As I sit here in Washington Square Park, I am watching this young lady with black paint on her hands and feet. As her serene music plays, she is dancing and painting at the same time. Her hair is long, black and flowing in front of her face.
I thought, people can’t see your face. Then I realize, it doesn’t matter what she looks like. Her fluid motions show her true being. She is so elegantly unveiling her soul for all to see. She is @lethairdown.
I love sitting in this park because I always see people performing. Perhaps she is a dance student trying to raise money to pay her expenses. I really don’t know, but it’s beautiful to watch.
I observe a few people videoing her performance. It’s just one of the wonderful things you can see in New York City, if you will just take the time to see them.
After paying my respects at the 9/11 Memorial, with the emotion of that event, this performance was having a wonderful, calming affect on me. Such positive vibes seem to exude from this small, bundle of energy. I wondered if others were feeling the same.
So I began to watch as most people are just walking past. Too busy looking at their phones to even notice the apparent time and effort this young lady had put into her art.
It suddenly dawned on me that observing and staying in the moment has become, in itself, an art form. Art of the mind for lack of a better term.
People! Please? We need to put our phones down sometimes and see the world that is right in front of us! Yes, we love social media and that’s fine, but we must try to enjoy what’s around us. Life is passing us by while our heads are down looking at a screen.
The essence of our soul, our being, is within us, in front of us, in the moment, in the present. So let’s take the time to interact. Talk. See. Experience our emotions. Through the real world. Not a screen.
After I got back to the apartment, I looked her up. This young lady is Kanami Kusajima, from Japan. She is a dancer/choreographer based in NYC. She received a BFA degree from SUNY Purchase College in 2020. She is currently well known as a street performer “Let Hair Down” at Washington Square Park. Recently she was featured in the NYC government’s promotional project “No Stopping New York” advertisement, which can be seen at different bus stops around NYC.
You can follow and see her videos on Instagram and TikTok @lethairdown.
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