Alumni Spotlight: Gabriel Vanaver
It’s been a minute since we had our last alumni spotlight but we couldn’t wait to share this one with you! As Bill & Livia begin their 3rd annual year of teaching in Auroville, India, their son, Gabe, reflects on his experience in Auroville with his parents last winter. Gabe’s insights into his upbringing are both thoughtful and inspiring and the artistic work he contributes to the world is a clear reflection on his life in the ‘Caravan
Alumni Spotlight Special
It’s been a minute since we had our last alumni spotlight but we couldn’t wait to share this one with you! As Bill & Livia begin their 3rd annual year of teaching in Auroville, India, their son, Gabe, reflects on the time he spent in Auroville with his parents last winter. Gabe’s insights into his upbringing are both thoughtful and inspiring, and the artistic work he contributes to the world is a clear reflection on his life in The Vanaver Caravan.
SPOTLIGHT: Gabriel (Gah-bé) Vanaver
Diana Sabreen (http://www.dianasabreenphoto.com)
BIO: Gabriel (Gah-bé) graduated Naropa University Spring 2017 with a double BA in Music and Traditional Eastern Arts/Yoga Studies. Since then, he has been writing and producing music with his band and other local musicians, teaching yoga, dancing whenever possible, practicing Cyr Wheel, working as a massage therapist, and working on his musical storybook, Water Wings. For the past 2 years, Gah-bé has been working with an incredible team to create "Water Wings” a musical storybook experience; combining the traditional illustrated storybook format with a fully immersive musical audio play. Working with world-class musicians including Guy Davis, members of Elephant Revival (Dango Rose, Bridget Law & Darren Garvey), The Super Saturated Sugar Strings (Alaska), Xerephine (Colorado), and The Front Range Strings (Colorado). With masterful illustrations by Katherine Breen.
We caught up with Gabe, here’s what he had to say!
In what ways has your upbringing with TVC impacted/shaped the life you live today? My rebellious efforts to differentiate myself from my parents drove me to become a musician/singer songwriter/dancer, of course. Haha. Like many other kids, I rebelled as a teenager. But my rebellion was to the current voices prevalent in Hip-Hop, Rock-N-Roll, and Pop culture. Not that I just listened to whatever the media fed me—rather, I saw these formats as a way to connect to people on a global scale. What better way to connect to a collective consciousness than through music and dance? People need that sense of togetherness in their lives, and The Vanaver Caravan really instilled that importance in me. Community, celebrating diversity, and the constant curiosity, engagement and sharing with people of other cultures; these are the core values that I was taught, and they still hold up strong in my life.
Tell us a story about your life in The Vanaver Caravan! How to sum up a lifetime of memories? Traveling, dancing, playing music, learning and sharing… I guess the most prominent memory on my mind was my most recent travel to India with my parents. Last Spring, 2018, we spent our time in Auroville and the surrounding villages near Pondicherry, teaching dance in the local elementary school.
So there I was… Auroville, India, Friday night at the Unity Pavilion, performing my own music in the show and also accompanying my parents with the doumbek and 12-string guitar—and dancing of course, let’s not forget the dancing. Three profound experiences occurred this night.
The first was performing my music for my parents and the audience, and having my message in my music synchronize seamlessly in the show. It was surreal to say the least. I played my song “Chaos” after Bill sang Pete Seeger’s “Garbage”. To give you some context, Pete’s song is about garbage and how wasteful we can be as humans and my song is about the ideas of living alternatively outside the capitalist consumer paradigm.
Second, was performing the “Newspaper Dance”—a structured improvisation dance about single use consumerism and the busy life of capitalism. To bring it up a peg, we brought in some local talented dancers and thespians to collaborate on this piece. We only had a couple rehearsals before the show, and we just had a ball performing it on stage. Probably my favorite dance I have learned from the company.
The third experience was the end of the show where we got people up and dancing. We always do these great folk dances to get people moving. Well, this time I decided its time to incorporate a little Hip-Hop and show how culture lives on in today’s world. I taught the art of the cypher (where people stand in a circle and go in the middle one by one to express themselves and break it down for their peers). The cypher is a sacred space across all street dance styles. When we go in the middle we give to the cypher; when we stand on the side, we feed the person in the middle; cheering, clapping and encouraging that release of energy and listening to the story of the body. So that’s what we did. We made a few circles, I put on a beat, and we didn’t stop until the neighbors complained because we were having too good a time.
Any other parting thoughts/reflections you'd like to share? If there is one thing to take away from The Vanaver Caravan’s mission, it is to look at everyone we meet, and instead of disdainfully judging for not being more like us, engaging with these differences and celebrating all people. Just like the only thing that stays the same is change, the only thing that will bring us all together and understand one another is to accept and celebrate each other’s unique qualities.
