Core Dance Acts For Safe Water In Hawaii

Core Dance returns to its collaboration with Global Water Dances for a week-long cultural immersion and environmental activation project in Hawaii, June 6-13 .

Global Water Dances uses the art of dance to illuminate water issues on an international scale. Their founders believed that community-based dance performances could be a powerful non-verbal way to mobilize people to learn about the whole spectrum of water issues and to take action to protect access to safe drinking water.

GWD's biennial celebration includes a week of festivities and actions that take place from Tuesday June 8th through Sunday June 13th at different locations around the world. These festivities often include site-specific performance or community gathering that brings together the geography of a particular place, a call to environmental action, and the creative arts. People are planning to perform at rivers, lakes, beaches, parks, pools and other places related to water where they feel called to activate and incite change.

As environmental advocates and believers in safe water for all, Core Dance choses to take action on the frontlines of the urgent environmental crisis on the Big Island of Hawaii. By partnering with the Hawai'i Wildlife Fund at Kamilo Point and Hawai'i Environmental Restoration in the lowland rainforest of Keau'ohana, Core Dance Artists with Artistic Director, Sue Schroeder, will work alongside environmentalists and movement artists to aid in local cleanup efforts and build purposeful connections with local community members who have been impacted by the crisis firsthand.

Working on the frontlines of the climate crisis, engaging with the local community, learning from environmental experts and sharing in movement practice, Core Dance will contribute directly to the restoration and conservation of some of Hawaii's most treasured coastlines and rainforests. Megan Lamson, one of Core Dance's collaborators from the Hawai'i Wildlife Fund shares "the bulk of our work is within the Ka'ū Forest Reserve. A typical day down there, we couple reconnaissance efforts and marine-debris recovery together, so we're often scoping out both how our ongoing restoration projects are going along the coast and around the anchialine pools, which is a unique kind of coastal ecosystem, and the war between the native and invasive species in the native coastal strand plant community."

From Core Dance Artistic Director, Sue Schroeder: "Prior to arriving in Hawaii, the Core Dance Artists have taken the pono pledge and participated in the carbon offset of our travel to Hawaii through Carbon Buddy - both as actions to hold ourselves accountable for any cultural or environmental impact incurred during the trip. In doing so we acknowledge the responsibility to actively practice and share our findings to our audiences around the globe."

While in Hawaii the Core Dance Artists will participate in four days of cultural immersion with esteemed hula instructor Ryan McCormack, who originates from Waimānalo and holds a Masters Degree in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Alongside this cultural immersion, the Artists will offer a series of dance/movement classes, Moving with and for our Water, at Volcano Art Center. These classes will culminate in an event on June 13th, where Core Dance will gather with local community members to offer a blessing to the Niaulani Rainforest. This event will be live-streamed via the Core Dance Facebook page and all are encouraged to tune in and take part in this important moment of reflection.

On June 20th community members around the world will have an added opportunity to learn and engage with our efforts, by tuning in to a live-stream with Core Dance's Artistic Director Sue Schroeder and Vannia Ibarguen, Artistic Director Global Water Dances. This event will include a rich conversation between the two and the premiere of the Core Dance

Join the live-stream event at Volcano Arts Center on June 13th here: https://fb.me/e/xUBpOFq8

Join the live-stream event with Sue Schroeder and Vannia Ibarguen on June 20th here: https://fb.me/e/1vkrJm6b8

Find out more about this project here: https://www.coredance.org/global-water-dances.

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