Laughing in the Face of Waste: Cadence Whittier, "dancer environmentalist" stereotypes, and humor in choreography

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview one of my professors, Cadence Whittier, about her work as a dancer and choreographer. Although I have known Cadence for several years and had the opportunity to work with her last semester on the Finger Lakes Dance! Concert, it was great to have the chance to talk to her more deeply about her work as a choreographer. Cadence has created dances on many different subjects, but recently she choreographed two environmentally themed works that appeared last October in the Finger Lakes Dance! Concert. She was also the artistic director of the concert this year. The overall theme of the concert this year was ReFuse: Recycle and Reuse. 

Why work with environmental themes?

When I asked Cadence why the environment provides motivation for her choreography, she responded, “well, we live in it! It’s a part of my livelihood; my daily experiences in my world are essential to my ability to be happy and my ability to survive and my ability to form relationships in my community. It’s all environmentally based.” I loved this answer; of course the environment should be a motivation for all of us; we live in it!

Cadence also mentioned the connection between environment and community—something that Collen Culley and I discussed at length. The environment brings people together, it is something we all have in common, no matter who or where we are. And it goes both ways: if we live in a polluted environment—either literally or metaphorically—that can prevent communities from forming successfully. 

Cadence also talked about how in the past her experience of backpacking through natural environments has been an inspiration for movement that later turned into choreography, however she didn't identify those particular works as falling under the category of having environmental themes.

Discussion on the implications of being a “dancer” and an “environmentalist”

As with all the artists I have interviewed thus far, I was interested to see what Cadence thought about the stigma behind the term “environmental dance.” When I asked her why she thinks this stimga exists, she stated:

 “I think your taking two words that are stigmatized. If you say you’re a dancer, that’s already a stigmatized word, at least in my experience. When I was in college and I said I majored in dance people assumed it was an easy, a blow-off major. And I think environmentalism has the same stigma. To say you’re an environmentalist people assume you’re chaining yourself to trees..."

I agree that the term “dancer” is regularly stereotyped; dancers are often seen as unintelligent or shallow. I feel this is especially true with regards to majoring in dance at college, as Cadence mentioned above. Although in some ways I feel like being a dancer is looked down upon, I also think people tend to romanticize, sexualize, and even become envious of the very idea of being a dancer—dance is seen as sensual, passionate and fun. 

As opposed to most of the world that study at desks using solely their heads, as dancers we are of course constantly using our brains, but we also learn through moving, breathing, feeling, and listening—in short dancers simultaneously utilize more of their senses to create a fully embodied creative learning experience! Even though on a superficial level some people may stereotype dancers as being unintelligent, I believe that whether it is consciously or subconsciously, many people realize that kinesthetic knowledge is valuable.

I also agree with Cadence’s statement that the term “environmentalist” is often linked to extreme images of early environmentalists who chained themselves to trees and stubbornly laid their (sometimes naked) bodies in front of bulldozers to prevent environmental damages. In this regard I agree with Colleen Culley’s statement that the root of the environmentalist stigma is due to the fact that environmentalists are often perceived to not acknowledge the big picture; our energy does have to come from somewhere, and “if it’s not in my backyard it’s in someone else’s” (Culley).

Humor in environmental dance

I have always noted and admired Cadence’s incorporation of humor into her choreography. Certainly the two pieces she choreographed for the Finger Lakes Dance! Concert included humorous elements, although I would not say that humor was the heart and soul for either of these works. Cadence did not state this explicitly during our interview, but it is my personal opinion that her use of humor in her recent environmentally themed choreography helps the audience appreciate the message she is trying to send without getting “preachy” or making the audience feel ostracized.

I realized that humor is often used to address difficult or controversial subject matter in many different contexts—not just in art or dance and not just with regards to the environment. We can use humor to bring awareness to a serious issue without pointing fingers. With regards to the environment in particular, we are all to blame for a certain amount of environmental degradation, and I believe this is another reason why some people might feel uneasy about the terms “environmentalist” or “environmental dance.” No one wants to be preached at or told how he should be living his life.

During my interview with Cadence it became clear that she is very aware of her audience and of the possibility that they might feel preached at if viewing a work with a strong and specific environmental message. Cadence described how this awareness caused her to alter the theme of one of her recent works:

Initially it [my interested in creating an environmental piece] started years ago with a interested in plastic water bottles… I started wondering, if we’re distributing all this water in plastic water bottles, then were are all the plastic water bottles going? It just seemed like a really unnecessary aspect of our culture… Then from talking to my husband, his interpretation of that idea was that if I only used water bottles I might ostracize a large portion of my audience because a lot of people find that plastic water bottles are necessary [under certain circumstances]… So I decided to broaden my idea and I thought ‘well what if I just look at trash?’”

When discussing the possibility of ostracizing her audience, Cadence didn’t mention her use of humor, but I believe that the incorporation of humor might not only prevent this kind of reaction but it also can help the audience enjoy the choreography if they aren’t accustomed to viewing abstract modern dance. Using humor in some capacity doesn’t mean there can’t still be a serious underlying message. I’m also not trying to say that everyone should be creating funny dances all the time… but I think it can be a really useful tool and something to keep in mind. Plus we all like to laugh!

Mind, Body, Environment and Nature: Blurred Lines and Imagined Barriers

Since my interview with Colleen Culley I have been spending a lot of time thinking about nature, culture, and the body. I have especially been thinking about the parallels that can be draw between the body and the environment, as well as the definitions of “nature,” “culture,” and “community.

Last semester I took a women's studies course taught by professor Betty Bayer entitled Stormy Weather: Ecofeminism. This course focused a lot on looking at the world from a highly interconnected perspective and how understanding this interconnectivity is vital to understanding our current environmental problems. In one paper I was required to write for this class I needed to answer the question "What is nature?"

After re-reading this paper, I decided it was worth sharing here on my blog. Obviously this paper focuses on my personal opinions, and as always I am open to hearing any differing points of view, so please feel free to comment! Also, the version I am sharing here is slightly abridged from the original paper. Enjoy!

Katherine Marino

September 30, 2011

Mind, Body, Environment and Nature:

Blurred Lines and Imagined Barriers

As an Environmental Studies and Dance double major I am able to spend substantial amounts of time examining body, mind, and environment. The diversity of my studies provides me with an understanding of how interconnected the world is on both an individual level of body, mind, and community, and the larger level of Earth as a whole. Understanding this interconnection makes separation of nature from human beings extremely difficult. By attempting to separate people from nature you miss the big picture and are not able to truly understand how the Earth functions.

The separation between nature and culture, also referred to as the dualism of nature and culture, is integral to the theory of Ecofeminism. Although there are many different types of Ecofeminism, all explore how re-examining dualisms can open new paths for thinking about society and the Earth.^[1] Most important to Ecofeminism are the dualisms of nature to culture and female to male because they directly relate to relationships of power and control. In this paper I explore the idea of interconnectedness between mind, body, nature, and culture, and how these connections make the distinction between nature and humans impossible to define.

The problem with dualisms  

Whether we realize it or not, dualist thinking is prominent in our culture today. Dualisms cause us to create imagined barriers between different aspects of the world, such as culture and nature, which in turn causes an incomplete perception of the Earth. Although the act of mentally separating differences is necessary for us as humans to understand and think about the world, it can also create an attitude of closed-mindedness and disconnect, preventing us from seeing a complete picture and discouraging the opportunity for successful, creative problem-solving.

               Personally I am most familiar with the dualism of body and mind due to my studies as a dancer. Once I began looking deeper into the relationships between mind, body, and environment I began to see a parallel between the mind to body connection and the culture to environment connection. The mind directs all bodily movement, whether conscious or unconscious, and that movement can in turn have an effect on a person’s state of mind. A healthy, active body is usually correlated with a healthy mind. For example, body effects the mind through different body attitudes; if one slouches and gazes downward while walking, they will have a completely different mental experience than if they walk with an open posture and conscious, purposeful movement.

