Inspired by: Nick Cave's Heard

Heard NY was magic! Seriously, magic. You know that feeling when you get lost in the moment of something so beautiful, so inspiring, and joyful? That's kind of what Nick Cave's Heard was for me.

I'm a big fan of Cave's work, but have never seen it in action. His elaborate costumes are heavily embellished constructions not just to be worn, but to have a movement of their own, and to make sound. These horses were costumes for two people made of thousands of stands of colorful raffia. I can't imagine the kind of coordination it took for them to become a single moving horse. It was amazing to see the dancers come out, transform right in front of the crowd into a horse, with it's own personality, and distinctly horse-like movements. 

I think, as an adult we lose a bit of our sense of wonder, because life is just so busy and stressful. For this short performance reality was suspended. There were colorful horses frolicking in Grand Central. Raffia swamp people danced their hearts out. I accidentally sat in the kids section, which made it really fun! The kids yelled out "Horsey!" and screamed with delight, and the horses paid special attention to the children allowing the kids to pet them. I was totally one of those happy kids petting the horseys...

I really wanted to share the experience with those of you who couldn't be in NY. Nothing beats being there, but hopefully these videos are the next best thing. More here on my YouTube page....

Isn't this amazing?!