Give us three to five words you'd use to describe the overall feeling you get when you think of that time. Folk, World, Community, Unique, extravagant.
Thank you, Gabriel. We love you!
Keep an eye out for his upcoming children’s book, Water Wings! The Kickstarter will be launching in February if you’d like to pre-order or donate to his children’s book experience.
IG @waterwingsproductions / Facebook.com/waterwingsproductions / www.waterwingsproductions.com (website launching soon)
“I am in the business of investing in and creating positive energy. I believe that through music, art and storytelling we speak to the heart of the youth. I believe we must go beyond sustainable practices to regenerative practices. It is not enough to survive in this world, we must thrive in this world. That is why I started Water Wings Productions. We weave and share these stories of positive reinforcement and growth to build confidence, and inspire youth to thrive through life. When I say positivity I don’t only mean happy - la dee da - bliss, I am talking about working through every aspect of the Self and engaging with life to nurture and cultivate resiliency and compassion.”
Alumni Spotlight: Anna Librada Mazo
My latest project is producing the first Hudson Valley Flamenco Festival. The Hudson Valley Flamenco Festival has been a distant vision of mine for over ten years. I always thought that the Hudson Valley would be a great place to start building a flamenco scene. We are already such a people-oriented community that adding flamenco seems like a great fit.
“Whenever Bill and Livia start a program at a school they open by asking the kids, “why do people dance?” Just that question reinforces their mission. Every single day, every performance, every school show or residency, Bill and Livia are teaching and showing the world that we are better when we make art together and that a community that values art is one the healthiest communities there can be.”
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Anna Librada Mazo
BIO
Anna Librada Mazo joined the Vanaver Caravan Dance Company to be the youngest member when she was fourteen. She holds a degree in Dance from Emerson College and has taught movement and dance extensively throughout the country and around the world. She moved to Granada, Spain in 2003 to fully dedicate herself to her study of flamenco dance. In Granada, Anna lived in the Sacromonte and truly experienced flamenco as a culture and art. In 2007 she moved to Sevilla, Spain where she continues her studies. In March she returned from Japan where she was invited to teach and perform. Currently, Anna is working as guest artist with Artists Alliance Against Violence Inc. She is the Artistic Director of a new performing and administrative
company, Flamenco Librada that unites artists with duende through the mediums of flamenco and contemporary dance. Anna is a certified yoga instructor. She is studying at Yeshiva University for her Masters degree in Social Work with the goal of becoming an advocate for the healing power of the arts.
We caught up with Anna, and here's what she had to say!
How do you spend your time these days, Anna? My days here in Sanlucar, Spain are filled to bursting, but I never forget how blessed I am to be living in my favorite country and to be raising my daughters in the culture of their grandparents. I do a lot of shlepping, of course being a mom to two young girls. Walking the girls to their small, community school right up the street from us is the high point of my day but then the short hours I have on my own fill up quickly. My latest project is producing the first Hudson Valley Flamenco Festival. The Hudson Valley Flamenco Festival has been a distant vision of mine for over ten years. I always thought that the Hudson Valley would be a great place to start building a flamenco scene. We are already such a people-oriented community that adding flamenco seems like a great fit.
My years of experience dancing, studying and teaching flamenco has only confirmed my belief that it is at its root an art of the people; an art form that brings people together to celebrate, mourn and process the human experience. Last year I decided that it was time to put my vision into reality and so I embarked on this wild ride of becoming an event producer. This August 11th and 12th we premiere the festival at the Rosendale Theatre and the Vanaver Caravan SummerDance On Tour company will take part.
I was lucky enough to find the most incredible teacher I have encountered in many years here in Spain. Noelia, my dear teacher and I have been working together for over a year now and have even started performing together. When not taking care of my family, or dancing flamenco, I teach creative movement dance classes and Sevillanas classes on the Naval Base in Rota, Spain.
For how many years did you study/perform with TVC? I have been blessed to be able to come back and work with the Company over the years. I have been quite the nomad in the last 20 years since joining the Company, but I have always been able to come home to the TVC and teach, perform and recharge my batteries. I am going to be teaching flamenco this summer at SDOT and will be working on new repertoire with the Youth Company.
