Hinduism says all of creation can be divided this way: the offerer (agni) and the offering (soma); that which eats and that which is eaten. We cannot escape our consumerism. I will eat this venison pot roast tonight, which one year ago was nibbling in the woods, living its last day. But we are certainly on our way to being devoured, in one way or another: by time, by bacteria, by fire, by our own bodies.
And we are devoured all the time. In a video I watch with my students* a Kabuki master talks about his craft: "Kabuki is burnt energy." I finally understand what he is saying -- the performance is an offering; it is the consumation of energy through action and sound onstage that makes it powerful. The waves of vibration from that action engulf the audience.
I like a performer who instantly explodes, or slowly incinerates, the form of his action to reveal the intention.
*Dancing: Dance Centerstage
