Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009

American Indian storyteller presents 'Creation Story'

EDWARDSVILLE -- The ancient Native American tales of a master storyteller will spring to life this weekend during Dance in Concert 2009 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Gerard Tsonakwa is a former executive director for the United American Indians Administration who turned his focus to storytelling and creating award-winning art in stone, bone and wood.

For the SIUE show, he has choreographed "Maheo: An Abenaki Creation Story," a multimedia dance piece based on his native tribe's stories that date from approximately A.D. 900. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. tonight through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Dunham Hall Theater.

But that's just the start of what you can expect from this multitalented man this week.

From 1997 to 2008, he developed and presented public astronomy programs and guest-lectured for the Columbia University astronomy program. He'll offer a taste of his love for the skies when he discusses "Archaeoastronomy: Legends of the Night" at 9:30 this morning at SIUE.

In addition, he will present "Shamanism and Magic: Coming and Going Between Worlds" at 12:30 p.m. today and "The Rainbow Way: Tales of the Algonquin Life Cycle" at 10:30 a.m. Friday. And, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Tsonakwa will tell family-friendly "Supernatural Stories of the Abenaki." All of these presentations are free in the Dunham Hall Theater.

A native of Quebec, Canada, Tsonakwa currently directs the Plumer School of Arts and Sciences in Tucson, Ariz. As an artist, he has had more than 100 featured exhibitions in museums and galleries around the country.

He also has 12 audio productions and five books to his credit, including the critically acclaimed "Seven Eyes, Seven Legs: Supernatural Stories of the Abenaki." Each story in the book is accompanied by a paragraph of the original Abenaki verse and is illustrated with art created by him and his wife, Yolaikia Wapitaska.

"This was a serious work for me -- the first creative writing done in Abenaki since the 1920s," Tsonakwa said. "There are about 25 stories, ones I've been telling and retelling over the past 30 years, that I've finally put in print."

In addition to Tsonakwa's piece, the Dance in Concert performances also will feature "Letters from Versailles," J. Calvin Jarrell's tribute to the legendary -- and extravagant -- French palace.

Jarrell, the dance director for the SIUE Department of Theater and Dance, visited the palace in 2005 and was inspired by its majesty. Using a huge swath of blue silk to accentuate the dancers, Jarrell has them striking poses reminiscent of the statuary dotting the palace's luxurious grounds.

Also in the spotlight will be Emily Taul, whose choreography won the award for best dance last spring in the student dance contest. Among the dancers will be Blake Amman, of Highland, and Shannon McCarkel, of Belleville. And, Kristin Best, now an assistant professor at Lindenwood University, will contribute a piece about dreams.

"Actually it's about the people I've seen in those dreams," she said. "For a while there, I was always meeting people I knew in my dreams. So, I decided to create a piece that reflects that."

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students. For information, call 650-2774.