Heal Ourselves
Hot Pursuit of Happiness 2020
By Thollem
Screendance by Peter Sparling
Since meeting in Detroit approximately a decade ago, Peter Sparling and Thollem have collaborated on more than 10 videos, many of which have been shown at dance festivals around the world.
Ann Arbor-based choreographer and dancer Peter Sparling has extensive experience as an artistic director (Peter Sparling Dance Company/Dance Gallery Foundation), choreographer, performer, and video artist. Recently retired, Sparling was the Rudolf Arnheim Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Dance and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emeritus of Dance at University of Michigan. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and The Juilliard School, he was a member of the José Limón Dance Company and principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company.
Thollem is a pianist, keyboardist, composer, improviser, singer-songwriter, activist, author and teacher. He performs as a soloist and together with hundreds of artists across idioms and disciplines. Thollem is known internationally as an acoustic piano player in the free jazz and post-classical worlds, as the lead vocalist for the Italian agit-punk band Tsigoti, and as an electronic keyboardist through a multitude of projects.
Lyrics by Thollem
“Oligarch supervillains
they know exactly what they’re doin’
and we all know there ain’t no superhero to save the day
I’m just going to come out and say it
we ain’t got the rest of our lives to get ready
this is the future now
flyaway boats in blue, Estate Sails for the dead
where every old hate is new again,
and every color’s called red
hear me out now
they stole the elections fair and square
dont you get it? watch out
here we are, alive in this time
we’ve got to get ourselves together
we’ve got to get together to make it better
in this meantime we’ve got to save ourselves and each other
In this particular meantime we've got to heal ourselves
In this meantime, we’ve got to fix democracy, that's all
and it’s always been broken”
they know exactly what they’re doin’
and we all know there ain’t no superhero to save the day
I’m just going to come out and say it
we ain’t got the rest of our lives to get ready
this is the future now
flyaway boats in blue, Estate Sails for the dead
where every old hate is new again,
and every color’s called red
hear me out now
they stole the elections fair and square
dont you get it? watch out
here we are, alive in this time
we’ve got to get ourselves together
we’ve got to get together to make it better
in this meantime we’ve got to save ourselves and each other
In this particular meantime we've got to heal ourselves
In this meantime, we’ve got to fix democracy, that's all
and it’s always been broken”
Hot Pursuit of Happiness 2020
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