Humility : Drift, a site-responsive dance performance and exploration of embodied ecology on Saturday May 18, 2024

Sara Caplan. Photo by Allina Yang

Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone presents Humility : Drift, a site-responsive dance performance and exploration of embodied ecology, on Saturday, May 18, 2024 from 11am - 12:30pm at Richmond Beach Saltwater Park in Shoreline, WA. (Exact location here)

The event is free, but RSVP here

About the performance: Dancers will lead audience members on a short walk, followed by a performance that traverses the beach terrain. Humility : Drift is a dance taught to people by the beach ecology itself. It’s an experiment in relating to the more-than-human world through sensation-based empathy. The title is inspired by the etymological relationship between “humility,” to lower oneself, and the Latin word “humus,” or soil.

Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone talks with young audience members.
Photo by Allina Yang

Afterward, audience members are invited to take a free copy of our "embodied ecology cards," created by local scientific illustrator Madison Mayfield, and explore beach ecology through movement. Performers will remain on site to answer questions about the cards and methodology.

About the embodied ecology cards: The cards are inspired by traditional field guides, but they question Western naturalism’s presumed hierarchy of knowledge by including “scores,” or movement suggestions, alongside the expected factual information.

The scores distill hours of site-responsive dance improvisation and present basic movement concepts in accessible terms. Participants use the cards to engage with ecology through physical sensation, imagination, and play. This practice builds knowledge and empathy simultaneously, resulting in a deeper emotional investment in land as teacher, rather than object.

About the artists:

Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone is the director of Humility : Drift. She received a 4Culture Artist Grant in support of the project. She has 12 years of experience directing and dancing in NYC, Chicago, and Seattle. Select additional support includes a City of Shoreline Art Cottage Artist in Residence for Humility : Drift, and a University of Washington Body Space Time residency to support dance and music ensemble improvisation. Nicole is also a naturalist with Washington State University Beach Watchers.

Sara Caplan is a performer, choreographer and teacher based in Seattle. She has performed in works choreographed by Kendra Portier, Mariah Maloney, Beth Gill, Elise Beers AachixQaaduug, Bri Wilson, Shenandoah Harris, Madeleine Gregor and Anja Kellner-Rogers. She currently dances for Karin Stevens Dance and collaborates on various independent movement projects.

Madison Mayfield is a natural history artist, taxidermist, educator, and museum professional based in Seattle, WA. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology: Ecology, Evolution & Conservation as well as a certificate in Natural History Illustration from the University of Washington.

Maia Melene D’urfé is a dancer and choreographer in the contemporary, house, and breaking communities of Seattle. They work with dancers, musicians and mixed media artists to create worlds of movement that are full of visceral texture, abstraction, and vivid musicality. Through their dancing, choreography, and curation, Maia works on exploring abstract and personal thoughts through movement, and works to meld their experience with street styles,contemporary dance and music to create something intricate and visceral.

Ellie van Bever is a freelance dancer and producer based in Seattle. She has worked with Christopher K. Morgan and Artists, Jillian Peña, Katie Scherman and Artists, Amirov Dance Theater, AnA and others. Since moving to Seattle she has worked with Beth Twigs of The Gray and is a current member of Karin Stevens Dance. She recently produced and danced in Dragonslayer, an immersive dance-theater performance, at Good Shepherd Center with AnA.

Artist statement: We honor the Indigenous people of the Salish Sea. We honor dxʷdəwʔabš (Duwamish), dxʷsəq̓ q̓ʷəbš (Suquamish), sduhubš (Snohomish), and dxʷlilap (Tulalip) people, and other Indigenous bands, tribes, and people who cared for and continue to care for these lands and waters since time immemorial. We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn from kekektwsidat, or place of gathering kinnikinik, in all of its brilliance.

This project is part of our effort to reckon with our own backgrounds, and what it means to live in a good way amidst the wreckage of this world. We believe that dance improvisation offers unique tools for learning how to pay attention. In doing so, we may begin to feel anempathetic and relational bond with the life around us. We want to know: Can sensation lead to attention, attention to devotion, devotion to change?

This work is supported in part by a grant from 4Culture.