Event

Derek Crescenti with Montclair State University presents a durational dance at Edgemont Park in Montclair, NJ, as part of the final National Water Dance. The performance uses choreography to honor the water beneath our feet and to bring artistic attention to local waterways.

Site and Ancestral Land

The performance takes place on the ancestral land of Edgemont Park, centered around a pond fed by Toney’s Brook. The work acknowledges the park’s history and the ecological systems that sustain the community.

Water Issues

We are moved to act because overdevelopment, aging 1800s-era culverts and intensifying storms are causing flash flooding and stormwater to overwhelm Toney’s Brook. These conditions disproportionately impact neighborhoods historically pushed into flood zones by redlining. The choreography responds to these interconnected environmental and social harms.

Collaborators

The project involves students, faculty and staff from the Montclair State University Department of Theatre and Dance, bringing together performance, research and community engagement to observe and advocate for responsible stewardship of local streams.

Connect

Follow and support the collaborators on social media:

• @montclair_dance (Instagram)

Artistic Statement

Through embodied practice, the performance honors Toney’s Brook and calls for heightened care and policy attention to protect Montclair’s waterways and the communities they sustain.