Reflections on Bill’s Spiritual Legacy
ON THE WATER CEREMONY IN AUROVILLE, INDIA
PART OF THE 50TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
“Probably the most exquisite ceremony I’ve ever attended. As the 300 children descended the spiral walkway in pairs, one with a container of water from origins as disparate as they Nile, the Mediterranean, or the Hudson river, and the child following with a droplet shaped sign naming the source. The children, multinational themselves, then after having poured the multi-sourced water into a single unifying pool, placed their signs around the edge of the Amphitheater…all to deeply inspiring music and poetry.”
— Bill Vanaver, 3/3/18
by Julian Lines
I first met Bill and Livia Vanaver at the Mohonk Mountain House in the early ‘80s. I was living on Mountain Road in Rosendale, NY, the same road where Bill Vanaver passed on Sunday, June 15th. Livia often performed poetic verses with gestures attributed to Tagore on a theme of peace. We spoke afterwards about India and her wish to visit there. This seed gestated for 36 years until we went to Auroville in 2014 together.
This began a love affair over the past eleven years which included deep connections with Aikiyam, Tixon and Malarchi where they planted a tree in Bill’s memory.
Bill and Livia taught international dance and music in local schools and at festivals in the Hudson Valley. They were featured annually in the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs and Old Songs in the summer. They toured internationally with the story of folksinger Woody Guthrie entitled “Pastures of Plenty” and later with “Turn, Turn, Turn” about Pete Seeger.
They brought dancers from North India to Auroville and when covid struck continued to teach the Auroville children via Zoom which they have continued afterwards.
They held a huge dance/theater production in New Creation under a banyan tree based on Barbara Bash’s book “In the Heart of the Village” featuring Auroville pioneer Gordon Korstange on Flutes. A video of the production is available on YouTube still.
Bill and Livia enjoyed collaborating with Jill Navarre and Gordon and Jeanne Korstange, Krupa, Aurelio and many others. They brought a number of their dancers, musicians, students and even parents to Auroville from the U.S. They loved the Matrimandir, they loved swimming at La Piscine, they always looked forward to returning.
When Pete Seeger died in January of 2014, his daughter had informed Livia and we sang “Quite Early Morning” as a tribute to Pete in CRIPA.
Their most recent collaboration was held on Republic Day this past January. After a deep study of Mother’s symbol with Amir and Sharon Sassaman, they performed at the Sports Ground with the students of Aikyam. Yatra filmed the production entitled “In the Garden of Hope: Expressing Mother’s Symbol in Dance and Music”.
Bill had a heart condition and kidney problems since returning from India and passed in the arms of his beloved Livia.
– Julian Lines
“Eleven days into our India visit this year and so much has transpired. We feel blessed to have been I invited here for Auroville’s 50th birthday and the celebrations have been so moving. Connecting with the wonderful people with whom we have launched ongoing projects in a continuous building of community here in Auroville.
Yesterday morning we sang This Little Light of Mine and introduced Tom Chapin’s song, “Walk the World” with all of the Aikiyam School children and Shankar, their wonderful principal. To help celebrate bringing together the many communities here in Auroville, Bill, Gabe and I were scheduled to do a concert at the Unity Pavillion. It was very relaxed and so much fun to perform as the Vanaver Family.
Having Gabriel here (aka Gah-be) added a whole new dimension to our traditional folk presentation. Gabe offered two of his poignant, original songs and then got everyone up “urban folk dancing” in a cypher …..the house dancing style! Aurovillians, young and old, danced in a circle with tremendous energy. We also included Gladys Bailin’s brilliant Newspaper Dance on the program. There had been “Trashion Show” here last week with designer recycled items. I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be fun to do the Newspaper Dance here?” When I realized that we knew Jill Navarre, a wonderful theatre director here in Auroville and had already worked with her actors in years past, she quickly assembled several enthusiastic people to join Gabe and myself and the three Khoji’s who came down from Udaipur to intern with us from Swaraj University. We had several rehearsals and then true to form this structured improv held the 9 of us in a fun rendition of Gladys’ timeless piece.
So grateful to Devasmita for organizing this opportunity and to Julian Lines and Matagiri for helping to bring us here to Auroville.”
— Words from Livia Vanaver, 3/3/18.
Dancing the Mother’s Symbol
Thanks to the Foundation for World Education, we were able to bring Company members Andy Teirstein, Jill Ann Schwartz, Chelsea Needham, Bharat Verma, Bill, and myself back to Auroville to dance The Mother’s Symbol.
I had wanted to do this project for years, and this was the time. Being older and journeying deeper into the questions of who we are and why we are here on this earth led me to bring alive Sri Aurobindo and The Mother’s Symbol through dance and music. In a rainbow of color and intention, the symbol depicts qualities of humanity that are more vital than ever and yearning to be expressed.
Collaborating with the teachers of grades 1–9, each class chose an aspect/color: Gratitude, Perseverance, Aspiration, Receptivity, Progress, Courage, Generosity, Equality, and Peace. The teachers chose Goodness. Usha, the dance teacher at Aikiyam, choreographed Sincerity for eight of her dancers. Our Company chose Humility. The dances were choreographed by Jill Ann, Bharat, and myself.
We were joined by Ian and Radha from the Auroville Theatre Group, who spoke Tamil and translated beautifully for the students and teachers. Together, we deep-dived into these aspects of humanity. They are still shining brightly in each of us, even though we returned three weeks ago.
What we experienced was the most heartfelt sense of community, commitment, and collaboration. Each group created their dances separately for two weeks. Then we came together in the Sports Center—a giant basketball stadium within walking distance of Aikiyam School. It was the only sheltered space large enough to hold the 260 performers plus an audience.
Sharon Sassaman, a lecturer on The Mother’s Symbol (and an Isadora Duncan dancer), dyed 15 yards of silk fabric for each of the 12 attributes, which we incorporated into our dances. In the end, after the first graders danced Peace, all 12 fabrics were lifted and woven together in the center to the tune of Jay Ungar and Molly Mason’s Ashokan Farewell. Andy and Chelsea, in collaboration with a wonderful local Tamil drummer, carried the music. It was perfect.
The experience is still resonating within our Company. Truly, there are no words that can fully express the impact this project had on our lives and on everyone who participated in and witnessed the performance.
I am filled with gratitude for our beautiful community. As we build lasting and ever-growing relationships in India, the world feels smaller and more connected. We look forward to continuing this rich connection with our beloved community in India. Act locally and globally.
Yatra is still working on the video, which will be available on our website, vanavercaravan.org, when it’s ready.
– Livia Vanaver