Daisy Saelen Hafstad knows what it means to spin on a floor and dance in celebration of life. When approaching her Soul Shoes contribution Daisy thought about the symbols in her own life that lifted her spirits. For decades she has orchestrated and directed festivals, shows and celebratory events in Norway- always bringing to her audience high drama, festive surroundings and glittering costumes. Daisy knows full well how dance and music raises spirits, releases sorrows and replenishes connection.
It is fitting that Ms. Hafstad’s Soul Shoes are gold. Gold and well worn. Gold and hauntingly empty. Simple gold shoes that speak of the young men and women who pranced and danced on sidewalks, basesments, roof-tops and streets. The shoes painfully remind us of the last dance, the dancing that has been abruptly ended…and the lives of the countless teen-agers murdered by violence from Chicago to Oslo. They speak of the unspeakable acts of Anders Breivik who killed 77 people and wounded more than 240 others when he bombed central Oslo and then opened fire at an island youth camp in 2011. They are telling us that ending violence is an international priority and we must not be silent.
