Dance for the River

I'm excited to show off a sample of my new project "Dance for the River". I am collaborating with local dancers, UNCSA and the Yadkin River Keeper. I'm traveling the length of the Yadkin River and using dance to interpret the variety of the river and environmental threats to the river that is our drinking source. We "tested the waters" in the East Bend of the Yadkin, which happens to be our backyard! Ashley Ramsey is one of our neighbors, a professional dancer, yogi, and an incredible person!

Here are a few words from Ashley on her experience with this project:

There was always a process of giving up control and letting the river/environment

determine what was available. I had to accept that I could not move my body here in the

river in the same way I might move it in a studio in terms of both technique and

aesthetics. First I encountered feelings of uncertainty and acceptance. Then as I

gradually became more familiar with the anatomy and qualities of the location, I began

to explore, discover and embrace the unique experience and demands the environment

offered. Eventually surprises emerged as I began to realize how much risk I could take

or a particular way of moving that was unexpected. Stories began to form – once I was

a hunting aborigine with strong legs or a shaman. Another time I relived evolution as I

slithered up onto a rock, discovered the three-dimensional mobility of my spine and

grew legs.