Mask drawings from Skimming the Surface participants
Stepping into Rikers Island, and Out
By Valerie Green
On my many journeys throughout NYC offering my signature workshop Skimming the Surface since 2013 I have worked in halfway houses, homeless shelters, substance abuse centers, work release programs, Queens Public Library, NYC Correctional facilities among many others. Each opportunity is its own adventure that can be beautiful, challenging, and/or profound. My latest visit to Rikers Island on January 24th, came after a several year hiatus, due to the pandemic. I was pleased to receive an email from Rose M. Singer's House Programs Manager asking for my return to share this valuable workshop with the inmates of this all-female house. After many visits to Rikers I think I finally got down almost all the rules of getting in and getting out of Rikers as vendor, how does no one teach you this? The first time back in 2017 was an intense and intimidating free fall learning curve. I was relieved all went smoothly, as I was received and guided through many detectors, gates, and check points to the prison’s gymnasium. I was greeted by 10 inmates who thought they were going to make a dance performance! They soon learned they were really going to be entering a journey into themselves to move and process emotions. While there was most certainly the strong defenses and ego masks to attempt to penetrate of this diverse group, the impact was real. We explored our bodies in movement, breath, our boundaries, letting go, seeing and being seen, while finding our voices. We explored what the inmates wanted to moving forward to, identified our resources to feel better, AND the limitations and gifts of our mask. This unique and very different experience for the innates was a journey they didn't quite expect, but were welcomed to receive by class end. The most meaningful exercise for all was finding "what to move forward to" when you are stuck inside a prison. Through our time together there were tears, small and large, flowing releasing, and shedding, and the eventual moments of showing a glimpse of the real self. This deep exploration all among an unusual flow of correctional facility staff as spectators, as I led the inmates to explore their very personal fears and sorrows. As we sat in our final circle sharing, what was most real was some amount of connection that finally landed, and the gratitude the inmates had for my presence and generosity in offering this experience inside the infamous wall of Rikers. For a couple of innates I was their first visitor. They all felt better and more relaxed, had a flicker of hope to look for inside themselves, and new tools to work with for the hard moments, that undoubtedly will continue to come.
As I drove off, and felt my own body and breath, I took stock of the successful experience, and once again felt honored to do this healing work. I am inspired by the power of movement, the capacity of the human mind and spirit, and the opportunity to keep connecting to myself.
“It really helped, today I was in my feelings”
“It feels good to think about my struggles and how I can work to achieve past them”
This program is supported by The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.