Liberty Lands | Lux Arati

Have I really been so remiss in keeping up that I never posted our performance from Parade Of Spirits? I perhaps was waiting until I had cut the video I (still) have queued up that is more of a highlight of the whole event, rather than a documentation of our show. However… as a freelancer it seems my own projects tend to get back-seated the most, so that one is still in the hopper. So. Here’s our show from Parade of Spirits, that I am much delayed in posting. A Latin invocation! Kids performing with fire! The Krampus Stomp! Oh and a totally amazing stage set made by Michelle and Tim, without whom we’d be a lost bunch of fire performers.

Here’s a gallery of some additional images too:

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(in which I ramble for a while because Krampus is my favorite event ever. If you want to skip to the pretty pictures, scroll to the bottom.)

Wow. I feel like every year we get more and more involved in the festival, and it has been amazing. Thinking back to the first time 5 years ago when Jex asked us if we’d spin some fire at an event held by parents of some of the kids she taught, I never could have seen how it would draw us in and encourage us and challenge us in the best ways. “They’re great people, I think we’d fit really well” is the general memory I have of the conversation… Now I feel like we’ve all adopted each other. For me personally (Nicole… if in doubt, I’m usually the one writing these things 🙂 haha) this kind of event is WHY I got involved in all this craziness in the first place. Sure there are cool photos and its always a challenge and when you put on a good show it feels great. Really, though, bringing such joy to the community that has embraced us is the ultimate. Everything about the event- Steve’s photos (he’s the one who took one of my absolute favorites of Michelle last year), the kids’ excitement, the fact that Amber and her family TRUST US WITH THEIR CHILDREN!!! Not only trust, but encourage, champion, and scheme how to help the kids thrive even more. An 8 year-old with palm torches? SURE! She trusts us to guide him and help make it safe and fun. I love seeing them grow.

This year we pushed ourselves to put together not only a great show, but change up from our typical fur-and-horns look. Amber mentioned once, years ago, that one of her dreams was to see Plague Mask wearing dancers. Challenge Accepted. Michelle made AMAZING masks that were beyond my imagination. (We’re going to try to do a photo shoot with them soon, they ended up a little hard to photograph once the sun set for the show.) Michelle also spear-headed some great dresses for all of us, and cool masks… A little aside here. Michelle is amazing. She doesn’t physically sew all of our costumes, but she’s the creative force behind all of them. She’s the one who helps us look unified but unique. If you need any kind of costume, get yourself over to her site now. Hire her. Give her a chance to show you how amazing her talent is. Go, now!

Ok, enough rambling. On to the pictures! These are from the wonderful Steve Schultz. Check Out Those Kids. (Also huge thanks to Erin for joining us for the night! We hope you’ll be seeing more of her on the Lux Arati stage!)