by Rocky Rhodes

“The normally clandestine Clan Destino goes mainstream, literally,
on May 14 at the historic El Paseo. Of all places! This I gotta see.”

          This unusual troupe of Santa Barbara non-conformists, connected by way of the annual Burning Man festival—which takes place in the Nevada desert—have been organizing shows and events for two years, mostly away from the mainstream, off the radar. The operative word in the Clan’s world seems to be freedom: Freedom of expression, freedom from rules, freedom from judgment. Its members embrace the Burning Man aesthetic that anything goes, and the farther it goes the better. Their shows feature a heavy emphasis on sensuality, which gets expressed in unusual forms—fire dancing, trapeze work, aerial rope work, burlesque, go-go, and more.

          The Clan Destino group formed two years ago, when a warehouse space became available in Ventura where private shows were possible. The troupe started with a core group of 20 people, and their shows featured an amalgam of DJs and performers from the freaky fringe. Soon they began doing more visible performances, including a very public appearance in Santa Barbara at the Contemporary Arts Forum’s Voodoo Lounge party on Halloween 2003.

          The Wizard of Odd show at El Paseo, tomorrow, Fri., May 14, will be Clan Destino’s first really public blowout. Proceedings will begin with a performance by Santa Barbara’s own Monkey C gamelan troupe, followed by a Wizard of Oz theme expressed in ways that might blow Dorothy right out of Kansas again.

           The Wizard of Odd cabaret-style show will blast off with a mélange of aerial rope and trapeze work. DJs from London, San Francisco, and New York will be on hand spinning tunes. Burlesque dancers will, er, pop in and out. A variety of aerial acts will include women hanging from ropes and trapeze stunts. Fire dancers will appear and disappear in flashes of heat and swirling orange light. The Tin Man and Scarecrow are expected to make appearances. I suspect Dorothy will also make it, whether by hot air balloon or a click of her magic slippers—it’s hard to say. A special shadow dance structure will include four scantily clad women lit from within a structure of sheer fabric. The show is expected to attract a large contingent of (artistic, tribal) Burning Man types from Los Angeles and San Francisco, so if you dig that vibe, your tribe will be in good company. You are encouraged not only to be spectators, but participants. In fact, the $25 entrance fee will be reduced to $20 for those who arrive in costume.

          In case you wondered, Clan Destino has secured the proper permits from the Santa Barbara Fire Department. The event is so legit it’s scary. And it will culminate with a go-go dance celebration of the fact that the Wicked Witch is dead.

the clan

          On non-performance days, Clan Destino has a strong connection to the Muddy Waters Café on Haley Street, owned by core member Siobhan McCleary. McCleary began doing aerial performances while working for Club Med 20 years ago, and after a long break, is glad to be back with her feet not on the ground. “It’s a more challenging and more adrenaline-rushed form of dance,” she says. “If you already enjoy the movement of a dance—perhaps you were a gymnast in high school—it takes it to the next level.” The troupe includes many professional dancers who take part in Clan Destino events to experience a different, more evocative form of movement; dancers who don’t mind being around things that are on fire; and dancers who believe in adhering to the normal rules of social comportment is completely optional.

          “It’s sort of like a tribe, a family of young adults who haven’t started our own families, or have chosen not to,” McCleary says. “We are all art- and movement-based. We tend to like to do things a little under the wire, pushing the limits of society, what you can and can’t do.”

          And you thought stuff like that stopped happening after Altamont. “There’s lots of sensuality, lots of movement, we love to dress up in skimpy little clothes and run around,” McCleary says. “It’s the freedom of sensuality and the body and art all put together. It’s about feeling a connection to people and the idea that we are not judging each other. We want the freedom to express ourselves to the fullest without fear of being criticized.”

          The event is being held to raise funds to create a huge metal structure that will hold three trapeze artists and a live DJ, which the group will take to the 2004 Burning Man, held as always before Labor Day in Nevada. To see plans for the “Trapezium,” or to learn more about the Clan, visit www.theclandestino.org.

          Clan Destino’s Wizard of Odd takes place at El Paseo Restaurant Fri., May 14, 9 p.m., and is expected to sell out. There are no advance ticket sales so those interested should arrive early. El Paseo Restaurant, 962-6050.

The Independent
May 13, 2004