Dancing together

This summer I participated in an improvisation dance workshop for those who are interested in the climate crisis. The workshop was a precious opportunity for various people ― from a 10-year-old boy to a woman in her 60s ― to be able to gather and dance together.

Improvisational dance shows varied aspects of life. One person moves like a leaf or a young branch in the breeze, another moves like a big tree and another like a flame or a river. Diverse people create harmony with one another, which leads to beautiful moments.

In the workshop, I danced with an energetic partner whose movements were dynamic. With the lively partner, I could also dance freely, feeling the energy in me. Sharing the dance, I could see her movements affect my movements and vice versa. All beings influence one another. All of us are interconnected. Maybe that is why we can keep making efforts to take care of the Earth.

“Due to unavoidable sea level rise, risks for costal ecosystems, people and infrastructure will continue to increase beyond 2100,” according to “Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report” by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The situation is very serious. Nevertheless, this does not mean that our efforts to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are not meaningful.

The report says: “Sea level rise is unavoidable for centuries to millennia due to continuing deep ocean warming and ice sheet melt, and sea level will remain elevated for thousands of years. However, deep, rapid and sustained GHG emissions reductions would limit further sea level rise acceleration and projected long-term sea level rise commitment.” Clearly recognizing the seriousness of the current state, we need to take every possible action. Our every action is important and will affect the present and future.

The government is planning to build new local airports, although their construction and operation will result in the destruction of the ecosystem where various plants and animals live, and a lot of GHG emissions. We need policies that can prevent the worsening of the climate crisis and enable the peaceful coexistence of people and other living things. And to be able to implement such policies, reforming the political system is necessary. But sometimes that seems too difficult.

Nonetheless, it gave me strength to dance and share thoughts and feelings with brave people who are taking climate action, including young climate activists and people who are joining in a campaign against the construction of a new airport on Busan's Gadeok Island.

After the workshop, I took part in the Climate Justice March in Seoul on Sept. 23. I was glad to meet some of the participants in the dance workshop there. I marched with one of them, dancing together.

If we continue acting together for a better future, remembering that there are people who care for our beautiful, one and only planet, we will be able to make big changes.

Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."