In what ways has The Vanaver Caravan impacted/shaped the life you live today? I think the short answer to this question comes in a story. Being a home-grown New Paltzian Bill and Livia have been staples in my life... I remember that Bill would always dance some flamenco around me and tell me, “you are from Andalucía, you need to study flamenco.” After taking a few master classes while dancing with the Company, when I was nineteen I ran away to Spain and became a flamenco dancer. I like to think that Bill always knew. Being part of the Vanaverse has formed who I am as an artist and as a professional artist in the world at large. When I was in college I did a lot of work through Company with the Little Heroes program for children of the victims of 9/11. Those experiences led me to get my Masters Degree in Social Work because I wanted to better understand how to use dance to heal. The mission that Livia and Bill bring forth of forming community, of joining people together because they love to make art, of the power of the arts to unite us have become my philosophy and my life’s work, too...and man, can I pack a car.
Tell us a story from your "Vanaverse" days! Where to start? The time when we had a show in Queens and we already almost an hour away when Elijah remembered he had the van keys in his pocket. Poor Bill was distraught looking for them. Or a show where one costume bag didn’t make it and we had to improvise with only half of the costumes. Or how Bill and I call each other Stevie and Ray because of our horrific sense of direction and the many hours we have spent lost together. Or the magical mini tour we did of Festival of Lights show in all these precious, little theaters in Upstate NY. One of which had a tiny raked stage and when we were doing the Horah whoever was downstage would be flying over the audience because of the momentum.
Do you have a favorite song/dance that you learned with The Vanaver Caravan? When I learned Rapper Sword, it was like I had finally arrived and became a fully-fledged Vanaver, but I think my favorite dance to perform was Gaudete. The most intense experience I have ever had performing ever was the first time we performed Song of the Ghetto. I don’t even remember where we were but we channeled during that dance at one point I think many of us were in tears.
Give us three to five words you'd use to describe the overall feeling you get when you think of that time. Home, roots, connection, percussive-love
Thank you, Anna. We love you!
Join Anna and The Vanaver Caravan's Summer Dance on Tour at the first Hudson Valley Flamenco Festival! Anna will be teaching flamenco at SummerDance for ages 9-teen. Spots are still open! REGISTER NOW.
Alumni Spotlight: Ted McKnight
“I am a Vanaver Caravan alumnus, having danced in the Company for fifteen years. My last Company performance was with Pete Seeger in 1996, in the original creation of "Turn, Turn, Turn". Now, I have returned to the community as a member of the Board of Directors, investing in The Vanaver Caravan Mission.” — Ted McKnight, Company Member from 1981-1996 and current Vice President of The Vanaver Caravan Board of Directors.
The Vanaver Caravan Company, circa 1983. Dancers from left to right: Bill Vanaver, Sharon Burnston, Rachel List, Calvin Smith, Livia Vanaver, Ted McKnight, Toni Smith, Byron Richards. Dance: Tribute to Hoary Carmichael, choreographed by Brenda Bufalino.
“The Vanaver Caravan provides a nurturing atmosphere where a multi-cultural awareness is paramount. The immersive approach promotes diversity and community-building. Audiences, students and performers are inspired, educated, and uplifted through The Vanaver Caravan. This is how we change our world, one (dance!) step at a time!”
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Ted McKnight
Ted McKnight, Vice President of The Vanaver Caravan Board of Directors. After graduating from Julliard, Ted joined The Vanaver Caravan, and danced with them from 1981 – 1996. He then moved to Princeton, NJ, and became a senior a Senior Managing Consultant for IBM. Ted recently returned to his dance beginnings as a member of TVC's board of directors, and has joyously rejoined a community of enthusiasts for Eastern European music and dance. Like many of those who danced in the Hudson Valley with The Vanaver Caravan, Ted was called back to this region and the community that The Vanaver Caravan creates. Just this year, he moved into a new historic 1860's farm house on a hill, surrounded by orchards and vineyards and farm land. Today, Ted enjoys good food, community, and blazing sunrises.
Here's What Ted Has To Say About His Time w/ The Vanaver Caravan . . .
For how many years did you perform with TVC? I first toured through out New England with TVC the summer of 1981 and last performed with them in 1997 at the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie NY with Pete Seeger.
In what ways has The Vanaver Caravan mpacted/shaped the life you live today? Through my years working with Bill, Livia and the company I learned about community and about family. I have brought that that larger "sense" into all work I do. Community, whether in business or in social groups, is what it is all about.
Tell us a story! Can you share an event, memory, funny anecdote, or quote from your history with Livia and Bill & the rest of The Caravan? So many moments . . . Touring France for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville with The Company and sitting around after dinner with Bill, Michael and John swapping quips and puns. One day, we arrived very late to an Olympic dorm and The Company was so very tired and we could barely drag ourselves up the 2 flights of stairs to plop into our cots. At around three in the morning a trio of very happily tipsy Fins began pounding on our door. I popped out of bed and persuaded them outside where, after I sang several songs with them in my PJs , I pointed them back towards their own hostel.
