Sunday, 8 July 2007
THEY DANCE ALONE
In 1988, ISO choreographed and performed the Music Television Video for Sting's They Dance Alone, a protest to the political problems in the Republic of Chile, which has been seen throughout the world. In the same year, ISO also organized a dance benefit at the Joyce Theatre in New York to raise funds for Amnesty International. This video is called 'The Dance Alone' version cueca solo ("cueca" is the national dance of Chile), and Sting sings with Daniel.
Lyrics for: They Dance Alone - Why are these women here dancing on their own? / Why is there this sadness in their eyes? / Why are the soldiers here / Their faces fixed like stone? / I can't see what it is they despise / They're dancing with the missing / They're dancing with the dead / They dance with the invisible ones / Their anguish is unsaid / They're dancing with their fathers / They're dancing with their sons / They're dancing with their husbands / They dance alone / They dance alone / It's the only form of protest they're allowed / I've seen their silent faces they scream so loud / If they were to speak these words they'd go missing too / Another woman on the torture table what else can they do / They're dancing with the missing / They're dancing with the dead / They dance with the invisible ones / Their anguish is unsaid / They're dancing with their fathers / They're dancing with their sons / They're dancing with their husbands / They dance alone / They dance alone / One day we'll dance on their graves / One day we'll sing our freedom / One day we'll laugh in our joy / And we'll dance / One day we'll dance on their graves / One day we'll sing our freedom / One day we'll laugh in our joy / And we'll dance / Ellas danzan con los desaparecidos / Danzan con los muertos / Danzan con amores invisibles / Con silenciosa angustia / Danzan con sus padres / Con sus hijos / Con sus esposos / Ellas danzan solas / Danzan solas / Hey Mr. Pinochet / You've sown a bitter crop / It's foreign money that supports you / One day the money's going to stop / No wages for your torturer / No budget for your gun / Can you think of your own mother / Dancin' with her invisible son / They're dancing with the missing / They're dancing with the dead / They dance with the invisible ones / Their anguish is unsaid / They're dancing with their fathers / They're dancing with their sons / They're dancing with their husbands / They dance alone / They dance alone
Sting wrote this after he saw a brief news story about women dancing in the streets of Chile torn apart by the Pinochet regime. The women were dancing in the streets with pictures of their husbands, fathers, brothers or sons pinned to their clothes or they were holding the pictures and dancing with them. Branford Marsalis played the sax. This was released as a single along with a Spanish version of the song, "Ellas Danzan Solas."
This song has the crude and sad sounds of the hard 70's and 80's in South America, it's the sounds of Andes Mountains. At the final a taste of Brazil's samba.