Background notes...

"The new myth for our time comes from the same source as dreams. This must be to rediscover earth as sacred, as the source of life here and now. As long as we conceive of divinity as outside or above us, there's no way we can change our course. This is the excitement of our time, to know that this is our birthright; if we don't discover it, we won't survive. So whatever creativity you have, follow it!"

- Joan Marler, one of fifteen visionaries in Dancing With Gaia
 

The best of times and the worst of times on the road, shooting Dancing With Gaia:

Production Notes from the filmmaker...

"When I first started looking for funding for Dancing With Gaia, none of the grant agencies would even consider it. It was too religious, too spiritual, too much about sex, too everything! I am thrilled that now when I bring up Gaia or the Goddess, people generally know what that is and often want to see the movie. Times have changed, and Gaia is making herself known.

The worst time of the production was when my taxi driver in the lonely mountains of Crete started saying he wanted a kiss and put his hand on my leg. I grabbed my things, jumped out of the taxi and ran. He didn't follow, so I got to get shots of the dank mouth of Eiletheya cave, reputed birthplace of Zeus. I was glad I wasn't impregnated on my way to see the birthgiving Goddess. Then it was a long and weary trudge all the way back down to town carrying my equipment.

One of the best times was being alone in the Temple of Mnaijdra on Malta. I had rented a moped and slung the camera across my back; it was perfect that when I arrived, no one else was there. I got to lie down on one of the huge carved stones inside the temple, with the warm sun pouring down on me. It was one of the most peaceful times of my life. The temples there are all built in the shape of the full bodied mother Goddess. Lying there really felt like I had gone back to rest inside her body."

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Significant dates

1956 - Fred Adams' esctatic vision of the Goddess

1957 - Fred establishes the Hesperides Fellowship

1962 - Fred and Svetlana, future c0-creator of Feraferia, meet

1967 - Feraferia becomes officially incorporated

1970 - Jo Carson meets Fred and Svetlana

1976 - Jo premieres A Dance for the Goddess, a documentary about Feraferia's Seasonal Festivals

1989 - Jo begins shooting Dancing With Gaia

2009 - Dancing With Gaia premieres at the Fairfax Documentary Film Festival