Wesleyan's Center for the Arts hosted the New England Premiere of "Water is Rising: Music and Dance from the Pacific Atolls of Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu" on Nov. 10 in Crowell Concert Hall.
The performance highlighted the plight of the Pacific Islands. Scientists report the vulnerable coral atolls of Kiribati, Tokelau and Tuvalu are already experiencing rising sea levels as a result of global warming and climate change.In their first-ever United States tour, 36 dancers and musicians expressed their connection to nature and their ancestral past through multi-part harmonies, poetry and movement that cascade over dynamic rhythms. The performance is a project of the UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance in collaboration with the Foundation for World Arts and the EarthWays Foundation.The event was co-sponsored by the College of the Environment with support from the Office of Diversity and the departments of Dance and Music, and was made possible by grants from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Expeditions Program of the New England Foundation for the Arts. (Photos by Charlotte Christopher '12)
Olivia Drake
Mike Mavredakis
Jeff Harder