Aaaand.... CLIMATE action!

We've captured ‘Performing Hope for Nature and Climate in the City’ at Bermondsey Beach, which today has been the stage for a ballet produced as a performance of hope during London Climate Action Week.  This emotional and stunning performance on the banks of the River Thames was part of a Climate Basecamp campaign that urges everyone to ‘perform hope’ to help address the climate crisis; a call to action with the performing arts sector to help us face the emotional truth and find the catharsis that will reduce anxiety and give hope to continue the work needed to scale up climate action.

‘Performing Hope for Nature and Climate in the City’ featured some of the UK’s top young ballet dancers, all students at the Central School of Ballet, and serves as a reminder that hope requires us all to perform individual acts to address the climate crisis.

Carney filmed the performance using both land and sky cams, deploying our drones along the river.  Fleur has been working closely with the team at Climate Basecamp in the run up to the event to ensure all pre-production boxes are ticked.  Flying a drone along the Thames is complicated but achievable with the right permissions and co-operation of Port of London Authority, Southwark Council and the London Metropolitan Police amongst others.  Jeremy Gildersleve was also on site to offer camera and edit support as we shared the footage of this phenomenal piece with the global media.

The ballet company performed Bennett and Davidson's ‘I Think We’re On Different Planets’ accompanied by 'Different Planets' by Elliott Park and 'Mystery' by Fabiana Palladino.  An arresting performance that left observers in tears.

Founding Director Chuck Tatham was also in London for the performance.  "The earth is heating up.  Climate Basecamp, the little sister of Arctic Basecamp is important because we are speaking science to culture.  We have a good chance of educating, informing and motivating people to slow climate change.  Performing Hope is showing the world beautiful things."

“Amidst the escalating climate crisis marked by record-breaking temperatures and increasing extreme weather events, it is natural to feel overwhelmed, but hope remains a powerful force, deeply embedded in human existence,” said Gail Whiteman, Co-Founder of Climate Basecamp and Professor of Sustainability at the University of Exeter Business School.  “But hope must be coupled with decisive action, and recognizing that hope is not passive but rather a call to proactive engagement, we advocate for the concept of ‘performing hope’ – the conscious choice to take daily actions that contribute to addressing the climate crisis.” 

The grace and energy of the 18 dancers will contrast with the murky waters of the Thames and London skyline, reminding us that nature performs hope every day whether we notice it or not, and that by performing hope for nature we recognize and honour this essential feature of the ecosystems that surround us. 

“This collaboration with Climate Basecamp during London Climate Action Week enables us to bring together some of London’s best young dancers to perform for nature along the Thames.  With a great choreographer and composer on board for this audacious idea, to fight climate apathy by actively performing hope, we are able to bring energy, youth, and beauty to Performing Hope for Nature and Climate in the City,” said Louise Bennett, Creative Producer for the performance, along with Daniel Davidson.

Performing Hope launched at Davos this year when Carney was working with Ed Henderson and Richard Hitchcock-Wynne at the World Economic Forum.  Working with choreographer Demis Volpi and dancers Lara Delfino and Damain Torio and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt the team put together a profoundly moving production in the Swiss Alps.  This London Climate Action Week performance of hope underscores the importance of youth voices, with the dancers all students whose futures will be directly impacted by the actions taken now to tackle the climate emergency.  

"Nature performs hope for us every day, whether we notice it or not. By performing hope for Nature we recognise and honour this essential aspect of all the ecosystems that surround us."  Gail Whiteman, Co-Founder of Climate Basecamp and Professor of Sustainability at the University of Exeter Business School.