Audience Location:
Fresh Pond Reservation, Cambridge Massachusetts
Date and Time:
June 24, 2017 at 2:30pm EDT
Water Locale:
Fresh Pond Reservation
Choreographer(s):
Audrey Albert King, R-DMT, CMA, RSME/T, MA Dance Ed is a dance/movement therapist and mental health clinician currently practicing in an outpatient facility and various memory units n the greater Boston area. Audrey works with children, adolescents, couples and families and facilitates dance/movement therapy, art therapy and poetry groups for Alzheimer’s patients and those suffering with dementia related illness. For the past 2 years Audrey has been involved in a mood study facilitating DMT to those with dementia related illness. Audrey is a member of Across the Ages Dance Company whose mission is to create opportunities for choreographers and dancers of all ages to come together and share their art. Audrey presents at conferences and workshops with clinicians to integrate dance/movement therapy into an office setting. Audrey takes and teaches dance class as often as she can with intent of finding joy in the body.
History of Site and Related Water Issues:
Fresh Pond Reservation consists of 162 acres of open space surrounding and protecting the 155 acre Fresh Pond Reservoir. Fresh Pond Reservoir is a vital part of the drinking water supply system for the City of Cambridge. The retreating Laurentide Glacier sculpted Fresh Pond 15,000 years ago. Native Americans found an abundance of fish in the ponds and streams of this area, and plentiful wildlife in the woods and marshes. The rich environment also attracted European settlers. In the mid 1800s, the Pond was privately owned and the site of a flourishing ice industry, its clean water producing high quality ice that was shipped as far away as Europe, China and India. The Pond became the City’s drinking water supply in 1856. By 1889 the Massachusetts Legislature granted Cambridge the right of eminent domain to acquire all the land that is currently part of the Reservation from private owners in the interest of protecting the purity of the water. The small ponds we call Black’s Nook and Little Fresh Pond were created from shallow coves in the larger Pond by gravel dikes, which were built to help prevent pollution and to serve as a bed for the road that encircled the Pond.
Today Fresh Pond is a favorite place for many people who enjoy walking, running, and bike riding on the 2¼ mile perimeter road. It is one of the largest open green spaces in the city. Birders come to observe a wide variety of resident birds, as well as numerous migrating songbirds and waterfowl that pass through every year. Artists, naturalists students, residents and surrounding communities also treasure this green oasis in its urban setting. Fresh Pond Reservation attracts a diverse group of visitors from Cambridge and surrounding cities. Cambridge is the celebrated home of Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other established institutions like Lesley University, The Art Institute of Boston and Cambridge College. Cambridge is Synonymous with education and culture, a diverse city of tightly knit neighborhoods. This community has been and is passionate about current local and global issues, and social action. Lead leaching into our drinking water has attracted US attention and is a national epidemic in our country. News of contamination has recently hit the Greater Boston area, especially impacting our schools.”Get the Lead Out” has been a highly publicized local water issue. There has been much research, but little remediation. Connecting with our Cambridge community around our water crisis can be a powerful catalyst for brainstorming and social action.
Fresh Pond Reservation has played a key role in protecting Cambridge and its surrounding area’s water supply for over a hundred years. Fresh Pond is prime example of a site that has created an ecosystem designed to support the delivery of fresh water to the people they serve. We want to celebrate the work they are doing, while at the same time raising awareness and calling attention to the recent findings. Massachusetts is one of the few states to test extensively and publish all results showing any level of lead in schools’ water. Almost 50% (47.9%) of the schools in Massachusetts have unacceptable lead levels in the drinking water, but testing is not enough. An Act Ensuring Safe Drinking Water at Schools and Early Childhood Programs, HD 3453/SD1985 to ensure lead-free water in Massachusetts schools and daycare centers. The bill was filed last month with broad bipartisan support with 79 legislative cosponsors. This bill was introduced February 2017. Massachusetts citizens need to ensure our safe drinking water acts are being reinforced and help be part of the solution. A viable option for lead removal at this time is to install and maintain filters certified to remove lead on taps and fountains. Working toward this result is a goal Global Water Dances – Cambridge.
See links:
- “Lead and Copper in School Drinking Water Sampling Results,” report, Mass.gov, updated on January 6, 2016.
- “Get the Lead Out,” report, U.S. PIRG: The Federation of State PIRGs, release February 15, 2017
Music:
Live music
The Performance:
Poet Laureate Elizabeth McKim will be opening the performance. Professional dancers, expressive therapists, students, counselors, artists, musicians, advocates, environmentalists will be dancing to promote fresh drinking water for all! Local musicians will be joining us to jam. The art community will be collaborating with Global Water Dances – Cambridge to design site-specific murals. The audience will have a chance to participate in the performance contributing their voice to the cause. There will be opportunity for interaction, for the community to come together, share ideas and get information as to how they can participate/activate.
[soliloquy id=”9453″]
Environmental Impact:
Create awareness about “Get the Lead Out” of the Schools Campaign. Collaborate with environmental organizations such as masspirg to be part of the solution. Start a fund to purchase filters certified to remove lead on taps and fountains. Celebrate Fresh Pond reservation. Unify and strengthen the surrounding community. Offer an experiences where participants learn through non-verbal/kinesthetic communication and empathy. Promote using arts for social action, site – specific performances. Provide movement experiences that are relevant, fun and engaging for families and residents of diverse ages and backgrounds.
Directions to the Site of Performance:
Directions to the event! Weir Meadow, Fresh Pond Reservation, June 24th 2:30 PM
Fresh Pond Reservation is located in Northwest Cambridge and is bounded by Fresh Pond Parkway, Concord Ave, Blanchard Ave, Grove St. and Huron Ave.
To park: look for the red brick gate house on the reservation on Huron Ave. (opposite Park Ave.). The paths to Weir Meadow are on either side of the gate house. On street parking starts there. Look for the cars with the blue balloons. No worries about the “Parking for Cambridge Residents Only,” as we have consideration for the day. No tickets will be handed out.
Email for more information:
How can I get involved?
There are many ways to get involved. Dancers, Musicians, from the novice to the more experienced are all welcome. Photographers, videographers, artists, environmental groups and people who are interested in participating in making a difference when it comes to water issues locally and globally. Please contact us.
Local Website: