Under an overcast late-April sky, the grass of Millside Park became a stage as three local dance groups joined a nationwide movement, using fluid choreography to echo the rushing waters of the nearby Lower Mill Pond. For these performers — all between the ages of 60 and 80 — the seventh biennial National Water Dance was more than a performance; it was a collective call to climate action and a celebration of environmental stewardship.
Susan Waltner, a retired Smith College dance professor who now teaches community classes for students over 40, taught most of the dancers participating in this past weekend’s event. Dancers embodied the collective spirit of the movement — including Earth Day celebrations — by weaving a shared movement phrase into their choreography at the beginning and end of their unique dances.
“I feel like as I’ve gotten older and I look back on my career as a college professor of dance I’m much more interested in the aspects of dance that build community, that teach about compromise, mutual support and showing up and helping other people — and the way in which moving, and particularly moving with music, always lifts people’s spirits,” Waltner said. “I’m interested in the creative and artistic aspects of dance, but I’m equally as interested in the community, what it is for a community.”
National Water Dance is an artist-driven collective of dancers, students, educators and community members who create simultaneous performances across the country. The mission of NWD Projects is to promote dance as a vehicle for social change by increasing awareness of environmental and social issues through collaboration with the artistic, educational and scientific communities, according to the organization’s website. This year’s local performance in Easthampton was free and open to the public, and donations were collected to benefit Mass Audubon Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton.
The show consisted of three works performed by three different groups: the Dancers for Sea Change collective performing their version of the National Water Dance; the Seniority Dancers from Greenfield performing their version of the National Water Dance; and the Been Around, Still Around dancers from Northampton, performing “Angels Approaching,” a work from their repertoire.
During the performance at Millside Park, the backdrop of green grass, birdsong and rushing water from the nearby Lower Mill Pond complemented lilting piano music and the neutral blue, black and white tones of the dancers’ costumes.
In the Dancers for Sea Change’s version, movements were fluid, like sea tides or rippling waves. Dancers reached their arms up toward the sky, sweeping them back down to the earth as they moved back and forth. In contrast, the Seniority Dancers’ version was comical and lively; one dancer seated in the center was dressed as a snowman — complete with a carrot nose, scarf and black hat — while snowflakes with shimmering headbands danced in unison. In “Angels Approaching,” dancers brushed the ground with pointed toes, turning toward the audience in an invitation to join in the responsibility of peace and care for the planet.
The focus for this year’s performance was “celebrating our stories in relationship to the Earth,” according to a statement from the dancers.
“We all just thrive in dancing,” said Helene Cardinaux, who performed with the Dancers for Sea Change. “I just love the idea that this is happening all around the country … It’s like therapy and a way of dealing with the messed up world and issues in the country.”
This year was the last year of the National Water Dance in its current iteration, the group stated on its website, but the local dancers hope to hold future performances to support local conservation groups like Arcadia, said organizer Jan Alicia Nettler, who danced in two out of the three pieces.
“We all love dancing,” Nettler said. “It’s a big part of our lives… and it’s great to be in community.” Later that night, Nettler was planning to go out tango dancing with friends.
Over the years, the group has performed across the region — from Forest Park in Springfield to West Whately and Millside Park — always choosing sites near water, according to Nettler.
“National Water Dance expresses the best of who we are through the collective spirit of the movement choir,” Dancers for Sea Change wrote in a statement. “Uniting through dance and celebrating community — from urban to rural areas, from the subtropics to the snowy north — we acknowledge our interconnectivity to our environment and the shared concerns we have for its preservation, using the power of artistic expression to reimagine our future.”
“I adore my students,” Waltner said of the dancers. “I feel like they build trust amongst each other, and that’s really important to me. I think they have a lot of confidence in themselves and I just feel like it’s a better world when they have enough confidence to be able to help each other and connect with each other.”
