move thing – dance as reparative action in toxic environments

move thing is a community-based dance project proposing that the multi-sensory, improvisatory, and choreographic structures of dance contribute to reparative projects in communities that have historically been impacted by toxic contamination due to resource extraction (Uranium and coal mining) and industrial effluents (chemicals, particulates, carbon monoxide, and heavy metals). Phase One focuses on research and partnership building in two rural and one urban communities: the South Valley in Albuquerque; East Central IL, the site of coal ash seepage from the Vermillion County Power Plant; South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which has one of the highest air pollution rates in NYC. Phase Two creates workshops and performances with these communities on site. Phase Three takes the methodologies developed and shares them through a migratory journey following toxic trails/flows across the continent. The artists, collaborators, and local community partners offer reparative performances, workshops, and community based actions to draw awareness to histories of toxicity, remediation and reparative cultural strategies and future sustainable practices. This phase will end with the publication of “A Workbook for a Toxic World: dance as reparative practice”, and an evening-length dance work performed in both rural and urban performance spaces.