\u201cThe first day, we all pointed to our countries,\u201d wrote Saudi-born astronaut Bin Salman Al-Saud after his milestone voyage in 1985. \u201cThe third or fourth day, we were pointing to our continents. By the fifth day, we were aware of only One Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The discontinuation of NASA\u2019s manned space program left many of us here on Earth feeling grounded, even isolated from the sense of wonder that seemed within our reach not so long ago. For those of us who lived our dreams through the explorations of the astronauts, the music and poetry had been replaced by the silence of space \u2014 and a nostalgia for a future that had somehow slipped away.<\/p>\n
On the evening of Friday, April 27 \u2014 and in observance of Earth Day 2012<\/strong> \u2014 the Pollak Theatre<\/strong> at Monmouth University is transformed into a vehicle for an epic voyage of re-discovery; a \u201cPoetic Vision of Earth from Space\u201d in spectacular visuals with an ensemble of world-class musicians and performers presented under the name Bella Gaia<\/em><\/strong> (Beautiful Earth).<\/p>\n Conceived and created (in collaboration with NASA) by filmmaker and musician Kenji Williams<\/strong>, Bella Gaia<\/em><\/strong> is a \u201cLiving Atlas\u201d multimedia presentation described as \u201ca new immersive theater experience, a portal for an audience to develop a deeper connection and empathy with our planet Earth.\u201d Employing high definition projections of breathtaking scenes, realized through state of the art (and science) photography as well as computer generated images alongside live musicians, Bella Gaia<\/em><\/strong> offers an astronaut\u2019s-eye view of a world that\u2019s changing right before our eyes. It\u2019s a tour of a still-young planet that\u2019s forever in motion as it enters an epoch called the Anthropocene \u2014 a time in which the challenges of human-driven climate change and the demands of burgeoning population become the agents of environmental change.<\/p>\n Serving as navigator for this voyage, and present on the Pollak stage, will be director, composer and classically trained violinist Williams with a live ensemble of internationally acclaimed musicians & performers. Playing a richly layered fusion of electronica and world music, the five multi-instrumental musicians (violin, voice, Egyptian flute, saxophone, Indian tabla & voice, Japanese Koto) bring authentic rhythms and melodies from Japan, India, Egypt, and New York City into one fantastic musical tour of the world hopping from one country to another, traveling to the next by returning to orbit and coasting along with astronauts in space.\u00a0Dancers representing Egyptian Bellydance and Indian dance further deepen the cultural expressions in the Bella Gaia experience.<\/p>\n During the 8 p.m. event, presented on the area\u2019s largest HD screen (the setting for Monmouth University\u2019s popular series of broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera and London\u2019s National Theatre), passengers on this journey will look upon the smallest living things in our amazingly diverse ecosystems, and gaze at the bright blue ball of Earth from just outside the thin blue band of our fragile atmosphere. They\u2019ll travel from the farthest-flung points on the globe, to a vantage point that\u2019s been occupied by a mere handful of humans. It\u2019s a place beyond politics, beyond the gravitational pull of our most pressing everyday concerns \u2014 a place of hope and beauty that puts our all and everything into clear perspective.<\/p>\n