...genuine sacred art, as close to reviving the sacred dance of the ancient world as we will ever see.                                                Pen Katali, THE GILDED SERPENT

EGYPTA:
Myth, Magic, and Mystery
Original Concept and Choreography by Laurel Victoria Gray
Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2011 by Laurel Victoria Gray

I. Prologue:
the Prophecy of Thoth

Did you know that Egypt is a map of the heavens?
That Egypt is a map of the Cosmos?
As above, so below.
This land,
A spiritual teacher to all humanity
Who loved the Gods with such devotion
that They deigned to sojourn here on earth

But men will forget this and the Gods
will abandon this land,
O, Egypt!
Nothing will remain of your religion
But an empty tale
Which even your own children will not believe
Nothing will be left to tell of your wisdom
But old graven stones
So I, Thoth, have inscribed the secrets of the Gods
In sacred symbols and holy hieroglyphs on these stone tablets
Which I have concealed for a future world
That may seek our wisdom
Wise Words!
Remain impenetrable through Time!
Be unseen and undiscovered
By all those who will come and go
Be hidden!
Until an older heaven births human beings
Who are worthy of your wisdom

2. Gift of the Nile
According  to one creation myth, life began in
the form of a lotus  blossoming  forth from the pririver to the life of the people that the meval waters. The Nile was revered as a god   "who waters the plains and valleys which Ra has created to nourish all   life...Creator, sustainer who brings richness to the earth." So central  was the Greek historian  Herodotus  said
that "Egypt is the gift of the Nile."  
I saw in thought
Limitless power with the Light 
o form an infinite yet ordered world
I saw in the darkness of the deep
Chaotic water without form
Permeated with a subtle intelligent breath
Of divine power
THE WORD fell on the fertile waters
Making the pregnant with all forms.
The Hermetica

3. Priestess of the
Snake Goddess  Renenutet

An early Egyptian deity, the snake goddess
Renenutet was responsible for the  fertility of crops, humans, and animals. A
guardian of the Pharaoh, as well as  of the granaries and fields, Renenutet was
often depicted as a woman with a  cobra's head. "Her gaze is said to vanquish
all enemies" but "this same intense  emanation from her eyes causes things to
grow."

4. On the Land

Peasant  women enact the labors of planting and harvesting while giving thanks for an  abundant harvest. Horus, the Falcon, carries the Solar Disk across the Heavens,  assuring growth and life.

5. Goddess Nuit and
the Dance of the  Cosmos

Each day at sunset, Nut swallows  the solar disk, giving birth to it again at dawn. Her starry body contains the  Cosmos; the stars rotate around her, enacting the unending cycle of birth and  death, death and rebirth.
The present issues from the past,
and the future from the present.
Everything is made one by this continuity.
Time is like a circle,
Where all the points are so linked
That you cannot say
Where  it begins or ends.,
For all points precede
And follow one another forever.
The Hermetica

6. Pyramids 

In spite of numerous theories, scholars still cannot agree on how the ancient Egyptian pyramids were built. The  mystical power of these monuments has inspired this choreography.

7. In the Temple of Isis

A loving  wife and mother, the Goddess Isis was known for her magical powers.
Hymns  praised her as "she who made light with her feathers and wind with her
wings."

8. Invasion of the Foreigners

Known as Hyksos, foreign  invaders devastated Egypt... " a blast of God smote us, and unexpectedly from  the regions of the East, invaders of obscure race marched in confidence of  victory against our land... they then burned our cities ruthlessly, razed to the  ground the temples of the gods, and treated all the natives with a cruel  hostility, massacring some and leading into slavery the wives and children of  others."

9. Wrath of Sekhmet

Enraged by humanity's blasphemous
disregard for all the gifts of the
  Creator, the Goddess Sekhmet assumes
her from as a lioness. She steals the
solar disk, the Eye of Ra the sun God, and turns the powerful rays upon the
human race, burning and destroying then. Knowing that Sekhmet loves to drink
blood,  the gods color beer with red dye and pour it upon the desert floor. Deceived,  Sekhmet laps up the beer, and falls into
a drunken stupor, releasing her hold on 
the solar disk.

10. The Seven Hathors

Hathor,  Goddess of Love and Dance, sometimes manifested herself in a seven sacred forms.  The Seven Hathors determined
the fate of an infant at birth and where often 
called upon in magical spells.
Hymn to Hathor
Let me worship the Golden One
Let me honor her Majesty
and exalt the Lady of Heaven;
Let me give adoration to Hathor and
songs of joy to my heavenly Mistress!
I beg her to hear my petitions that she send me
my Beloved now!
Let me consecrate breath to my Goddess
that she give me Love as a gift!

11. Royal Linen

Under the gaze of the overseer, weavers,
labor to create the
fine, delicate linen
destined for royalty. But when  their stern mistress
departs, the women sing and
dance. They enjoy a moment of  gaiety,
imitating the aristocratic ladies who
will wear garments fashioned from 
the fabric the weavers have created.

12. Royal Procession

Joyous processions were an integral component of the numerous religious
festivals celebrated in Ancient Egypt. The rhythms used in this piece include
the Egyptian wedding "march," al Zeffa, and Nagrishad, a Nubian 48 beat cycle
  used in processions.

13. Banquet Dance 

Inspired by tomb paintings of
a  banquet scene, this lively and energetic dance incorporates high kicks,
jumps,  and percussive elements. The dancers use sistrum, musical instruments
used in  ancient Egypt to make sounds pleasing to the Goddess Hathor.

14. Cleopatra

Brilliant leader, conversant in numerous foreign languages, Cleopatra was  also the mother of four children. She was the last of Egyptian rulers to speak  Demotic, the language of the people, and follow the traditional religion. With  her death, Egypt fell under foreign, Roman, rule.

Death of Egypt