ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jon Boogz - Movement artist
Jon Boogz is a movement artist, choreographer and director who seeks to push the evolution of dance.

Why you should listen

As a movement artist and creator, Jon Boogz seeks to share with audiences of all backgrounds an appreciation of the melding of art forms while inspiring and bringing awareness to social issues. Boogz recently wrote, choreographed, directed and danced in Color of Reality, a short film in collaboration with visual artist Alexa Meade and fellow dancer Lil Buck, and AM i A MAN in conjunction with Brian Stevenson, the Equal Justice Initiative, and DAIS.

First motivated to dance by the work of Michael Jackson, Boogz has choreographed for icons including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell, Gloria Estefan and for Pharrell’s Adidas Originals campaign, and he to creative directed, choreographed and performed a tribute to Standing Rock at ComplexCon. He has also worked as a creative consultant for ads launching campaigns for Apple and Lexus. Boogz’s collaborators include TriBeCa Film Festival, DAIS, Lil Buck, and Flying Lotus; his choreography is used in FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" and Cirque du Soleils "MJ ONE;" and he was featured at the Geffen Playhouse's "Backstage at the Geffen" with his dance company Control Freakz, Lil Buc, and spoken-word artist Robin Sanders to honor Morgan Freeman and Jeff Skoll. He co-founded Movement Art Is with Lil Buck in 2016. Boogz's forthcoming works seek to merge movement with fine art, film, technology and the stage.

More profile about the speaker
Jon Boogz | Speaker | TED.com
Lil Buck - Movement artist
A viral video star known for his gravity-defying, elegant street dance moves, Lil Buck is a fertile collaborator across disciplines and media.

Why you should listen

International phenomenon Lil Buck began jookin' -- a street dance that originated in Memphis -- at age 13 alongside mentors Marico Flake and Daniel Price. After receiving early hip-hop training from Teran Garry and ballet training on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble, he performed and choreographed until relocating to Los Angeles in 2009.

Named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch," his collaboration with Spike Jonze and Yo-Yo Ma performing The Swan went viral in 2011. Since then, he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists including JR, Damian Woetzel, the New York City Ballet, Madonna, Benjamin Millepied and Spike Lee. Buck is an avid arts education advocate, a recipient of the WSJ Innovator Award and recently launched a capsule collection with Versace.

In 2016 he co-founded with Jon Boogz Movement Art Is, an organization which seeks to inspire and change the world while elevating artistic, educational and social impact of dance.

More profile about the speaker
Lil Buck | Speaker | TED.com
Robin Sanders - Spoken word artist
Robin Sanders's eclectic style includes both audible imagery making and kinetic storytelling.

Why you should listen

Robin Sanders is a captivating communicator and her energy and passion are infectious. Her credentials include more than 13 years of professional experience in teaching, performing and public speaking. She has traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Jamaica, and England as choreographer and performer for Nicole C. Mullen Tours (Nashville, TN) and CIY’s Believe Tour (Joplin, MO). Sanders's body of work includes speaking, teaching and choreographing at a host of dance schools and notable organizations such as Bates College in Lewiston, Bowdoin College, Colby College, University of Memphis, Vanderbilt University, Seattle's Velocity Dance Center, Collage Dance Collective, New Ballet Ensemble and School and many more. Her latest spoken word works include: An Ode to Hip Hop featured on So You Think You Can Dance, At the Geffen featured at Backstage At The Geffen and See What I'm Saying, both commissioned pieces written for Los Angeles' ControlFreakz. 
 
Sanders currently serves as founder and director of Out Loud Artistry, a performing arts training and mentorship program with a mission to develop skilled performing artists that leverage their artistry to positively impact and transform their communities and world around them.

More profile about the speaker
Robin Sanders | Speaker | TED.com
Jason Yang - Violinist
Jason Yang is recognized for his versatility on multiple instruments as well as his abilities in composing and producing.

Why you should listen

Jason Yang has become one of the most popular sensations on the acoustic and electric violin circuits in the US and abroad. With more than 197,000 subscribers and 35 million views on his YouTube channel, he reaches extremely diverse audiences through multiple genres of music.

