THE BARDO
guided by
Amparo Garcia-Crow
"Bardo" is a Tibetan word that means intermediate state and/or transition. It is that moment between something dying and something being born. It is a moment full of possibility---the blank page, the blank slate, waiting for you to create or write upon it. A physical way to think about this transition would be the delicate moment or opening between your inhale and exhale.
Bringing the Bardo to the dance, is an invitation to become aware that you are the creator of the experience you are having. The saying, "we do not see the world as it is but as we are" would be applicable. The Tibetans believe that we create lifetimes based on what we think, what we fear and what we avoid and/or surrender to.
The Bardo dance involves setting an intention before we dance, often an invitation is made, at the beginning of the practice to inspire your imagination to engage and show itself to you. It is the practice of identifying what you want, then simultaneously surrendering it ---expecting nothing but being ready for everything.
The John Lennon lyric---"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" is the Bardo dance's invitation to make both of these seemingly opposing impulses---one.