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I have discovered in my own practice of Contact Improvisation that breath, body contact, kinaesthetic space awareness (an awareness of what is going on around my body, in my own body without the need to see), and a heightened sense of ‘listening’, all encouraged through my relationship with my partner or other dancers, become the values that measure time and space. I apply these values in my own ongoing ecological practice. I remember the body-felt sensations and I allow time and space to be influenced by the environment I am in.
If I were to remake CRUDE, I would let the initial ‘impulsion’ (Dewey, 1934, p. 81) guide the somatic exploration process without taking the viewers’ perception of a possible advocacy message into consideration. I cannot provide a concrete answer to what will bring awareness to the oceans or to what will encourage less exploitation of natural resources. I do, however, present a list of ideas, which I hope to transform into habitual actions through practice. This process will help the practitioner to understand how to be non-anthropocentric, to ‘listen’ and to embody ecological holism. The list is as follows:
Find places and moments to integrate somatic movement into daily life.
Practise Contact Improvisation and expand the practice by teaching it. Introduce CI in open movement situations.
Practise Ujayi Pranayama (Ocean Breath), specifically in stressful situations.
Be present in parks and with nature. Pick up any trash.
Support and buy local food and goods.
Continue to teach somatic movement.
‘Listen’ to body to experience the seasonal changes, environmental stressors and natural occurrences.
Practice Authentic Movement.
Take the time to feel the earth.
Take time to meditate away from technology.
I began to breathe with the ocean and to match my breath to the sounds of the waves, as I would do with a partner in Contact Improvisation. Breath is one way to remember the present sensual experience. As I sit down to create a reworking of CRUDE, I visit the ocean breath and start from there. I recognise that it is not possible to completely remake the natural aesthetic experience in the studio or on the stage. I can attempt to produce an aesthetic experience through art more true to a natural aesthetic and less true to my discretion, as did Meador and Soto. One idea I will try is to invite the audience to breathe with me, or maybe they will just begin on their own.
I can raise awareness about environmental catastrophes through dance, but I must also find a way to change my connection with the environment.
The dancers that I worked with on CRUDE set up a donation basket for the Gulf Relief Fund. Show the Spill was a website created by JB Reed and posted on Facebook that gave viewers access to live footage of the spill
Callicott, J. B. (1984). Non-Anthropocentric value theory and environmental ethics. American Philosophical Quarterly, 21, 299–309.
6 ^ Authentic Movement is a movement practice usually performed with two or more people. One person moves, generally with eyes closed, while other people witness. The mover allows the movement impulse to come from within at that present moment. The witness(s) watch without judgment and with a focus on inner awareness and feeling in reaction to the movement. For more information on authentic movement, see http://www.authenticmovementcommunity.org
I found a huge pine tree with many intricate branches and I lay down under its canopy as I began to witness the tree. I then began to look at all the interwoven branches and I noticed the beauty of the sun pockets shinning through them. Peacefully and gently, the branches swayed with the slight breeze. At first I tried to understand what it must feel like to be a tree. I kept trying to imagine what it would be like to have a million arms and legs interwoven around the trunk of my stable body core. I stood up and did a few arm-twisting yoga poses. I thought, ‘if I can look like the tree then maybe I will be able to understand its inner authentic spirit.’ Something wasn’t right though. An ‘aha’ moment occurred. I wasn’t ‘listening’ to the spirit and character of the tree. I was just superimposing what the tree looked like onto my body. But I didn’t need to replicate the tree to find its authenticity. I realized that I needed to stop trying to personify the tree and to instead ‘listen.’ So, I stood still as a witness, I stood long and tall next to the tree. My body felt strong with my confidence in my feet and I stood tall with the tree, knowing that we could both make it through the harsh winter that was to come. Then I began to move with my eyes closed and I let the tree be my witness. Feelings of apprehension surfaced as I reflected on my personal struggle with ethical dilemmas. In this exercise, I understood how dancing with the environment through movement activities that require trust, ‘listening’, understanding, and connecting encourages empathy between species. I understood that I cannot know what the tree needs or experiences and all I can know is what I experience, but in doing so I can understand my reciprocal role in an ecosystem.
One way to shift the ‘human separate’ paradigm is to begin to view the ecosystem as community. Environmental dance is not about getting the environmental message out as a task but rather it is about habituating non-anthropocentric practices and values.
The role of an environmental dancer, and any environmental activist, I propose, is to find a practice that habituates ‘listening’ and non-anthropocentric values. Authentic Movement is one such practice as well as Contact Improvisation (CI). The basic structure of CI allows for dancers to interact with each other without any allocated dominant dancer occurrences integrated into the form. It involves ‘listening’ with your own body to the other bodies moving in space. CI removes hierarchal positioning from the dance making practice and is not an ‘I’-centred dance methodology. In fact, it shares the same principles of community, sharing, ‘listening’ and reciprocity as an ecosystem. Similar to CI, ecological dance and activism should evolve through a reciprocal connective understanding. Practising CI is an effective method for developing the empathy and ‘listening’ skills needed for ecological dance making and perceptive outdoor relationships.