Yang has performed all over the world with Madonna as her violinist. In 2012, he completed the MDNA Tour, which consisted of 88 sold-out shows throughout Europe, North America, South America and the Middle East. He also performed alongside Madonna and Stevie Wonder in the memorial tribute to Prince at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.

Yang enjoys engaging in performances and projects in a wide spectrum, from playing a violin-soloing Joker in full prosthetic makeup for Warner Bros.' "Batman: Arkham City" to delivering an emotional rendition of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on Glee. In 2013, he was contracted by HBO to score an arrangement from the "Game of Thrones" soundtrack to be performed by himself with a chamber orchestra at the official Season 2 release event in New York City. A few days later, he performed on The Colbert Report with fellow MDNA dancer, Lil Buck.
 
In the corporate world, Yang has performed for clients such as Panasonic, Mazda, Adidas, Ford, Paul Mitchell, Hilton, Skechers, Frito-Lay, Wendy’s, Telemundo, La Prairie and Amway Global.
 
The New Jersey native is currently based in Los Angeles, where he graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in international relations and a minor in music industry.


More profile about the speaker
Jason Yang | Speaker | TED.com
Canku One Star - Fancy dancer
Canku One Star promotes living a healthier lifestyle via song and dance.

Why you should listen
Canku One Star, Sigangu/Oglala Lakota, Oneida and Seneca tribes, is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. He has traveled throughout North America performing and expressing his style of dance, the Men's Fancy War Dance style. Coming from a family and reservation with rich history and culture, One Star began dancing from the time he could walk. He now promotes keeping the indigenous cultures thriving through education.
More profile about the speaker
Canku One Star | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Jon Boogz and Lil Buck: A dance to honor Mother Earth