A similar comparison arises when discussing the connection between individuals and environment. We have a drastic effect on the environment surrounding us, just as our environment creates who we are both physically and mentally. Simply stated, it is true that “you are what you eat”; the nutrients we consume make up the cells of our bodies, which inseparably connects us to the environment. Likewise, if we inadvertently consume toxic man-made chemicals these too become part of our beings. To take this idea a step further, it is also true that you are what you drink, breathe, see, feel, think, and move.

These are all examples visible, tangible connections between people and the environment, however regardless of whether connections between humans and nature are intuitively apparent, people are and have always been inherently a part of nature. It is only in the relatively recent past that we have evolved to live in buildings and grow and raise our own food, thus creating artificial environments and blatantly controlling and exploiting both nature and ourselves in the process.

Carolyn Merchant: The Earth as the female body

According to Carolyn Merchant in The Death of Nature, the mentality of humankind’s control over nature first developed during the scientific revolution, in which the commonly accepted view of the world made a “transition from organism to machine.”^[2] Merchant compares the Earth to a living female body, and in doing so implicates both the image of a nurturing mother and the notion of something wild that needs to be controlled. She describes the waterways of the Earth as blood vessels and arteries, the Earth as a nurturing womb from which all life is birthed, and volcanoes as the Earth’s erupting bowls. Merchant refers to this idea as the Geocosm theory. She depicts the mining of the Earth for metals as the “rape” or “torture” of nature, stating, “nature herself did not wish to be discovered” (Merchant, 34).  In this way she compares the exploitation and control of the Earth to the exploitation and control of women, addressing both the dualism of nature and culture and female and male.

After reading The Death of Nature it seems obvious that the Earth is essentially a single living organism, yet at first the comparison between Earth and female body may seem almost ridiculous; as a society today we have slowly become socially adjusted to viewing the Earth for the resources it provides rather than seeing the Earth as a whole living organism, including all the animals, plants, waterways, weather, landscapes, and mysteries that exist here. Merchant states that we need a “new world view”^[3] and that we must “live within the cycles of nature”^[4] rather than continuing to live with a mentality of superiority and thus the knowledge and “right” to control nature.

One way that we separate ourselves from the cycles of nature is by disregarding the natural seasons. Rather than eating seasonal foods, we have nearly every type of meat, produce, and dairy all year round. For example, it is completely normal for us to eat tomatoes, apples, and eggs all year, yet none of these products are naturally available all year. We also disregard the seasons by using air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. Although I am not advocating for people to turn off their indoor-heating during the winter, I believe it is possible to live within the cycle of nature much more closely than we do currently.

Rachel Carson: Toxic chemicals and the control of nature

In Silent Spring Rachel Carson discusses in detail the shocking effect that toxic, man-made chemicals have had on animals, humans, and the whole Earth.^[5] She emphasizes the lack of research and “needless havoc” surrounding the use of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, stating “as man proceeds toward his announced goal of the conquest of nature, he has written a depressing record of destruction, directed not only against the earth he inhabits but against the life that shares it with him.”^[6] Similar to Merchant, Carson presents the dualism of nature and culture by discussing man’s attempt to control nature.

Although Carson doesn’t directly relate the control and exploitation of nature to the control and exploitation of women, one can see how these power relationships have affected her life and work in the introduction to Silent Spring: 40^th Anniversary Edition. The intro explains the difficulty Carson had during the research and publication process; because she was a woman many people did not take her work seriously.^[7] Because of her situation I consider Carson to be an Ecofeminist.

One major problem Carson presents is the distinction between different senses of time; with the implementation of these chemicals into the environment, the environment is not given enough time to evolve to adjust to the chemicals, and thus the balance of nature is disrupted. Since people are a part of nature, and people created these chemicals out of “organic” materials, the chemicals in and of themselves are also part of nature—the most unnatural aspect of the situation isn’t actually the chemicals but the fact that we are essentially speeding up time.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Nature is truth

In his essay Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson states that nature represents truth that as humans we are unable to express through the use of language alone.^[8] Although Emerson presents many different definitions of nature, I would like to focus on the over arching idea of nature as truth. Although languages may have different ways of expressing similar concepts, “nature” it is essentially the same for every person, no matter of age, culture, or location.

