CMU Dance Program participates in 6th Bi-Annual National Water Dance in collaboration with music and environmental science departments
Hundreds of dancers from across the country came together in April to simultaneously perform site-specific dances near or in local water sites — all to be viewed live and on location, or via livestream. The National Water Dance Project (NWD), based in Florida, unites dancers of all ages and experience from 30 states at 56 different locations to celebrate and collectively take responsibility for protecting our water.
Colorado Mesa University dancers contributed a work to the national effort by joining with community dancers under the direction of CMU Assistant Professor of Dance Kathy Diehl to perform on site near the Colorado River at Las Colonias Park. The performance was a structured improvisation, with inspiration from information provided to the dancers by Professor of Environmental Science Deborah Kennard. The dancers were also joined by cellist and Assistant Professor of Music Jason Pegis.
The mission of NWD Projects Inc. is to promote dance as a vehicle for social change through the creation of new work that increases awareness of environmental and social issues by collaborating with artists, educators and the community at large.
"My desire for creating National Water Dance was to inspire dancers of all ages to connect with the environment and use the physical energy of dance to bring awareness to water, and the issues around it,” said Dale Andree, national director of National Water Dance. “We’re all elementally linked and connected. We’re all part of the solution.”
To create the works presented, all performance groups across the nation submited a short phrase of movement to the organization with one phrase chosen for all groups to open their performance with. The phrase chosen this year was submitted by Diehl, a high honor as hundreds of dancers nation-wide performed her submission.
Learn more about the National Water Dance Project at nwdprojects.org.
