Using Performance Art to Communicate Humanity's Influence on the Planet

Humans have been drastically manipulating the planet since the Neolithic revolution, and many people believe that we occupy a new geologic era, the Anthropocene. Yet, many other people are unaware of their substantial influence on the planet supporting them. In an effort to bridge this gap, I created a modern dance to help people understand how their actions affect our planet. Formal reports with scientific writing, abstract hypotheses, and statistics, can sometimes muddy the transfer of scientific information to people. Photographs, films, musical compositions, sculptures, dancing, and many other forms of art can be executed in colorful, 3-dimentional, and beautiful displays that make information more accessible to some people. In my piece, four dancers represent the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The dance begins with the coevolution of these spheres interacting harmoniously. That harmony is eventually disrupted after another dancer, representing the human race, enters the picture. Each dancer moves with specific actions or qualities based on the sphere they represent. The geosphere incorporates floor-work, staying low, and melting, portraying the solid lithosphere and malleable interior of Earth. The hydrosphere integrates circular movements, undulations, and sharp lines, depicting the smooth swell and rough waves of the ocean and the ponderous flow of glaciers. The atmosphere uses light, suspended movements, like air molecules drifting in the sky. Finally the biosphere shows the development of life in cells, plants, and animals. In the first half of the piece, the dancers move as their sphere and associate with different partners, executing a moving, connected, balanced system accompanied by soft piano music. The human race develops later in the piece and initially balances with the four spheres. The second half of the piece is distinctly different. The dancer representing the human race manipulates the spheres and causes an imbalance in movement and connections accompanied by a pulsing beat then cellos and violins. Here, via pre and post survey data, we present the impact of this piece on the environmental awareness of a diverse audience. Initial responses include an increase in sadness and anxiety and recognition that the human figure is disruptive.