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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”

Hot Pursuit of Happiness 2020



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Founded in 2020, Three Fold is an independent quarterly based in Detroit that presents exploratory points of view on arts, culture, and society in addition to original works in various media, including visual art, literature, film and the performing arts. We solicit and commission contributions from artists, writers, and activists around the world. Three Fold is a publication of Trinosophes Projects, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Three Fold recognizes, supports, and advocates for the sovereignty of Michigan's twelve federally-recognized Indian nations, for historic Indigenous communities in Michigan, for Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their Homelands. We operate on occupied territories called Waawiiyaataanong, named by the Anishinaabeg and including the Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe (Chippewa), Odawa (Ottawa), and Bodewatomi (Potawatomi) peoples. We hold to commit to Indigenous communities in Waawiiyaataanong, their elders, both past and present, and future generations.