SCAF feature: Lena Binnington

We have a wonderful group of Swallowing Clouds Apprentice Facilitators (SCAFs) working with our children and youth in Toronto’s libraries this year. First up, meet Lena Binnington.

Above: photo by Sepher Jamali

Lena is a Toronto based visual artist and dancer. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2014 where she majored in fine art, with a specialization in printmaking. After previously dancing, choreographing and directing the Only Human Dance Collective, Lena now joins Momentum Dance Toronto for their 6th performing season.

Lena wrote a poem inspired directly from her experiences with Swallowing Clouds thus far. Enjoy!

——

We Arrive

we spin and twirl
hurling our bodies through the wind

and become the trees

reaching
bending
growing

we glide across cool February ice
dressed in our favourite gliding suit

then make our way home
taking the scenic route

we translate our hearts to paper
colour them gold
blend them with rhyme

and suspend them in rows

for the world to see

we find rhythm in our hands
pattern in our feet

breathing the sound
clapping the beat

together we journey
as a flock with an unknown destination

diving
soaring
squawking

and we arrive