Waters Deep

Water is life. Water is a vital spiritual medicine, essential for cleansing and healing. It embodies a space for surrender, memory, strength, and enlightenment. All living beings depend on water to thrive, as it symbolizes life, fertility, and sustenance, as well as hardship. For many people, water is viewed as a sacred gift from the Creator. Multi-instrumentalist Maia (Sonjia Denise Hubert Harper), a longtime member of Chicago's AACM and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra in Los Angeles, originally created Waters Deep as a solo harp piece to accompany a dance tribute, choreographed by Laurie Goux, for the iconic dancer, Miss Katherine Dunham in Chicago in 1996. Miss Dunham was present at the debut of this piece. Over many years, Waters Deep evolved into a three-movement suite celebrating water as life’s essential force.