brings together traditional and not-so-traditional adaptations of folk songs to be sung together in community; once all together and the second time in a 3-part round. The movement phrase that accompanies the song contains around 55 movements, depending on how you’re counting. Our vision is to share this video of a bunch of people doing these 55 movements twice (110 movements per person) and then to ask those of you that are willing to dance and sing along with us, adding thousands of movements to the praise generator.

Here is our current video of the Wandering Ensemble’s many praises (currently clocking in at 4,510):