We need new energy sources, to profoundly change our behaviours - and modern dance unlocks them

In our recent Planet A reframe, we boldly suggest that our “sustainable energy” question is more than (though of course includes) forms of material power that fuel our systems. We need better behaviours to steer, and redesign, our systems away from the precipice. And we need to unlock energy to change those behaviours - and from places we might not have valued before.

As we put it in our “New Sources of Energy” section:

Every planet relies on energy for power. Yet we have robbed our planet of its ability to generate healthy ecosystems. Not only is the planet depleted but we ourselves live lives with the minimum of energy. Trapped on hamster wheels, working to earn to consume more than we can process - we exhaust ourselves. 

Planet A invites new forms of energy to revitalise both the natural world and our human civilisation. In part this comes from our new relationship with nature that helps us to use what is already there - the wind, water, sun - to power our homes and enterprises. But there are at least three more forms of energy that can transform the world we live in (see bubbles below).

The Arts

Art in all its forms can liberate our minds and help us tell a new story of reality. Through the power of art - poetry, literature, music, dance - we can question everything. Too often art is used as entertainment, decorating the edges of our settled society. But the most committed art unsettles us, open spaces for wondering how different things could be. 

In that spirit, we’ve always maintained a strong “Artists” category on this site - practices and experiences that open up the spaces. So above and below, we’re embedding two examples of dance practice that are so startling and beautiful that they unlocked a sheer sense of movement and possibility in us.

Above is a trailer for a performance by an old friend of The Alternative Global - Akeim Toussaint Buck (who performed at our launch event in Kings’ Cross, March 1st 2017). Their blurb is below:

"Souls & Cells" is a poetic collaboration between two dance artists who met while training in Leeds and whose passion for dance and connection has brought together. Déda Derby’s Associate Artist Akeim Toussaint Buck and Crystal Zillwood invite us to explore their respective heritages and to look for the unexpected interconnections. An invocation of maternal ancestors and land, this hypnotic duet weaves together stories, song and ritual. Tapping into the body to find answers about what is universal and timeless.

The second dance clip above is from the Nederlands Dance Theatre, titled Clowns: “Clowns is Hofesh Shechter’s (Jerusalem, Israel) first creation for NDT 1. The Israeli, London-based Shechter is considered one of the UK’s most exciting choreographers and composers who’s pieces often address matters of war, terrorism and politics through the medium of dance and movement” [from blurb on YouTube]

We are up for showcase material like this, from every area of arts and media and elsewhere, that straightforwardly energises. Send to info@thealternative.org.uk