“How do we move from a logic of resistance, of putting our bodies on the line, to one of reappropriation and collective joy, capable of sustaining all those infrastructures differently?”
Ecofeminismos. La sostenibilidad de la vida. Herrero and Gago, 2023, p.15
As part of FRAUD’s Stanley Picker Fellowship project A Simultaneous Agreement we are staging a large-scale, community-led performance that traces the course of the Hogsmill River.
The event will involve a cast of up to one hundred people who will perform a simple choreography on the bridge above the river, devised by movement director Neus Gil Cortés. The dance performance will be accompanied by a live score sung by Juniper (Jenny Plant). This performance forms part of a broader community campaign advocating for the Hogsmill River’s designation as a public bathing site. Documentation of the event will contribute to the evidentiary materials submitted in support of this application.
In advance of the performance, community participants will take part in a workshop rehearsal with Neus Gil Cortés, where they will learn a series of accessible movements. These will be performed in coordination with a lead dancer, creating a shared and inclusive choreographic language.
WARNING: Please be aware that the river currently contains unsafe levels of phosphates, E. coli, leptospirosis (Weil’s disease), and other contaminants, and is not safe for swimming. While we hope the river will one day be safe for bathing, we strongly advise that no one enters the Hogsmill River in its current condition.
Call for Community Participants
The performance requires no prior movement experience, flexibility, or technical skill—only a willingness to take part. Everyone is welcome. If you have access needs and want to participate, please contact us and we will be happy to facilitate.
Taking part will involve attending one rehearsal workshop on either the evening of 8 or 9 June, as well as the performance on Friday 12 June 2026 at dusk (between 5–7pm). Attendance at one of the rehearsals is essential.
If you would like to participate, please register your interest via this form.
Dressed in black, we will move slowly and in unison along the Hogsmill.
There will be dance students you can follow, words to guide you, and the movements will be simple and accessible.
There will be three groups: one beginning on the green bridge, taking part in the full procession; one starting on the public pathway side, joining partway through; and one on the blue bridge, joining at the end without needing to travel—ideal for those who prefer to remain seated or keep movement minimal.
Movement is a form of rebellion. It brings us back into our bodies, connects us to each other intuitively, and reminds us what it feels like to move as one—with a hundred others beside you.
It will be moving, it will be powerful, it will be grounding.
Will you join us?