Filmed:
305,940 views

Movement artists Jon Boogz and Lil Buck debut "Honor thy mother," a delicate, powerful performance of spoken word, violin and dance that draws on the tormented relationship between nature and humanity.
- Movement artist
Jon Boogz is a movement artist, choreographer and director who seeks to push the evolution of dance. Full bio - Movement artist
A viral video star known for his gravity-defying, elegant street dance moves, Lil Buck is a fertile collaborator across disciplines and media. Full bio - Spoken word artist
Robin Sanders's eclectic style includes both audible imagery making and kinetic storytelling. Full bio - Violinist
Jason Yang is recognized for his versatility on multiple instruments as well as his abilities in composing and producing. Full bio - Fancy dancer
Canku One Star promotes living a healthier lifestyle via song and dance. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:14
Mother Earth: Our end was imminent
0
2606
3224
00:17
yet finality relented.
1
5854
2315
00:20
Wind, water and fire gently revived;
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8650
4003
00:24
you and I reconciled,
3
12677
3379
00:28
rhythms realigned,
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2056
00:30
the blues gone green.
5
18160
2297
00:32
Your care in conserving
in exchange for my fruit
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20481
4329
00:36
and replenishing this picturous
restoring of painted skies,
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24834
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00:42
mountains rolling,
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30942
1831
00:44
forest covering --
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00:46
no more warming.
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34441
1962
00:48
The purity and simplicity
of how we used to be.
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00:52
You remember me?
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00:54
All I give to humanity?
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00:57
Housing, land, seas, birds,
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01:00
beast and all of mankind,
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01:03
exclusively the interface
where you and the elements meet
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01:09
and vibrate harmoniously.
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01:12
(Piano plays)
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01:17
(Violin plays)
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01:45
(Music)
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02:17
(Music tempo quickens)
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02:30
(Violin plays)
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03:23
(Music)
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03:50
(Violin plays)
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04:22
(Music)
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04:33
(Music ends)
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04:37
(Applause)
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04:38
My beauty altered,
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04:39
muddied waters, fields stripped bare,
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2405
04:42
interior scarred beyond repair,
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04:45
our memories eroding.
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04:48
You once obsessed over my frame
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04:50
and how I came to be;
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04:51
my nature, its polarity --
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04:54
how my sweet winds whisper softly,
yet assault seas.
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05:00
You remember me?
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1470
05:01
All I give to humanity?
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2698
05:04
Housing, land, seas, birds,
38
292267
3837
05:08
beast and all of mankind --
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3070
05:11
exclusively the interface
where you and the elements meet
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299222
5326
05:16
and vibrate harmoniously.
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2335
05:18
The unseen traveler forever passing,
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05:22
carrying life,
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05:24
moving,
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05:25
awning of earth felt and heard,
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3444
05:28
strong and stirring,
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2508
05:31
blowing.
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1315
05:32
Breathe you in, cleansing wind,
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3345
05:36
gentle and still,
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1967
05:38
quieter.
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05:39
The source eternally here,
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05:42
ascent and descending:
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05:45
air.
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333330
1349
05:47
Rhythmic flow,
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05:49
fluid and graceful,
55
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2062
05:51
waves of serenity,
56
339674
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05:53
smooth strings of purity,
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2126
05:56
rains replenishing rapidly,
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344012
2903
05:59
rivers of dreams,
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347915
1253
06:01
raging springs
covering earth in abundance,
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06:03
universal solvent dissolving,
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2485
06:06
drink, liquid, life and power:
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06:12
water.
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06:14
Born when the universe was formed,
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warmed mankind,
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06:17
gave him light,
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06:18
colored rays illuminate ember flickers
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06:21
incandescent, powerful and brilliant.
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06:23
Sacred son of air, father of fury,
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06:26
heat dancing vigorously
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06:27
between perfection and beauty.
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06:29
Unconfined agility,
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06:31
fast and fancy,
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2021
06:33
sparks of ingenuity rise:
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06:36
fire.
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06:38
(Canku One Star dances)
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1500
06:40
(Choir chants)
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2523
06:45
(Drums)
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06:49
(Drumming and chanting)
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07:26
(Drumming and chanting)
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07:50
(Drumming and chanting)
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08:02
(Music ends)
82
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08:07
(Applause)
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08:10
(Violin plays)
84
478062
1962
08:24
(Music)
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2323
09:08
(Music ends)
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09:11
(Applause)
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539394
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▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jon Boogz - Movement artist
Jon Boogz is a movement artist, choreographer and director who seeks to push the evolution of dance.

Why you should listen

As a movement artist and creator, Jon Boogz seeks to share with audiences of all backgrounds an appreciation of the melding of art forms while inspiring and bringing awareness to social issues. Boogz recently wrote, choreographed, directed and danced in Color of Reality, a short film in collaboration with visual artist Alexa Meade and fellow dancer Lil Buck, and AM i A MAN in conjunction with Brian Stevenson, the Equal Justice Initiative, and DAIS.

First motivated to dance by the work of Michael Jackson, Boogz has choreographed for icons including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell, Gloria Estefan and for Pharrell’s Adidas Originals campaign, and he to creative directed, choreographed and performed a tribute to Standing Rock at ComplexCon. He has also worked as a creative consultant for ads launching campaigns for Apple and Lexus. Boogz’s collaborators include TriBeCa Film Festival, DAIS, Lil Buck, and Flying Lotus; his choreography is used in FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance" and Cirque du Soleils "MJ ONE;" and he was featured at the Geffen Playhouse's "Backstage at the Geffen" with his dance company Control Freakz, Lil Buc, and spoken-word artist Robin Sanders to honor Morgan Freeman and Jeff Skoll. He co-founded Movement Art Is with Lil Buck in 2016. Boogz's forthcoming works seek to merge movement with fine art, film, technology and the stage.

More profile about the speaker
Jon Boogz | Speaker | TED.com
Lil Buck - Movement artist
A viral video star known for his gravity-defying, elegant street dance moves, Lil Buck is a fertile collaborator across disciplines and media.

