—UPDATE IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19—
We are Still Dancing! National Water Dance is not cancelled, instead we are adapting to our changing circumstances and the need for everyone to practice social distancing by moving forward with exclusively online performances! Participants will live stream their dance on social media (and dance groups will stream live on our website as well, link to live stream will be up at 4:ooPM EST) from wherever they are, be it their living room or back yard and we will share all the videos from participants on social media.
In 2020 we are planning the largest National Water Dance yet and Dancing for Our Lives: Re-Imagining Our Future. Participants from across the nation will join together wherever they are for a simultaneous dance on April 18, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. EST. In the wake of COVID-19, participants will be streaming their dances live on social media (and dance groups will stream live on our website as well). Watch our website and Facebook and Instagram accounts on April 18th as we share everyone’s videos from around the county.
National Water Dance is first and foremost a Movement Choir—a collective body of dancers and movers physically engaged in drawing attention to and action on water issues. For 2020 our focus is on the climate crisis.
We believe in the power of dance as a means to somatic empathy—Dance speaks to the physical connection we have with ourselves as ecological systems existing in community with all other systems. We understand that in order to save the Earth we must first recognize that we are in interdependence with all living things. National Water Dance is creating a community of dancers that reestablishes our connection with each other.
We are thrilled to partner again with Pedestrian Wanderlust, check out their website for a taste of their movement work filming improvised dance in public spaces. Through their video portrait series and free public dance jams, Pedestrian Wanderlust is committed to inspiring others to explore creative movement and bringing communities together to share in the joy of dance.
If you’re a choreographer and want to get involved planning a National Water Dance in your community as part of our 2020 simultaneous dance performance get all the details on participating now and sign up to be part of this collective call to protect our water!
Actions to Take
National Water Dance is:
- continuing to engage with environmental groups to educate participants and audience members on the accelerating climate crisis we are facing.
- encouraging all participants to partner with voting rights and registration groups to get out the vote and vote for politicians that take climate change seriously.
- recognizing the wisdom of indigenous people whose connection to the Earth is our guide and acknowledging the history of the land on which we dance and the culture of those from whom it was taken.
- creating a “Yes Campaign” based on the power of positive action and inclusivity. No action is too small but we need every action to move us forward together. Collectively we can make a difference if we believe that we can. (read this for concrete ideas on taking action.)
- acknowledging the world around us and the delight that it brings everyday as our reason to act (learn more by reading Ross Gay’s Book of Delights)