The North StarS
The 26000 year cycle made by our polar axis is referred to as The Great Year. During The Great Year, eleven stars will serve as our North Star. Each of these future stars is brought to life in the Jump!Star initiative as a ceremonial sculpture. Jump!Star’s founding artist George Ferrandi has been building these (often with the help of communities around the US) using a traditional process called Nebuta that she researched in Japan through the Japan-US Friendship Commission. The sculptures are illuminated paper forms designed to be carried or “danced.” New York artist Alan Calpe developed the choreography for their dance, as well as the dancers’ regalia. The Axial Precession song is by Mirah. Video by Keil Troisi and photos by Tod Seelie.
Our first culminating performance with the Kansas communities and organizations was to premiere on June 15, 2019, in conjunction with an annual music festival, Symphony in the Flint HIlls. Hours after recording this documentation of our dress rehearsal with the sculptures, a tornado ripped through the site, canceling the next day’s big event. Miraculously, the Jump!Star tent and all the paper sculptures survived. They have not yet been performed or exhibited.
