Testimonials
...from The Wild Divine premiere
... tears welled up in my eyes - at first a reaction to the sheer expressive beauty of the dancers movement, the transporting expansive sound of the live music band, the mystical feel of the lighting and costumes. By the end, tears were streaming down my face and I realized that what was happening in this work of art was nothing short of deep healing.
This transcends what many of us think of as modern dance. This is live music and dance collaboration, based in spiritual practice, with love at the center. It is strong, it is tender, it is caring, it is powerful, and profoundly beautiful.
We all need artistic experiences in our lives--and so acutely now-- that heal our challenged souls and move our ragged hearts."
--Susan Robbins
Founder and Artistic Director, Libana
"It was beautiful. It was more than beautiful. The Wild Divine was the first time I have seen the province of the Mystery we live expressing itself in dance... I feel as though I was present at a ritual of profound import and necessity~sacred dance and music revealing itself unexpectedly, arrestingly in a university auditorium..."
— Diane Johns
"My mom and her friend (that she met at physical therapy) came tonight to the performance. They both have sons with serious spinal cord injuries. They were completely moved with the entire show from dance to music to effects. They left so happy and inspired to heal their kids more and really appreciate every moment and didn't want it to end."
- Joe Gonzalez
“I was deeply moved and affected by being witness to The Wild Divine", in fact I had the good fortune to see it twice and found the effect upon me was profound. The message about the spiritual nature of our Being, the Spirit within and beneath the cloak of this body was so powerful it invoked a healing experience for me on many levels. I felt a subtle shift in my perception of myself, who I am, and what is important to me. I found myself speaking my truth more clearly and having a sense of knowing that the flow of my life is unfolding in a meaningful way. I feel this production is so much more than simply a dance performance and offers a transmission of Wisdom that had a transformative effect on a very deep level. This is a gift that should be shared far and wide."
- Deborah Diamond
“The Wild Divine was superb! We all loved it, including my 4 and 5 year-old boys, who were in awe the whole time. Besides being impressed with the music and movements, I could see how The Wild Divine put them in touch with their most profound feelings. What a powerful example for children!
As for me, I was so touched and inspired by this powerful story of healing, and impressed with the dancers and the music! I was in tears and with goosebumps on and off during the whole show. The precision and relentless force of the movements astonished me, and the main character moved me to the core. How special and rare it is to see dancers connected from within with their characters, and everyone nailed it on this performance, not only with supreme artistry but by dancing from their soul. I truly believe that this is only the beginning of The Wild Divine, and can’t wait to see where life takes it!"
— PAULINA FUENTES MOAD, PSY.D.
"I'm inspired, I'm empowered, I think it was breathtaking. I am overwhelmed with the beauty of that work."
- May-Lisa Chandler
I felt elevated and levitated by the euphoric dance and music -- a metaphor made manifest when the Midwife emerged on the elevated part of the stage (and then when the herons started crossing the screen), taking us higher and higher.
- Scott Ruescher
"What an incredible experience of emotion, healing, and truly amazing dance! I tried to explain it to my husband--I told him I'd never seen such a display of incredible physicality and spirituality at the same time."
- Kim Rony
"We were mesmerized and in awe of the grace and mastery of the dancers. Such beauty and strength!"
- anonymous
"My son Joe dances with you, he told me about this wonderful choreography that he was dancing for your company. He told me ahh mom you have to go see this choreography you will like it. I have another son with a recent spinal cord injury. I just want to tell you that the show was breathtaking, I loved every minute of it, it inspired me so much that I just sat there in awe with this great feeling of hope inside. There are certain feelings that can’t be expressed by words and that moment was one of them. I want to thank you for sharing that dance with the world because as it touched me I’m sure it will touch other life’s too."
- Juanita Gonzalez
"The performance was so well-done, so very well-done. A day later and the glow is still with me. It was like being in a vivid, sacred dream."
- Linda Aranda
Excerpt from poem inspired by The Wild Divine:
Limbs on fire
(no more ashes).
Evanescence
dressed in red. Souls of
bones and flesh.
Hearts (burning open hearts).
Into the deep
(out to your heart)
They reach: We are free.
Plunge into the journey:
The Wild Divine
-Reshmá
“Excerpt from a poem inspired by The Wild Divine:
Grounded, gorgeous, edgy, stretching the envelope, the audience, the dancing itself with pure yoga-music-movement-bliss-made-visible, completely strong, fluid, dynamic and balanced and returning its fortunate audience-experiencers as dancers, too, to balanced, child~like, grown Up joy!"
— Gwendolyn Atwood
"I wanted to tell you how powerfully your creation and the performance by the dancers and musicians affected me. A number of us were moved to tears and I awoke in the middle of the night still feeling in an altered state and a poem came to me which I wrote down."
