The Woods Hole Public Library will begin its summer Lassalle Dance Lecture Series with a presentation by Gretchen Ward Warren on her new book, Hollow Bone: A Naïve Wanderer’s Journey from Outback to Opening Night on Tuesday, August 13, at 7:00 PM. Ms. Warren has previously published two books about classical ballet – her professional and academic discipline – but this book centers on an extraordinary three-year period in her life that began with a journey to Australia for her Fulbright program and ended with the production of a large, campus wide, cross-cultural event.
After arriving in Sydney and finding that her carefully pre-planned research project had completely evaporated, Ms. Warren began to learn about Australia’s Aboriginal population. She became aware of the horrific racism, injustice and genocide these people had suffered and soon began to see the parallels between what they had suffered and the grave injustices endured by the Native Americans. An idea for a new research project was born, and Ms. Warren began to put the pieces together for a full theatrical production that could synthesize and share what she had learned about the injustices perpetrated against these two incredible indigenous peoples.
Ms. Warren says, “This journey produced what I believe was the most important work I have ever done in my life, which is why I finally had to write about it.” For her illustrated presentation at the Woods Hole Public Library, Ms. Warren will share the experiences that led to the creation of Hollow Bone and speak about her greater mission of educating others about indigenous rights. She will read excerpts from the book as well as share videos of her dance production. Her story shows how when the world of classical ballet collides with the rhythmic heartbeat of indigenous dance, a transformative journey emerges. Copies of the book will be available for purchase through Eight Cousins Bookstore at the talk.