Five words you'd use to describe the overall feeling you get when you think of your time with us? Joyous, uproarious, community, clickity-clack, cluck-cluck.
Thank you, Ted, for all that you do. We love you!
What's all this about? See our Spring Fund-Drive 2018 Letter of Giving
This spring, our goal is to fill our alumni scholarship fund, which will help bring new students with low income backgrounds into our after school and summer programs. As a gift to you, we're bringing you stories from our dear alumni each week. Now it's your turn: Our programs make a huge impact on children's lives. You can make a difference too--by sponsoring a student, donating any amount to our after school or arts-ed programs, or becoming a sustaining member. Every cent you donate this spring will go towards bringing new students into our dance community. Make your tax deductible contribution today!
Alumni Spotlight: Marina Lopez
This week we caught up with Marina Lopez, god-daughter of Livia and Bill, and life-long member of The Vanaver Caravan—playing every role imaginable within the organization. Marina wrote beautiful, intelligent, and moving responses to each question we asked her. By reading about her life with us, you will truly understand what it is to be educated and raised by an institution such as The Vanaver Caravan.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Marina Lopez
Photo by Justin Maxon
Marina Lopez began her movement training at three years old and has studied multiple forms of dance from modern technique to Lindy Hop, Flamenco, Capoeira and Appalachian Clogging. Through her study of traditional world dance, she has cultivated a greater appreciation and understanding of her Mexican heritage as well as the stories each dance tells. For Marina, dance is about more than just the steps; the beauty lies in the stories that place the movements in a socio-historical context that is unique to each culture. At sixteen she began her professional career with The Vanaver Caravan as a performer, as well as, coordinating and teaching in Arts Education programs around the globe.
Marina is a New York State Licensed and California Certified massage therapist and is perusing her B.A. in Neuroscience and Trauma Studies at Goddard College. She is a co-founder of Shakti Caravan, an international group of visual and performing artists who are united by a big mission to enhance cultural understanding and create social change through movement and the arts.
Marina wrote a beautiful, thoughtful, and eloquent response to each of the questions below. Here are just some excerpts.
Mina! What age did you start dancing with The Vanaver Caravan? As soon as I turned four, my mom made sure that I was enrolled in Livia’s creative movement class. . . I still remember the exhilaration of running across the creaky wooden stage of the Studley Theatre, thick velvet wing curtains a blur as I sped, eyes fixed on Livia; my small hands waiting for the upward and equal force of her hands in mine, propelling me upwards. A moment of pure ecstasy. (Read the rest of Marina's answer here...)
For how long did you study/perform/work for TVC? . . . I spent close to twenty years as a consistent member of the Vanaver team: as a dance institute student, a dancer in the Youth Company, a member of the professional company, a teaching artist, and as an administrator. In the last four years of living in Northern California, I have had the privilege of returning to perform with the Company on a few occasions: always amazed to see the younger generations growing gorgeously into incredible people and performers alike, just like generations before. (Read more...)
In what ways has The Vanaver Caravan mpacted/shaped the life you live today? In every way. What Livia and Bill do is an incredible manifestation of all of the ways in which dance can be a connective point and catalyst for creating and maintaining community. Growing up with them as my dance and music parents as well as my God parents, they have nurtured a desire to find those connective points in person and place alike. (Read more...)
Tell us a story! Can you share an event, memory, funny anecdote, or quote from your history with Livia and Bill & the rest of The 'Caravan? Wow, there are so many. Life in the caravan never lacks adventure, and has a way of drawing out the humor no matter how jet lagged, lost, or small the stage is. One that always makes me laugh involves Bill’s navigation system he named Simone (this was before smartphones). Simone was programmed to only speak French, and was a staple in the ‘Vana-van.’ On this particular evening, we were lost leaving a venue, and of the six or seven of us in the van, none of us knew what Simone was saying. With each wrong turn, her French words pleaded more desperately. For what? I could not tell you. I can’t remember how we found our way, but here I am to write about it, so it must have worked out! I just love that Bill was set on learning French from his navigation system.
Do you have a favorite song/dance that you learned with The Vanaver Caravan? Deportee. It is a gorgeous piece from Pastures of Plenty: Woody Guthrie in Dance and Music. Over the years my rendering of the movements and meaning has significantly changed for me, but my love and connection to it remains deeply visceral. (Read more...)
One last question...
