Since the birth of civilization, dance is central to how we communicate, build collective identities and preserve sacred ancestral knowledge. This project which is a collaboration between director/choreographer Mesha Kussman and Native American writer/producer Kapena Baptista, serves as a celebration and a monument to native cultures worldwide whose stories and ancient wisdoms are rooted in dance, and for whom preserving them has proven challenging in these modern times. Dawn your headset and be transported through movement and music into each culture’s rich history and through their unique perspective, perhaps come out with a better understanding of your own experience. 

Pilot: Native Americans - This first episode will juxtapose the deep past with the vibrant present, declaring that Native Americans are a people with a past, not of it. It will honor and showcase the 573+ Native American Nations living throughout the country, and provide an opportunity for non-Native people to reflect and learn from inconvenient histories and violent pasts in order to cultivate a healthier and more empathetic global community. The Experience: Choose a dancer, watch them prepare, experience the Powwow, transport to Native Lands, all while listening to their personal story told over the dance and the music. 

The VR experience will be accompanied by an augmented reality application in which your mobile phone prompts you, based on your geolocation, to hold it up and see through it a native ancestor weaving a basket, hunting, or drumming - as if superimposed on today’s modern environment.

To read the treatment, contact Mesha.