Why you should listen

International phenomenon Lil Buck began jookin' -- a street dance that originated in Memphis -- at age 13 alongside mentors Marico Flake and Daniel Price. After receiving early hip-hop training from Teran Garry and ballet training on scholarship at the New Ballet Ensemble, he performed and choreographed until relocating to Los Angeles in 2009.

Named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch," his collaboration with Spike Jonze and Yo-Yo Ma performing The Swan went viral in 2011. Since then, he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists including JR, Damian Woetzel, the New York City Ballet, Madonna, Benjamin Millepied and Spike Lee. Buck is an avid arts education advocate, a recipient of the WSJ Innovator Award and recently launched a capsule collection with Versace.

In 2016 he co-founded with Jon Boogz Movement Art Is, an organization which seeks to inspire and change the world while elevating artistic, educational and social impact of dance.

More profile about the speaker
Lil Buck | Speaker | TED.com
Robin Sanders - Spoken word artist
Robin Sanders's eclectic style includes both audible imagery making and kinetic storytelling.

Why you should listen

Robin Sanders is a captivating communicator and her energy and passion are infectious. Her credentials include more than 13 years of professional experience in teaching, performing and public speaking. She has traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Jamaica, and England as choreographer and performer for Nicole C. Mullen Tours (Nashville, TN) and CIY’s Believe Tour (Joplin, MO). Sanders's body of work includes speaking, teaching and choreographing at a host of dance schools and notable organizations such as Bates College in Lewiston, Bowdoin College, Colby College, University of Memphis, Vanderbilt University, Seattle's Velocity Dance Center, Collage Dance Collective, New Ballet Ensemble and School and many more. Her latest spoken word works include: An Ode to Hip Hop featured on So You Think You Can Dance, At the Geffen featured at Backstage At The Geffen and See What I'm Saying, both commissioned pieces written for Los Angeles' ControlFreakz. 
 
Sanders currently serves as founder and director of Out Loud Artistry, a performing arts training and mentorship program with a mission to develop skilled performing artists that leverage their artistry to positively impact and transform their communities and world around them.

More profile about the speaker
Robin Sanders | Speaker | TED.com
Jason Yang - Violinist
Jason Yang is recognized for his versatility on multiple instruments as well as his abilities in composing and producing.

Why you should listen

Jason Yang has become one of the most popular sensations on the acoustic and electric violin circuits in the US and abroad. With more than 197,000 subscribers and 35 million views on his YouTube channel, he reaches extremely diverse audiences through multiple genres of music.

Yang has performed all over the world with Madonna as her violinist. In 2012, he completed the MDNA Tour, which consisted of 88 sold-out shows throughout Europe, North America, South America and the Middle East. He also performed alongside Madonna and Stevie Wonder in the memorial tribute to Prince at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.

Yang enjoys engaging in performances and projects in a wide spectrum, from playing a violin-soloing Joker in full prosthetic makeup for Warner Bros.' "Batman: Arkham City" to delivering an emotional rendition of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on Glee. In 2013, he was contracted by HBO to score an arrangement from the "Game of Thrones" soundtrack to be performed by himself with a chamber orchestra at the official Season 2 release event in New York City. A few days later, he performed on The Colbert Report with fellow MDNA dancer, Lil Buck.
 
In the corporate world, Yang has performed for clients such as Panasonic, Mazda, Adidas, Ford, Paul Mitchell, Hilton, Skechers, Frito-Lay, Wendy’s, Telemundo, La Prairie and Amway Global.
 
The New Jersey native is currently based in Los Angeles, where he graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in international relations and a minor in music industry.


More profile about the speaker
Jason Yang | Speaker | TED.com
Canku One Star - Fancy dancer
Canku One Star promotes living a healthier lifestyle via song and dance.

Why you should listen
Canku One Star, Sigangu/Oglala Lakota, Oneida and Seneca tribes, is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. He has traveled throughout North America performing and expressing his style of dance, the Men's Fancy War Dance style. Coming from a family and reservation with rich history and culture, One Star began dancing from the time he could walk. He now promotes keeping the indigenous cultures thriving through education.
More profile about the speaker
Canku One Star | Speaker | TED.com