When reading Emerson it is important to remember that nature and our interpretation of nature are two distinct concepts. If five people from five parts of the world walk the same path through the woods, they will all have different internal experiences because their interpretation of the woods—whether they find it beautiful, boring, scary, or comforting—will change with their language and cultural background. People may even have different or multiple words for “nature” depending on the language they speak. In contrast to their interpretation of nature, they will see the same trees, smell the same scents, and feel the same breeze upon their skin regardless of their individual history. Similarly, the natural laws certainly do not change depending on an individual’s culture or language; an apple will always, naturally, fall downward. Relating back to Carson, perhaps “nature’s time” is the true sense of time, while we have inadvertently created an artificially sped-up version of time that the environment is not able to keep up with.

The nature of movement

I have found many connections between the dualisms challenged by Ecofeminism and my own study of dance and movement. I also found that Emerson’s discussion on “nature as truth” reminds me of the study of dance was well. In dance we communicate using only our bodies and the physical movement they produce. Movement of the body is universal, and in my opinion human movement is part of nature and thus has the potential for communication beyond the ability of language alone. True, we can’t communicate specific messages, mathematical equations, or scientific discoveries, but there is something I find to be very true, honest, and personal about creating physical movement to be shared by an audience.

Over the past few years I have been toying with the relationship between dance and environmental studies. When I began writing this paper I decided to interview two of my dance professors on their thoughts regarding this relationship. The professors I interviewed were Cadence Whittier (professor of ballet, anatomy/kinesiology, and Laban Movement Analysis courses in the dance department) and Kelly Johnson (professor of jazz, modern, African, multicultural, and introductory dance courses).  

One question I asked both professors addressed the relationship between their increased awareness of the mind to body connection and how that connection may or may not be relatable to a better understanding of the interconnectedness of the world at large. Whittier stated that she was personally able to use her inner sense of connectivity as helpful when looking at the big picture. She stated “I think that experiencing that [body/mind connection] at a body level has made me think about it on a more macro level… I am like one hair on my head when I think about my body as the world; unless a lot of other hairs decide to go in the ponytail there wont be a ponytail left. Ultimately I’m not enough.”^[9]

Johnson also stated that a sense of inner-connectivity and inner-knowledge is important; “I see it in students… who are very disconnected from themselves, and [don’t know] who they are for themselves. It makes it very difficult to see the forest for the trees. It is important to know yourself; you make an impact, you are a part of this planet. If you know who you are you can relate anything you see to yourself, and I think that makes you more socially conscious.”^[10]

Although I could go more in-depth regarding these interviews, I feel that these two main quotations provide important insight to the idea of interconnectivity on both a micro and macro level and how that relates to the study of movement. Both interviews demonstrated the fact that the study of movement and the mind and body connection can provide a deeper and broader understanding of the connection between people and the Earth. Although I hadn’t realized it until recently, by exploring this body to mind connection we have unknowingly broken down the implied separation created by the mind to body dualism. I would be interested to explore this idea further and how it relates to the fact that it is culturally more acceptable for women to be dancers and how this relates to the notion that women are more in-tune with both their bodies and with nature.

Environmental Studies: what should we be asking?

I am currently in my third year of taking environmental studies courses, and over the past three years I have never once been asked during my studies to define the term “nature.”  I honestly can’t remember even considering the question before this semester, yet now it seems so obvious a question that I wonder why it hadn’t occurred to me sooner.

Strong environmental studies programs boast of having an interdisciplinary focus, requiring students to take courses in a huge range of topics including biology, geoscience, water, energy, law, economics, math, and more. Yet many of these courses focus on finding new, innovative, and often increasingly complex solutions; for example enhancing recycling methods, implementing renewable energy, or creating new agriculture practices. But why do we have so much waste to be recycled, and why do we need such astounding amounts of daily energy? The reason why these questions are not being asked is because most environmentalists today unintentionally create the same barriers and accept the same relationships of power that are so prominent in our modern society due to the dualisms we have unconsciously created. The problem itself isn’t our lack of recycling, but rather the fact that we are creating so much excess waste to begin with.

