“Viva La Vida!”
On this day in 1907, Frida Kahlo was born. To me, her fearlessness, rebellious free spirit and strength in both life and art are Butoh! Frida inspires me to be true to myself, for honestly, I find that can be a challenge. Her intense imagination brought her through such physical and emotional pain, and Frida was audacious enough to confront it and perhaps even celebrate it.
I will not go into the details of her life, art and death as you can easily research that in an instant, but I will recommend a few things. Julie Taymor’s film Frida is visually arresting (actually, you should just check out all of Taymor’s films) and I love the book Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivero, Their Lives and Ideas for both children and adults. Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre has been performing the fabulous Looking for Frida since 1998. I had the honor of performing in it many times and recently got to be an audience member watching it! Please go to http://www.acdt.org for more information about that show and the wonderful company.
Happy Birthday Frida and thank you!