Loving Lalibela…

This fall, I journeyed to Ethiopia for research — and had a chance to enjoy the medieval rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. CNN published an article this week on the Orthodox Christmas traditions in Lalibela, urging its readers to walk with pilgrims on a journey to Ethiopia’s New Jerusalem.

Wherever I go (because of my background as a dancer, choreographer, and archaeologist), I like to consider how my body relates to the cultural heritage I am encountering. When we approached St. George’s Church, dug deep into the ground, I didn’t feel it would be right to do a pose standing up. So I laid down and tried mirroring the cruciform shape of the church, while honoring the flat ground one has to walk upon before moving on to its majesty below.

I had dreamt of visiting this particular church for decades (I had to pass a PhD exam in Coptic at Brown University and later studied Ge’ez at Harvard, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church) — so I was excited to explore it from every angle. When we finally got close to the entrance below, I noticed that the cross-shape was imperceptible, and felt inspired to embody that shape at one of its edges before taking a step inside…