This imagined separation and sense of power has strong implications; keeping in mind our complete needs as beings who are an aspect of nature, we may inadvertently agree with the assumption that as humans we have the power, ability, and right to overcome the “problems with nature” that we encounter by the implementation of new science and technology. Carson provides the clear example of using toxic chemicals to increase agricultural productivity. Although it is true that productivity has increased, there are other serious implications of these chemicals that are often still overlooked. If environmentalists investigated the implications of the dualisms that Ecofeminism presents, maybe our role as humans as simply another aspect of nature would be viewed in a new light and the environmental movement would take a different direction.

Conclusion

Emerson’s statement that nature is truth provides a theoretical definition, but in no way supports a boundary between people and nature, and neither does the discussion of toxic chemicals and time that Carson presents in Silent Spring. Merchant draws parallels between the human body and the Earth, which provides a different way of viewing the Earth. However Merchant’s discussion cannot be used to illustrate a separation between nature and human beings.

A distinct barrier between humans and nature simply does not exist because humans are a part of nature. Despite this, many people in society today unconsciously form such a barrier, which prohibits us from finding solutions to our true environmental problems. In order to find plausible solutions to our current ecological crisis we must reconsider our beliefs and values as human beings. Often people do not take time to ever get to know themselves and thus place values in things that, upon further reflection, they may not truly value at all. If people took more time to look intrinsically and understand themselves and their individual connection between mind, body, environment and culture it would help people see the world in a new, interconnected way.

The dualisms between culture to nature, and men to women, and mind to body must be critically analyzed so they are no longer blindly accepted. Each one of us are both part of nature and culture, possessing both feminine and masculine qualities. The assumptions that culture is better or more powerful than nature, and that men are better or more powerful than women has been subconsciously ingrained in our society and needs to be re-evaluated.

   We should also question why we feel the need to control nature in the first place, and if this need stems simply from our imagined separation from nature or from a different source altogether. I realize that in some cases we attempt to control nature in order to prevent disease-carrying insects or hunger due to failed crops, and in these and other similar situations the need is understandable. Yet we should ask ourselves why we have automatically been set apart as an entity separate from nature, and why we are in seemingly constant conflict with the “outside world.”

There is not an “outside world” and an “inside world,” but there is just the world. To better understand this world and the links between nature, culture, mind, body, men and women, one must critically examine these dualisms and the associated power relationships and interconnectivity. By analyzing the assumptions these dualisms create it may be possible to develop a new worldview and find answers to our current ecological crisis based on interconnectivity and mutually beneficial relationships rather than separation and control.

Works Cited

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring: 40^th Anniversary Edition. New York: First Mariner Books, 2002.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Nature. New York: Penguin Books, 2008.

Gaard, Greta. “Ecofeminism Revisited: Rejecting Essentialism and Re-Placing Species in a Material Feminist Environmentalism.” Feminist Formations, Vol. 23 No. 2 (Summer 2011) pp. 26-53.

Merchant, Carolyn. The Death of Nature. New York: HarperOne, 1980.

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^[1] Greta Gaard, “Ecofeminism Revisited: Rejecting Essentialism and Re-Placing Species in a Material Feminist Environmentalism,” Feminist Formations, Vol. 23 No. 2 (Summer 2011) pp. 26-53.

^[2] Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, (New York: HarperOne, 1980), xxii.

^[3] Merchant, The Death of Nature, xvii.

^[4] Merchant, The Death of Nature, xxi.

^[5] Rachel Carson, Silent Spring: 40^th Anniversary Edition (New York: First Mariner Books, 2002).

^[6] Carson, Silent Spring, 85.

^[7] Carson, Silent Spring, xi – xix.

^[8] Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature (New York: Penguin Books, 2008).

^[9] Cadence Whittier, interview by Katherine Marino, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Scandling Center, September 26, 2011.

^[10] Kelly Johnson, interview by Katherine Marino, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Winn-Seeley Gym, September 26, 2011.

