Extractions, an Environmental Humanities grant-funded project, brought climate and choreography together on Friday and Saturday evenings of April 5th and 6th in Pauli Murray’s Lighten Theater. The show, which featured choreography and performances by Santana Vannarath ’24, explored issues of ecological destruction and social inequality through an interplay of body movement, dress, and lighting.
As part of Vannarath’s senior project, Extractions provided unique ecological interpretations to familiar fixtures of popular culture. The dance troupe performed to a soundtrack that included Pim Stones’ “We Have it All,” Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times,” and Weyes Blood’s “God Turn Me Into a Flower.” Through an expressive choreography—dancers fell on the ground, performed backflips, and tossed old clothes on the stage at one point—the performers reckoned with themes of destruction, despair, and hope.
According to Vannarath, an Environmental Studies major, the show was an attempt to confront the longstanding difficulties of the dance medium in relation to climate change. As an important expressive medium, dance is crucial to raising popular awareness. However, Vannarath explained that choreography often struggles to do justice to the gravity of the environmental crisis, and hoped that Extractions might dispel negative perceptions about climate-related dance. “Dance can seem like an inappropriate medium for these subjects,” Vannarath wrote. The project sought to provide meaningful climate commentary without “being overly abstract, patronizing, or ‘cringey.’”
Additionally, the project sought to address shortcomings in current climate choreographies. From his research on climate-change communications, Vannarath noticed that most climate performances have limited their narratives to “humanity’s mistreatment of the Earth.” He added that his project expanded the range of concerns by spotlighting the “human social systems” at the heart of the crisis, such as “exploitation,” “community,” and “resilience.” By focusing on the human experience under global warming, the project hopes to broaden the scope of climate discourse.
For Vannarath, Extractions also provided a unique opportunity to combine both of his long-time passions. “I’ve been involved in dance and studying environmental humanities since my first year at Yale,” Vannarath explained. “I really wanted to do something that combined these two parts of my Yale experience.”
Vannarath pointed to the influence of dance on popular culture and its potential to influence collective action. Translating the themes from his research onto the dance floor helped him explore how choreographers might “better engage with climate change.”
“Dance has the unique ability to tell stories with the human body and I think it should leverage this capability to tell human stories as they relate to climate change,” Vannarath wrote.
Extractions was one of 21 recipients of a 2024 Environmental Humanities grant. Since 2020, the grant program has awarded funding for humanities-related projects that explore a range of environmental issues.