Cultivate

Score for screen dance film, Cultivate

‘Cultivate’ - two dancers ground themselves in soil and ritual as they dance a duet with the earth.

Drawing on the success of the 2021 dance film ‘And Breathe’ inspired by the newly introduced Clean Air Zone in Birmingham, ‘Cultivate’ responds to localised climate research about soil health focusing on soil toxic inheritance, farming practices and soil preservation.

Told through combining South Asian dance and film, ‘Cultivate' highlights the human interconnectivity of soil and celebrates soil ecosystems. It features two female dancers, filmed in high winds and warm temperatures for the time of year, grounding themselves in soil and ritual. The toxic and destructive farming process, the frantic urgency needed to sustain the environment and the intimate inter-webbing of roots that form connections in nature and humankind are inexorably enmeshed in this cinematic artwork.