“Recognizing that the arts often communicate what words fail to express, the mission of The Vanaver Caravan is to inspire, through dance and music, the harmonious co-existence of world cultures and traditions, to promote peace and celebrate our humanity. ”
... Do you feel that your experience with The Vanaver Caravan reflects our mission statement? In what ways? The Vanaver Caravan is an organization that authentically embodies their mission and vision. Their work as pioneers in Arts Education provides children (across socio-economic backgrounds, age, and gender) access to a greater understanding of the diverse ways of being, knowing, and expressing that exist in this world. So much of compulsory education is geared toward visual and auditory learners, who are expected to sit still while engaging information. TVC's Arts-Education residencies provide the opportunity to activate the brain through movement and enlist the use of kinesthetic learning styles. Children are given the chance to connect with each other through healthy touch and a shared excitement and camaraderie. Equally as important is the connection that is made to the academic information that is now tied to a visceral experience. (Read More...)
Psst! Marina had so much more to say about The Vanaver Caravan. Read the rest of her beautiful responses. >>>
Marina, thank you for all the passionate work you have contributed to TVC over the years. This company wouldn't be what it is without you.
What's all this about? See our Spring Fund-Drive 2018 Letter of Giving
One of the common threads in any thriving, happy, peaceful society, is a feeling among the people, of belonging and being understood. The Vanaver Caravan provides workshops, performances, and on-going school programs that directly help people understand and connect to one-another.
This spring, our goal is to fill our alumni scholarship fund, which will help bring new students of lower means into our after school and summer programs--into our dance community.
We have a lot of alumni. Over 50,000 students and dancers across the globe, from more than 1,000 schools. We couldn't get in touch with every one of them, but we have reached out to some of our alumni to see how they are using their Vanaver Caravan teachings to make an impact in the world.
Alumna Spotlight: Moraya Seeger Degeare
This week, we caught up with Moraya Seeger Degeare, beloved granddaughter of Pete and Toshi Seeger. Moraya danced as a Caravan Kid throughout her childhood and has stayed a good friend of The Vanaver Caravan ever since. Today, she is a licensed family therapist and a loving mother and wife. She recently moved back to her family roots by the Hudson river with her husband and three year old son. Read about her accomplishments and fond memories from her childhood.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: MORAYA SEEGER DEGEARE
Moraya Seeger DeGeare, MA, LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes her work to Emotionally Focused Therapy for people in relationships. She has been in a group private practice for four years in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Moraya is an ICEEFT Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist. Her work specializes in providing culturally competent care with people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. She has additional training and interest in maternal mental health, trauma, addictions, and sexually compulsive behaviors. Moraya and her husband, Chris, a retired NFL player, have one child together who will be three in August. Her little family is happily relocating back to her home town of Beacon, New York.
Moraya will continue to see therapy clients in Minnesota via telemedicine and will open a private practice in New York this summer. Moraya is passionate about helping people to battle loneliness and build connection.
“I feel like TVC gave me a strong sense of understanding of my own body and feelings. I bring this now into my life via my therapy work to help those connect with there body to ground themselves and find words for emotions.”
Here's What Moraya Had To Say About Her Time w/ The Vanaver Caravan . . .
What age did you start dancing with The Vanaver Caravan? Before I can even remember... I'm guessing about age three or four?
How do you spend your time these days? Much of my time is spent with family, friends and on toddler play dates. I have also been in private psychotherapy practice for four years and so you can also find me in a therapy session. We are just moving from Minnesota, although it has been a cold winter, we love spending time outside. I am excited to be back in the Hudson Valley again.
Do you have any favorite songs or dances from your time with TVC? I really enjoyed the performances we did with Woody Guthrie music, and learning choreography to go with songs that I had grown up on. It was a lot of fun performing with my grandpa Pete Seeger and sharing that part of his life with him.
Give us three to five words you'd use to describe the overall feeling you get when you think of that time. Peaceful, happy, connected, freedom, warm.
Can you share a favorite memory from your history with The Vanaver Caravan? One of my favorite memories was dancing at The United Nations in New York City, I remember feeling so excited to be in such an important place with my friends and getting to be in a room filled with people from around the world.
Any other thoughts and reflections you'd like to share with us? I loved my experience with TVC and it makes me so happy that we will be back in the Hudson Valley so my son can take dance classes soon!
Thank you, Moraya. We love you!
What's all this about? The Alumni Scholarship Fund Drive!
This spring, our goal is to fill our alumni scholarship fund, which will help bring new students with low income backgrounds into our after school and summer programs. As a gift to you, we're bringing you stories from our dear alumni each week. Now it's your turn: Our programs make a huge impact on children's lives. You can make a difference too--by sponsoring a student, donating any amount to our after school or arts-ed programs, or becoming a sustaining member. Every cent you donate this spring will go towards bringing new students into our dance community. Make your tax deductible contribution today!