‘Why We Dance’ documentary to make its US screening debut at Ohio State

Rosel Burt
Fri, 08 Mar 2024 06:40:17 +0000
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Dancer and author Kimerer LaMothe’s film, titled “Why We Dance,” will be screened at the Wexner Center for the Arts March 18. Credit: J Demetrie

From forms of exercise to means of self-expression to displays of beauty, dance can pose varied meanings to different people. Author and dancer Kimerer LaMothe is adding philosophy, religion and culture to that list.

In partnership with the Department of Dance, the Center for the Study of Religion will host a screening of “Why We Dance” from 4 to 6 p.m. on March 18. The documentary, which is based on LaMothe’s 2015 book “Why We Dance: A Philosophy of Bodily Becoming,” has never been screened in the United States before.

LaMothe said she earned her Ph.D. in religion, with a focus on theology in the modern West, from Harvard University in 1996. “Why We Dance” is LaMothe’s fifth book, elaborating on topics from her previous books and studies.

Within the book, LaMothe said she argues that dance has been a historically necessary aspect of human life, capable of connecting people on various cultural levels.

“I move through a variety of ideas we have in the modern West about what it means to be human, and I challenge those ideas and offer an alternative that’s enabled by an understanding of dance as primary in human life,” LaMothe said. “What if we try to answer these questions of what it means to be a human, assuming that dance is primary and vital to our well-being?”

Kimerer LaMothe explores the meaning of dance through her studies of religion and philosophy. Credit: Christian Bielz

The documentary and its director, Nathalie Bebeau, were both commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for an episode of “The Nature of Things,” the longest-running science and nature show on the network, LaMothe said. She said the film first aired as an episode of the show in February 2022.

LaMothe said Bebeau gathered a group of dancers and scientists to explore her book’s core themes. The performers include Indigenous dancers hailing from Montreal performing Indigenous styles, as well as other dancers performing widespread techniques such as contemporary dance.

Conversely, LaMothe said participating scientists ranged in disciplines, from sociology to psychology to neuroscience to biology.

“What you see in this film is scientific experts talking about their work and artists engaged in their work, all working on this theme of why is dance so integral and so vital to human life?” LaMothe said.

Starting the week of March 18, LaMothe will spend a week at Ohio State as part of the Center for the Study of Religion’s visiting scholar initiative. The program gives nontenured scholars opportunities to share their research with the Ohio State community, Isaac Weiner, the center’s director and an assistant professor of comparative studies, said.

“We wanted somebody whose work could speak broadly across all of the different areas of research and learning that the Center for the Study of Religion supports, and we’re really excited about the ways that Kimerer’s work does that,” Weiner said. “She has specific topics and areas of research, but her work is theoretically interesting in a way that appeals to scholars of religion with very different research and teaching agendas.”

The film “Why We Dance” bridges science and dance to explain the importance of movement in humans throughout history. Credit: Christian Bielz

It was LaMothe herself who suggested the film screening as a way to engage Ohio State students, faculty and staff during her weeklong residence at the university. She will also lead and participate in other activities that directly pertain to students studying religion and/or dance, Weiner said.

“While she’s here, she’ll give a research talk and be part of a reading group that are really for faculty and graduate students,” Weiner said. “She’s also going to go in and guest teach a couple of classes and meet with undergraduates and graduate students in that capacity.”

More information about the “Why We Dance Screening” can be found on the Department of Dance’s website, and free tickets can be reserved through the Wexner Center for the Arts’ website.