In this session, artist Laura Anderson Barbata and puppeteer, stilt walker and theater historian John Bell speak with Roberto Salas San Juan, a member of the Giganteria Theater in Cuba, about the local histories of stilt walking, its ritualistic use and its place in today's art practices. Barbata has been collaborating with stilt artists and collectives such as the Brooklyn Jumbies, Chris Walker and Jarana Beat for many years. Bell, on the other hand, has worked with Bread and Puppet Theatre since the 1970s as a puppeteer and stilt walker himself. Roberto Salas San Juan is known for his comprehensive studies on this popular art form. It is followed by Laura Anderson Barbata's performance called 'Ocean Calling' recorded in Papua New Guinea, in which speech, costume, music and dance come together with ritual, marching, protest and stilt-walking. Next is the artist’s 'The Intervention: Indigo' project, which took place in New York in 2015 in collaboration with The Brooklyn Jumbies, Chris Walker and Jarana Beat. It can be described as a worldwide practice to remind us of the crisis impacting the lives of people of colour living in the USA. We close with another recording of Barbata, a song sung by Lucas Yamahunawë, a leader of the Yanomami community in the High Orinoco region of the Venezuelan Amazon, in accordance with shamanic traditions.