- anonymous
...from Calling To You
“Parts of the performance literally took my breath away! … the themes of journey, wisdom, and connection speak to me as does the intersection of spirituality and artistic expression. The performance was truly magnificent.” - Reverend Peter Boullata, First Parish Church, Lexington
"Calling to You" was absolutely awe inspiring....musical ensemble and singers enhanced the choreography in a way that captivated the entire audience. The story of love was palpable and left the audience, young and old, lustful for more. This show was everything I hoped for and more, a true journey of the heart." - South Shore and Cape Cod Metaphysics
“Calling to You was spectacular in every sense and from every aspect. It was such a pleasure to witness. I enjoyed every minute of the performance. I will remember my evening at the concert for the warmth, beauty and humaneness that surrounded me throughout.” — Nirupama Rao, Ambassador of India to the United States
"The mellifluous musical movements and poetic motion brought me to tears" - Stan Strickland, musician
“I had the opportunity to watch the Deborah Abel Dance Company perform in Boston, presenting their spectacular performance of Calling to You – A Tale of Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World. The multicultural creativity of this dance company, led by the hugely talented Deborah Abel, in Calling to You is an extraordinary achievement. Deborah Abel brings to dancing a well-reflected understanding of the role of culture in human life and the possibility of combining the richness of diverse traditions across the world into an integrated and well digested synthesis. “Calling to You – A Tale of Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World” is an astonishing illustration of just such a synthesis, combining classical Indian motifs with the use of creative traditions from elsewhere in the world, including the rapidly growing richness of “modern dance.” I do not doubt that we can confidently expect from the Deborah Abel Dance Company many further accomplishments which will continue to enrich, in their own way, manifestations of global culture in the contemporary world. It is thrilling to see the unfolding of an extremely skilled performance, combined with a powerful vision of the global heritage of humanity.” — Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, Harvard University
"Every moment of my time in the audience was spent in a state of gratitude…from tears to joy… so powerful and profound was my experience. The embodiment of your message by the dancers and the musicians/singers so deeply healing,. What an amazing creation ... truly Divinely guided/infused. My loved ones were all moved to tears and exhalations of release and transformation…we were affected on many levels of our beings."
"Everyone was transfixed by the dancers, lighting and music. The girls spoke about being transported to another world."
"...the coming together of ancient wisdom and modern world, the coming together of dance and music, of earthly self and divinity - and it was utterly entrancing. I said I cried all the way through, and I did, but not so much that I couldn't sit on the edge of my seat in wonder. I cried at the beauty of it, and the rightness of it, the simplicity of it (some writer said when he was asked why his writing was so simple, that he just cut out all the stuff that people usually skim!), simplicity that has come of working at this for long enough and with enough devotion that what remains is the essence, naked and wondrous."
"We thoroughly enjoyed experiencing your performance tonight. It was beautiful and sparked many emotions. Loved the incredible dancing and the gorgeous music."
"...how spectacular the performance was. I was so moved by the story and the layers of meaning and felt it was talking directly to me. I felt emotions from pain to tears of joy and feel it has awakened some recognition in me that will be a part of my healing journey."
"... Absolutely incredible. Breathtaking. Moved to the depths. I haven't been moved like that at a dance performance in I don't know how long."
"That talent, and attention to detail in the choreography, the echoes of gesture, made your production, 'Calling to You' accessible to me and my friend. Neither of us understand much about this art form, but both of us thoroughly enjoyed the story told by the dancers."
"My friend and I were moved to tears more then once by your gorgeous dance piece, Calling To You. Your choreography was exquisite, your dancers inspired and so talented, and the topic, the reunion of masculine and feminine, timely. I think it is the most important issue of our time."
"I loved the concert yesterday... everything. In fact, it had such a huge effect on me, I was so moved and had a bit of an epiphany, It was very emotional for me."
Testimonials from throughout the years
"...my nine-year-old daughter and I attended your performance of The Beauty Road last Sunday. When the lights came up and the applause died down, I realized that she was crying. She wasn't sad. In fact, she couldn't explain it in words-- she simply felt moved to tears."
"I didn’t get a chance to tell you how much I enjoyed Beauty Road. Both the dancing and the music took me on an artistic and emotional journey that few shows achieve. In fact, the last piece brought me to tears."
"Your concert on Saturday was so beautiful, so spiritual, and so indescribable. At one point during the last piece my daughter looked over and saw that I was crying and asked me was I sad, and I told her that sometimes that people cry when things are beautiful... The music was haunting and the dancing was so visual, that I didn’t even understand why I was crying myself. We left the concert and were walking home when I overheard three people behind me talking about the concert. The woman said something about crying and not knowing why you were crying and they were all saying how wonderful the dancing and music was. At least I could tell my daughter it wasn’t just me crying."
"The word "exquisite" kept coming to me. I experienced the dance of intimacy with its force and musicality. In my heart I traveled to sweet and heart wrenching spaces."