Dancing into the Chthulucene: Sensuous Ecological Activism in the 21st Century Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kelly Perl Klein Graduate Program in Dance Studies The Ohio State University 2019 Dissertation Dr. Harmony Bench, Advisor Dr. Ann Cooper Albright Dr. Hannah Kosstrin Dr. Mytheli Sreenivas Copyrighted by Kelly Perl Klein 2019 2 Abstract This dissertation centers sensuous movement-based performance and practice as particularly powerful modes of activism toward sustainability and multi-species justice in the early decades of the 21st century. Proposing a model of “sensuous ecological activism,” the author elucidates the sensual components of feminist philosopher and biologist Donna Haraway’s (2016) concept of the Chthulucene, articulating how sensuous movement performance and practice interpellate Chthonic subjectivities. The dissertation explores the possibilities and limits of performances of vulnerability, experiences of interconnection, practices of sensitization, and embodied practices of radical inclusion as forms of activism in the context of contemporary neoliberal capitalism and competitive individualism. Two theatrical dance works and two communities of practice from India and the US are considered in relationship to neoliberal shifts in global economic policy that began in the late 1970s. The author analyzes the dance work The Dammed (2013) by the Darpana Academy for Performing Arts in Ahmedabad, India, in relationship to the Narmada Bachao Andolan—or, the Movement to Save the Narmada River—on which it was based, as well as to India’s history of modern dance, nationalism, and women’s movements. She discusses How to Lose a Mountain (2012) by the Dance Exchange in Washington, DC, alongside the anti-mountaintop removal movement in Appalachia to ii which the work speaks, and in relationship to the Dance Exchange’s “Moving Field Guides,” the choreographic and community-based education methods created and utilized in the piece’s creation, as modes of sensuous ecological activist performance and pedagogy. The primary somatic practices of the transnational contact improvisation community and the interconnected transnational Burning Man community, contact improvisation (CI) and ecstatic dance, are studied as practices of pilgrimage and nomadic subjectivization, which the author argues foster Chthonic subjectivities. This cross-cultural analysis highlights the transnational development and circulation of sensuous activism in India and the US, which further elucidates possibilities for sensuous bodily practices in and as activism in diverse local but globally imbricated contemporary contexts. The dissertation investigates how activists, artists, and movement practitioners create spectacles and/or facilitate sensuous experiences of ecological awareness that stand at oblique angles to neoliberal ideologies. The author shows how the examples resist the possessive individual’s sense of separation and isolation at the level of the body and its perceptions by bringing attention to one’s embeddedness within and responsibility for human and nonhuman ecologies, revealing the body as a political agent and bodily practice as an important mechanism for ecologically-conscious social transformation. iii Dedication For the co-creative world-makers—past, present, and future—calling us to embrace, revel in, and dance with our many earthly entanglements. iv Acknowledgments Innumerable influential thinkers, caretakers, communities, and visionaries have brought this dissertation into being. Although I cannot name them all, I would like to acknowledge and extend my deepest gratitude to a few. To my first dance teacher, Marilyn Byers, whose embodiment of integrity and commitment to dance as a political, meaningful endeavor in the world continues to drive me in the dance studio and beyond. To the artists and communities of practice who welcomed me in, answered my questions, challenged my preconceptions, and so generously offered their words and wisdoms to these pages. To the Department of Dance, Chairs Susan Van Pelt Petry and Susan Hadley, and the Graduate School at The Ohio State University: thank you for the substantial funding that has made this dissertation and degree possible, in the forms of a Dean’s Distinguished University Fellowship, teaching and research positions, project grants, and travel grants. I am beyond grateful for the privilege of being supported in this way. To the College of Arts and Sciences and Mershon Center for International Security Studies at OSU who awarded generous grants in support of my ethnographic research in India and the US. v To my committee, Harmony Bench, Hannah Kosstrin, Mytheli Sreenivas, and Ann Cooper Albright, your insights and