The opening ceremony today at the Creativity World Forum in Oklahoma City was spectacular. I took several videos with my iPhone of different parts of the presentation, which was shared by members of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. The Chickasaws are one of 39 different tribes in Oklahoma, which are each considered sovereign tribes. Before moving to Oklahoma four years ago with my family, I hadn’t realized Indian tribes in the United States are treated as sovereign nations. The performers and designers of this opening ceremony did a fantastic job. I was moved, and very proud to be a part of our diverse and great state!
In this first video, I love how the girls are gathered both around and in front of the fire. This was a very creative use of technology to set a mood and create atmosphere.
In this second video, female dancers move to the beats of the drum circle. The energy of the song and the dance was powerful.
In this third video, male dancers took the stage and enthralled the audience with their movements, their grace, and their energy.
Following these performances of songs, music and dance, Sir Ken Robinson interacted with a young Chickasaw boy who (before our very eyes) grew up to live his dreams: Go into space as a United States astronaut! That real person is Commander John Herrington, who not only shared his compelling story of hard work and inspiration during this ceremony – but also joined my wife and I at our table in the afternoon for lunch! What a wonderful surprise that was! This is a twelve minute video of John Herrington’s part of the opening ceremony today. This was masterfully designed and carried out!
It was wonderful to start the Creativity World Forum with these creative and powerful expressions of emotion, passion, and history from members of the Chickasaw Nation. We are a rich land because of the diversity of our people, and the Chickasaw Nation reminded everyone at the World Creativity Forum today of that fact. To me, the dancing elements in particular struck a chord. Although it was not spoken, I heard the following messages: We are here, as we have been for centuries. We are a proud and accomplished people. We are Oklahomans. We are caretakers of the land and caretakers of our people. We are caretakers of our culture and our rich heritage, and we welcome the opportunity to share a bit of who we are with you today.
I’m not sure if those were the messages the designers of this opening ceremony intended for participants like me to receive, but I did. What an inspiring beginning to a fantastic conference about creativity in commerce, culture and education! The conference continues tomorrow – be sure to follow along using the #cwf2010 Twitter hashtag!
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