The Beautiful Earth: Environmental Justice through Dance

This class will meet on synchronously on Zoom session (completely virtual)

The devastating effects of climate change are increasingly evident in our local and global communities; they are the crises of our time and for future generations.  We can perceive the effects of global warming with our senses, aesthetically and affectively.  What are ways that dance educators and learners can expand perceptions, ultimately affecting behaviours in response to environmental injustices?  This workshop incorporates lenses of indigenous dance practices, hula and Native American dances, that honor interconnectedness, as well as participants’ personal experiences, stories, and movement practices. Through these ancient dances, we attune you (the inquisitive dance teacher and learner) to your community, space and environment, our beautiful world.

We will explore, experience, appreciate, and advocate for Earth as part of our dynamic, living, and sacred embodied-selves. We will be inspired by these indigenous cultural perspectives and values as models to reflect, move, and expand our kinesthetic research and practices in dialogue and dance-making. Participants will leave with tools and techniques to encourage students to initiate constructive actions toward addressing environmental justice in their communities.  In this course, participants will enhance their advocacy for earth justice through dance and climate activism. We will develop models and pathways to honor and care for the Earth, and therefore, empathically, for ourselves and one another.

REGISTRATION FOR THIS COURSE IS THROUGH THE 92nd STREET Y. You will be redirected to their site to enroll.