support have shaped me as a scholar and discerning person in the world. You have taught me so much through this process, as well as in classrooms, conferences, and conversations. Thank you for believing in this project and for guiding me towards its completion with rigor, curiosity, and care. To my faculty, classmates, and colleagues during my years in the PhD program in the Department of Dance at OSU: thank you for being my community, even as I ventured away for fieldwork and retreated into my writing cave for long periods of time. I am enamored by your creativity, innovation, and kindness, and grateful for the opportunity to move with you over the years. I am especially indebted to my advising cohort, Alexandra Harlig, Janet Schroeder, Lyndsey Vader, and Benny Simon, who accompanied me through the process from prospectus to defense with generosity and thoroughness. Thank you for sharing your minds, time, and energy with me. It’s been an honor. To the Cuddlefish, a.k.a. the Dreamweavers, my chosen family, who introduced me to an experience of unconditional love in community and always welcome me home. I am continually inspired by the ways in which your creativity, determination, integrity, and open hearts devise more sustainable, just, and joyous worlds. To Kim, my research riff-raff, whose insightful, fearless heart opened many doors throughout our travels together and kept me grounded along the way. Your love, patience, adventurousness, and integrity inspire me every day. To Cameron, who treaded the winding path of this project with me, who contributed to countless “Aha!” moments, instants of clarity, and lines of flight, many of which are represented here. I am forever grateful for your love and your belief in me. vi To Caitie, for believing in me and supporting me through all of the dramas, big and small. I am in awe of your brilliance and creativity. To my Grandad Ed and Grandmom Carole: you may not recognize the worlds I inhabit today, but they would not be possible without your love, labor, and intellects. To my Grandpa Don, who nurtured my love of writing and intellectual curiosity, and Grandma Lola, who taught me to revel in the deliciousness of the world and to always keep my feet warm. I continue to turn to you for your wisdom and your willingness to stay with the trouble of enduring love. To my father Alan Klein, who selflessly provided me with supportive soil, plentiful water, holistic nourishment, and the space to grow along unexpected paths. I am forever grateful for your watchful independence, your unconditional love and support, and your steady patience. To my mother, Laura Mueller, who introduced me to feminism and continues to bravely co-create more livable futures. Your support throughout this project not only helped me feel safe, secure, and loved in uncertain times, but also strengthened the words and ideas on these pages. Your belief in me is invaluable. To my sister, Becca Bartholomew, who continually teaches me to live and love with integrity, open-heartedness, and empathy. To my brother, Josh Shaffer, whose kind heart and strong will have shaped me in innumerable ways. To my nephew, Ozzy, who reminds me to play more, worry less, and love whole- heartedly. I am encouraged just by knowing you exist, and I am always grateful and honored to step into the magical worlds you conjure. vii Vita 2008………………………... B.A. with High Honors in Dance and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Wesleyan University 2010………………………... Community Outreach Director, Pick Up America 2011………………………... 200-hr Yoga Teaching Certification 2011-2012, 2017-2018……... Dean’s Distinguished University Fellowship, The Ohio State University 2012-2013, 2014-2017……... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 2013………………………... “Ecological Consciousness Through Somatic Practice in Community-Based Performance: Palissimo’s Bastard.” In joint Society of Dance History Scholars and Nordic Forum for Dance Research conference, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 2013………………………... Graduate Research Associate, The Ohio State University 2014………………………... Artist-in-Residence, Gram International Artist Residency, Paradsingha, Madhya Pradesh, India. 2014………………………... “Staging Displacement: Darpana Performing Group’s Creative.” In Imagining Alternative Modernities: viii Interventions from the Balkans and South Asia, Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar, The Ohio State University. 2014………………………... “‘Performance Floats’: Orphanhood, Individuality, and Modernism in Murray Louis’s Choreography and Pedagogy.” In Society of Dance History Scholars and Congress on Research in Dance conference, Univ. of Iowa. 2015………………………... “Staging Displacement/Staging Mobility: