By Sheryl Hunter
For The Recorder
The year was 2005. Director, composer and violinist Kenji Williams was in Kazakhstan to witness the launch of a Soyuz rocket and, while there, he met an American astronaut, Mike Fincke, who told him that viewing Earth from space was a life-changing experience — one that had made him fall in love with the planet.
Williams was inspired by this story and got to thinking about how he could bring this transformative power of seeing the Earth from space to those who cannot yet go there.
Kenji Williams answered that question by creating “Bella Gaia.”
Bella Gaia is a multi-media event, where images from NASA satellites and information about the earth are shown on the big screen while musicians perform original music to either side of the screen.
Bella Gaia shows you how humans and nature are connected and how art and science are connected,” wrote Williams. “It’s an exploration of the relationship between human civilization and our ecosystem through time and space.”
Reviews of the award winning show have described it as “mesmerizing,” “awe-inspiring,” and “out of this world.”
Bella Gaia has been performed all around the world and now Mocha Maya’s is bringing this one-of-a-kind event to Shelburne Falls.
Bella Gaia will make a stop at Memorial Hall on Saturday, June 18, at 8 p.m. The music portion of the event will be provided by Kenji Williams and Kristin Hoffmann.
Hoffmann is a singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn who has a longstanding relationship with Mocha Maya’s. She started performing at the coffee house soon after they opened and has built a strong following here in western Massachusetts. For the past five years, when she hasn’t been busy playing her own music, Hoffmann has been working with Williams on the Bella Gaia project.
Hoffmann was first exposed to Williams’ work when a mutual friend (who was acting on a gut feeling that Hoffmann and Williams were meant to work together), encouraged her to attend one of his shows.
“I loved the show, and although Kenji and I didn’t end up connecting that time, the Universe brought us back around a little bit later down the timeline,” wrote Hoffmann in a recent email.
The two finally connected when she was approached by Williams and his wife, Lale Sayoko (who is a Bella Gaia dancer) to discuss the possibility of her adding vocals and piano to Bella Gaia. Williams and his wife were familiar with her music through another show that they were involved with called “PURE Reflections: Beauty Reimagined,” which was largely set to Hoffmann’s music. It turned out that Williams was as enamored of Hoffmann’s work as she was of his.
“Lale and Kenji said as they were dancing and filming the show in Japan, they had the idea that my voice could be a great fit for Bella Gaia,” said Hoffmann. “A few weeks later, I met up for lunch with Kenji and our future collaboration was born.”
Bella Gaia had started with Williams, who also has a background working in electronic music, performing solo. In 2012, he expanded the show into an ensemble performance, adding musicians and dancers
“When I heard Kristin’s voice and got to know her, it was clear without a doubt that she was simply perfect for Bella Gaia’s main voice,” Williams said. “Not only does Kristin have a powerful, soulful and healing voice, her spirit as a human being, and her motivations behind her art, are so similar to Bella Gaia’s message of celebrating the beauty of nature and the human spirit.”
Hoffmann has played about 60 shows with Bella Gaia. Her fans will experience a different side of her music at this performance.
“The music of Bella Gaia is a world music fusion style with undertones of electronic,” Hoffman said. “I use my voice as more of an instrument throughout the show and there are only actual words in one of the Bella Gaia pieces.”
“The music I have been sharing at Mocha Maya’s for years has been more singer-songwriter based,” Hoffman said. “I call my style ‘Ethereal Renaissance Pop’ and I do think there is a definite bridge between a lot of the more ethereal music I have shared at Mocha Maya’s and the style in which I sing in Bella Gaia.”
For the past couple of years, brothers Bruce and Chris King, the owners of Mocha Maya’s have been discussing with Hoffmann the possibility of bringing Bella Gaia to Shelburne Falls and now the time is finally right.
“We think this is going to be a really amazing show for both adults and kids, both educational and artistic and moving,” said Bruce King. “It is kind of a once in a lifetime type of event for most people and we are really excited to be a part of bringing it to Shelburne Falls.”
Hoffmann agrees and feels that the show will “resonate deeply” with the community here.
“I feel that folks from the western Mass region are quite tuned in to nature and conservation, community, creativity, soul and growth! I am always impressed with the high level of conscious awareness that seems to flow so naturally with those in this area,” she said.
“People are present and ready to embrace both the amazing journey of experiencing Earth from outer space in such a visceral way and also some of the more disturbing images resulting from our mistreatment of planet Earth,” Hoffman said. “It is an environmental wake up call, you could say. All in all, I know this will be an amazing new experience for all who join us for the ride!”
Tickets are $30 adult, $15 for children and students. There is a link on Mocha Maya’s Web page (www.mochamayas.com) where you can purchase tickets. Memorial Hall is located at 51 Bridge St.
Visit: www.bellagaia.com
Sheryl Hunter is a music writer who lives in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national magazines. You can contact her at soundslocal@yahoo.com