On Saturday, Rhythmix Cultural Works, in partnership with the City of Alameda, hosted the first of four Rising Seas-themed art events combining global music with interactive theater and immersive dance to engage audiences with the impact of rising sea levels.
By start time, the Rythmix parking lot where the event was held was packed with an enthusiastic audience that grew so large organizers needed to add rows of seats. Despite a limited availability of shade, the audience largely stayed for the entire event, engaged by two hours of free performing arts entertainment along with a Rising Seas art exhibit, the opportunity to contribute to a rope of personal pledges to help slow climate change, and informational tables hosted by the City of Alameda and local environmental organizations.
Goals
Rhythmix Executive Director Jennifer Radakovich opened the event by noting this was the kickoff not only to the Rhythmix Rising Seas series but to the larger Rising Tides Climate Arts Initiative, aiming to inspire citizen climate action through a year-long series of arts experiences and performances.
Danielle Mieler, the City’s Sustainability and Resilience Manager, discussed the City’s ambitious climate goals, saying, “We’re doing some really exciting work as a city.” She emphasized the City’s progress toward a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030, with key strategies including Alameda Municipal Power’s commitment to clean electricity and community actions like biking, taking transit, composting, and electrifying homes. She noted that the City is updating its Climate Action Resiliency Plan (CARP) and Zero Waste Implementation Plan (ZWIP) and preparing for sea level rise. She invited community involvement in these initiatives.
Musical artists
Kanyon Sayers-Roods, also known as Coyote Woman, a California Native American and activist artist, stressed the importance of honoring generations of Indigenous stewardship of the land. She performed a haunting native call-and-response song to honor the Earth, noting she had learned from her mother that “when song, ceremony, and dancing stops, so does the Earth.”
Up next was Maze Daiko in collaboration with five guest taiko artists. Maze Daiko, an Alameda-based world music ensemble led by Artistic Director Janet Koike, mixes Japanese taiko with West African drums, marimba, and violin. Their performance showcased the heart-pounding percussion and choreography of traditional taiko and their innovative global sound.
Maze Daiko member Tina ‘Bean’ Blaine noted that the inspiration for their song, Sea Green, came from her experience working in marine conservation. She said the song “invoked that feeling of being in the water and swimming with all the wonderful, magical sea creatures that dwell there, that we want to save and protect.”
Rounding out the musical program was the Bobrowski-Davis-Hopkin Trio, playing a fascinating array of unique instruments of their own design, including a horn made from kelp, a stringed instrument utilizing a swaying pan of water to vary the sound, and an instrument made from tubes, valves, and jars filled with water, where pitch varied with changing water levels.
Skit and dancing
In a skit directed by Jeff Raz (formerly of Cirque du Soleil), San Francisco Mime Troupe veteran Ed Holmes played the Climate Detective from the Future clad in a fedora, trench coat, and hip waders. The detective discussed environmental problems our great-grandchildren were dealing with in a future where “hip waders are hip” due to rising sea levels. His mission was to discover the roots of the problem.
With actor Colin Epstein, Holmes traveled back to Alameda in 1850 when settlers arrived, finding the land suitable for farming and hunting. “It’s almost as if someone has been taking care of the land, just waiting for us to arrive,” quipped Epstein as a settler, referencing the care Indigenous people took to steward the land.
Holmes then jumped to 1872, when local government proposed a tidal canal. Playing the Mayor of Alameda, Epstein noted the City would do “whatever it takes to bend Mother Nature to our collective will for the good of economic progress.” The next stop was 1902, when the canal was completed significantly over budget, with the mayor asserting that future generations could manage any associated problems.
The final stop was 1961, when a plan to fill 2,000 acres of Berkeley wetland was met with strong resistance from environmentalists Kay Kerr, Esther Gulick, and Sylvia McLaughlin—played by volunteer audience members reading from cue cards—who successfully challenged the Army Corps of Engineers plan to shrink the Bay to a shipping channel. The skit concluded by exhorting the audience to learn how to “live in harmony with our piece of paradise.”
Finally, Where Do We Draw the Line? was a mesmerizing ocean-themed dance choreographed by KT Nelson. Featuring a large kelp prop by artist Ginny Parsons and a soundtrack with excerpts from interviews with local climate leaders, it incorporated volunteer audience members to highlight the interconnectedness of the ocean and the need for collective climate action.
Audience reaction
Audience reaction was positive, with many offering a standing ovation. Attendee Lina said she especially loved the taiko drumming and the encouraging energy. “It’s good to see a like-minded community out here, people who care about the arts and the environment.”
Linda, who participated in the Where Do We Draw the Line? dance with her toddler daughter Vida, had previously attended the Rhythmix Island City Waterway event, which focused on Alameda history. She said, “It’s lovely to return to where we are today and look to the future.” Anne said she had a great time and couldn’t wait for the next Rising Tides show in September.
Information booths
Participants could learn about climate actions the City is taking, ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint, and how to support the Bay Area environment at information booths. Booth hosts included the Department of Sustainability and Resilience, East Bay Regional Parks Mobile Education, Alameda County Industries, Kanyon Konsulting, an Indigenous sociocultural consultant, CASA (Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda), the REAP Climate Center, 100K Trees for Humanity, and the Greenbelt Alliance.
What’s next
The West End Arts District will host the next Rising Tides Climate Arts Initiative event, Somewhere to Land, September 26-28 at Hangar 25. The event will feature vertical dance innovators Bandaloop with original live music. The event is free, but RSVP is required. VIP tickets, spirits packages, and St. George Distillery tours are available.
Contributing writer Karin K. Jensen covers boards and commissions for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at https://linktr.ee/karinkjensen and https://alamedapost.com/Karin-K-Jensen.
