1. Underwater
   2. Jaguar
   3. Mythic Hunters
   4. Ancient Indian Spirits
   5. The Hunt
   6. Finale.

   The Underwater and Jaguar sections were newly created in 2002 and feature an amazing underwater sequence that includes piranha, a huge anaconda, and native spear fishermen, along with a rain forest jaguar hunted by two native Indians. For costuming, George Peters researched National Geographic magazines and created amazingly authentic replicas of the actual dress of the Amazonian Indians. The big difference was the materials he utilized. Audiences will immediately notice what looks like body paint on the dancers, which represents the actual body painting that these peoples engage in. They will paint their children at a very early age with permanent dyes made from roots and berries in beautiful and intricate designs all over their bodies. Because our dancers had so many costume changes, we couldn’t do this, so George made painted sections of nylon that the dancers merely slipped over their arms and legs. Of course, the real Indians of the rain forest use a wide assortment of real bird feathers for their headdresses. We found that real feathers break and become soiled and ruined easily, so Mr. Peters made headdresses with feathers made out of foam. These took paint very easily and from a distance looked quite authentic. They were also very lightweight and easy to take care of.

    Mr. Taylor’s idea involved a mythic and spiritual component to these peoples. All the artistic collaborators tried very hard to stay away from literal interpretations, instead concentrating on the essence of rain forest life, made manifest through artistic interpolation. Choreographer David Taylor had to be especially careful in these sections, not wanting to offend the peoples themselves by trying to imitate them. In the first part therefore, three male dancers represent "mythic hunters". Arising from the fog, one carries a huge bow while the other two engage in a ritual involving blowguns. The bowman eventually "calls forth" the Spirits of his ancestors. These "Spirits" are 6 female dancers in full white body unitards painted with intricate stenciled designs by local Denver artist Michael Hecht. They make their entrance in one of the most visually stunning sequences of the whole ballet, "coming through" a large cloth skin, as if arising from the depths of rain forest quicksand. The incredible lighting effects on the skin were created by Jill and Daniel Neafus.

    The Spirits dance in very primitivistic choreography to an amazing sound. This is the sound of the "Malaysian hummers". George Peters created these fantastic devices after something similar he witnessed on the island of Java. They are bowed pieces of bamboo, with a strip of special strapping tape strung across them. When a fishing line is attached to the center of the bow and whirled above the head, an otherworldly humming or buzzing sound is created. Mr. Taylor knew that he would use the "hummers" in the "Hunt" section to come, but here, in the "Spirit" section, Jesse Manno "sampled" this eerie sound and looped the sounds over and over. The ancestral Spirits eventually turn into the living hunters of today in "The Hunt and the Hunted" section which features the male dancers performing daring solos with their hummers and a wildly exciting percussive score. At the end of this section the audience sees what the hunters have been hunting. It is a large white bird. But she is not a toucan, nor a macaw or cockatiel. Instead, she represents a Mythic Bird, the essence of, or spirit of the rain forest itself. Because these native Indian peoples live in perfect harmony with their environment, the artistic collaborating team of "Rainforest" wanted to show how a mutual respect exists between both the hunters and the hunted. The bird and the hunters slowly vanish back into the dense undergrowth. The flying and crawling insects return. The floating eyes return. The monsoon returns. The audience is once again lifted out of the vicinity and back high above the canopy. The cycle is complete. The rain forest remains as we first found it: fragile, mysterious and magical.