Colleen Culley and the New York State Dancing Green Project

About a week ago I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Colleen Culley, a dancer and choreographer who spends her time between Ithaca and New York City. Although not the primary focus of her work, Colleen has created several dance projects with the themes of environment and community involvement, mainly in association with the New York State Dancing Green project. What struck me most while talking to Colleen was how invested she is in engaging communities of people and how she has combined the ideas of environment and dance to help bring communities together. Both dance and the environment are two things that we can all relate to whether we realize it or not: we all have bodies that we use to communicate, at least in some capacity, and we all live on the earth in one type of ecosystem or another.

In case you’d like to know a little more background about Colleen Culley and her work before continuing to read about our conversation, here are some useful links that include pictures and videos:

Info about the New York State Dancing Green Project

http://dancinggreenproject.com/

Colleen Culley’s website, Moving Into Greatness

http://www.moveintogreatness.com/

What have Colleen’s “environmental dance projects” been like?

Colleen informed me that the environmentally themed projects she has created have focused on including community members and participation has not been limited to trained dancers or performers. She focuses on the expression and experience of the participants rather than trying to convey a specific message or image of her own creation. She also told me that she does not focus on specific environmental issues (“for example the anti-fracking dance”) but rather hopes that her work will help participants become generally more connected to each other and aware of the surrounding environment. All of the events associated with the NYS Dancing Green Project took place outside in what you might call a flash-mob or movement choir-like structure. 

Many analogies can be made between the body and the environment

Colleen also discussed the relationship between body and environment and how certain analogies may help participants to feel that they can better understand and connect with their environments. During our conversation she stated that “the environment could be thought of one great big organism, and the body is similar; it is in itself one ecosystem. You can even draw parallels between rocks and bones, and water and lymphatic fluid.”

I would add to that statement another analogy between our bodies and the environment; if we as humans consume too many synthetic chemicals and drugs, or try to force our bodies to do things that they are not “naturally” capable of, we will become sick and eventually shutdown. If we put too many chemicals into the surrounding environment, or try to significantly alter an ecosystem, the environment will also become “sick.” Maybe this seems overly intuitive, but I don’t think it is something we should automatically overlook. As Colleen mentioned, often the idea of “the environment” can seem like a distant, abstract concept to many people. Perhaps by examining the environment starting on a body-level more people will be able to have a better sense of understanding and connectivity both within themselves as well as to our surroundings.

The stigma surrounding “Environmental Dance”

Although Colleen stated that she has encountered some initial negative or doubtful reactions with regards to her work combining dance and the environment, people in the upstate New York and Ithaca area are generally more open to the idea than the people she has worked with in Manhattan. She added that she believes there is a stigma around environmentalists in general because often the term environmentalist is “linked to [people] who aren’t seeing a larger perspective, who are rigidly saying ‘save the world’ without considering that our energy does have to come from somewhere, and if it isn’t in my backyard it is in someone else’s backyard.”

Although I believe there are many factors that contribute to stigmas associated with both separate terms “environment” and “dance” I think Colleen summed up one of the most common negative associations with the current environmental movement; the idea that environmental advocates don’t really understand the complexity of our environmental problems and how difficult it is to find successful solutions.

Impact on participants

I asked Colleen how she thought her dancers/participants had been effected as a result of being involved in the NYS Dancing Green Project and I was struck by how much positive feedback she has received in this regard. Although Colleen stated that she initially struggles to get people to participate, “by the end they always want more.”

She mentioned that most participants seem to have gotten closer to each other, more comfortable with performing and “being seen,” and several even started new environmentally themed projects as a result of their participation. “One participant was a teacher and she started having her class do environmentally-based dances… [Another participant] did a project with me on the oil spill in the city, and that spurred her to create a performance art project that was then performed in Time Square.”  Colleen also mentioned that her participants informed her of how they were physically and emotionally impacted by performing some of the movements from Colleen’s projects and as a result continued performing the movements on their on “just as a sort of health, clarity, and awareness practice.”

As you can see Colleen has been involved with implementing some really cool projects! I am struck most by how many of these projects seem to have effectively spread ideas and awareness, at times even branching off into other projects. Our conversation also spurred me to think more about the importance of community and the difference between community participation and observation in relation to dance and the environment.