National Water Dance set for April
Students at universities, private dance schools, elementary schools and dance companies, from the University of Alaska to Miami Dade College in Florida, from the Dance Engagements Company in California to Bates College in Maine, will unite on Saturday, April 12 in a simultaneous, site-specific dance at a river, a bay, a lake, the ocean or any water site near to them.
This spectacular celebration of arts in action is designed to initiate a national “water ethic” in the U.S. – one that can inform and inspire both participants and audience members to take responsibility for conserving and protecting the water that they use and enjoy.
National Water Dance began in 2011 as a local event, initiated by the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida to bring attention to the power and fragility of Florida’s waterways. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Dale Andree and Producer Daniel Lewis, National Water Dance, in less than three years, has grown to a national event involving more than 70 institutions in 30 states around the country. Participants experience dance as a form of social activism, an opportunity to be part of a movement choir that creates social change through art.
An idea first conceived by Rudolf Laban, a movement choir is a community of people dancing together for a common purpose. Performances often take place outdoors, in celebration of the environment, and audience members are frequently invited to join the dance.
The event directors, based in Florida, will connect through the internet, sharing movement phrases and gestures with participants around the U.S. These movements will be the common source from which a dance phrase will be created.
For more information about participating in the 2014 National Water Dance event, contact Dale Andree at dandree@nationalwaterdance.org.
As of January, the following institutions are participating in the National Water Dance (the list is organized in alphabetical order by state):
Alaska
University of Alaska
Arkansas
Henderson State College
Hendrix College
California
Loyola Marymount University
Dance Engagements
Crenshaw Yoga and Dance
Connecticut
Wesleyan University
Florida
NOVA Southeastern University
University of Florida
College of Central Florida
Northwest Florida State College
Florida Gulf Coast University
Midway Elementary School of the Arts
New World School of the Arts
Miami Dade College College Kendall Campus/Jubilation Dance Ensemble
Broward College
Palm Beach Atlantic University
Earth Ethics Institute at Miami Dade College
University of Tampa
Pensacola State College
South Miami Middle Community School
Karen Peterson and Dancers
Arthur and Polly Mays 6-12 Conservatory of the Arts
Florida Atlantic University
RR Moton Elementary
Florida State University
Georgia
University of Georgia
Indiana
Indiana University Bloomington
Iowa
Luther College
Louisiana
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Southeastern Louisiana University Dance Performance Project
Maine
Bates College
Maryland
Towson University
Massachusetts
The Yard
Mississippi
University of Mississippi
University of Southern Mississippi
Belhaven University
Missouri
Webster University
Nebraska
The Moving Company, University of Nebraska Omaha
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
New Jersey
Georgian Court University
New York
Briarcliff High School
University of Rochester
NDEO Brockport Student Chapter
Horace Mann School
North Carolina
Elon University
Bradley Middle School
Ohio
Kent State University
Oklahoma
University of Central Oklahoma
Oregon
Southern Oregon University
Pennsylvania
DeSales University
Temple University
Muhlenberg College
Slippery Rock University
Rhode Island
JMW High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
South Carolina
Lander University
Tennessee
Sewanee: The University of the South
Chattanooga Dance Projects
Chattanooga Ballet
Cleveland City Ballet
Virginia
The Governors School for the Arts
Washington
Cornish College of the Arts
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Kennedy Elementary School
Dance Education Center Stevens Pt.
Wyoming
University of Wyoming