The Dancing Species: Human Bodily Movement and the Fate of the Earth

Drop by the Ruby on Friday at noon for a casual art talk and free lunch to learn about the behind-the-scenes aspect of the creative process, careers in the arts, and more.

Humans dance to a degree unmatched in any known species. Humans invent, notice, recreate, and mobilize patterns of movement for reasons that are often not obviously related to a specific function or purpose. Why? Drawing on recent research into the evolution, psychological development, and cultural acts of human beings, LaMothe argues that humans evolved to use movement patterns as extensions of their sensory selves, and specifically, as templates for cultivating relationships with other people and the natural world. She concludes by exploring the vital role that the art and practice of dancing have to play in the present moment in helping humans cultivate the ecological will to act in accord with the well-being of the earth in and around them.