Voices of the Dead

Choreography, Direction and Editing by Garrett Ammon

Starring Damien Patterson and Henry Maximilian McCall

Featuring Amanda Bouza, Karina Cardella, William Clayton, Isaac Huerta, Jocelyn Green, Evan Pitts and Morgan Sicklick

Music by Stephen Brackett, James Laurie, Kenny Ortiz, Gabriel Otto, Serafin Sanchez and Adam Stone

Performed by Flobots

Filmed by Garrett Ammon, Stephen Blood and Sarah Tallman

Production Assistance by Dawn Fay, Caitlin Goldstein, Eleanor Moriarty, Karalyn Star Pytel and Stephen Stamphl

when everything we thought
meets everything we know
and everything up top
meets everything below
when every plainclothes cop
meets every angry soul
and all getaways are stopped
and all debt is paid in full

then everything we’re never saying
and never said will yet remain
hidden shame and bitter pain
will fill the air and weathervane
‘til by and by the sky will cry
with bitter pain so let it rain
let it stain whichever angels
seek to be forever changed

message reads rest in piece
sleep in solace
f police except celena hollis
say her name
and pay respects to her daughter
black woman cop
but none of that was why he shot her
he was scared
i don’t wanna die
i was there too
when you’re buried alive nobody can hear you
but spirits can
there’s more souls in the cosmos
more peace plans than oslos gacacas quilombos
dig a path tunnel out
i sail boats and drop hidden tracks
for the underground railroad
there’s blood in the river
but moses parted waters
martin at the mountain top
followed higher orders that required slaughter
if it it please the court or please the lord
what’s the procedure for the ouija board
get me vincent harding
they said he’s in the garden
singing with the holy ghost
squeezing our hands tight
til all of us are fully woke

all is said and done

crisis up ahead
lift this up instead
voices of the dead
voices of the dead
rise above the threat
lift this up instead
voices of the dead
voices of the dead

i put my hands up
not a seeking an escape
i put my hands up to better seize the day
outstretched to carpe diem
carpal tunnels
to mausoleums
trying to write a way to the voices
of my heroes
tearful
i was stronger when your hands were on my shoulders
taught me
to be a warrior before a soldier
you got me
and that’s why i’ll push this boulder forward
many hands light work
that’s why all of us are chosen
so stop drop and roll out
stop frisked and hostile
when the police game is ving rhames
my contacts go nazghul
when i pocket dial
i ring wraiths
black ops in the talent pools
brothers dropping out like
under funded high school
so less jails more doors
why excel in failure
losing ground every since four score
and hold the door
stuck in a loop that predicts the final scene
but the very worst of them won’t get the best of me
with archery able arrow sight
big voice from narrow mics
knowing i am clothed in the feathers from a sparrow’s flight
fearing no fahrenheit
parallel or paralyzed
building up a world where i can hear your voice as clear as mine

and where the rainbow stopped
that’s where they gained control
and left him hanging on a cross
and left her laying cold
now everything we lost
and everything we stole
awakens ancient gods
who make our language whole
so let us sing the lettering
and let it ring no better thing
visions of coretta king
delivered life instead of dreams
and by and by the sky will cry
for all of us so let it rain
let it stain the feet of those
who seek to be forever changed!

a voice mail from the summer of your senior year
a secret note read aloud you didn’t mean to hear
a hundred windows in a ten story building side
a hundred stories go dark when you kill the lights
the shadow of another person living parallel
a glimpse of somebody riding on a carousel
a vision of a better life than i chose today
the time you told me that love never goes away

About Voices of the Dead

On April 14, 2017, Wonderbound and Flobots premiered DIVISIONS featuring music from Flobots’ then forthcoming album, NOENEMIES, and choreography by Artistic Director Garrett Ammon. Wonderbound was in the midst of preparing for the return of DIVISIONS, which was to close the 2019-2020 season, when stay-at-home orders were announced for Colorado. DIVISIONS is an expression of the devastating effects of inequality on communities and individuals, the transformative power of protest, and the remarkable capacity of the human spirit to overcome adversity. It was also a recognition of how much work we still have to do as a nation and as individuals to create a truly equitable, fair and just society.

When the Black Lives Matter movement erupted in the wake of the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, we asked ourselves how Wonderbound could support this movement in the immediate and determined that we would disrupt our regular social media activity from June 1-7 in solidarity with the protests occurring in our community, the nation and around the globe. These posts include images from DIVISIONS as well as quotes of lyrics by Flobots and links to organizations on the front lines of the fight for justice and equality. We undertook this activity knowing that it is but a small gesture in a very large and growing movement.

Ammon asked himself what Wonderbound could do creatively in response to the moment. He had conversations with the dancers as well as Flobots that ultimately led to this new film. The song Voices of the Dead captures so many of the complex ideas and emotions of the moment we are living in. Much of the choreography is drawn directly from DIVISIONS and then adapted for the camera as well as our current social-distancing reality.

Voices of the Dead was filmed on June 17, 2020.