What if human beings evolved to dance? In her Ruby Friday talk, Kimerer LaMothe explores this question and its implications for addressing climate change.
Kimerer L LaMothe is a dancer, philosopher, and scholar of religion. She earned her doctorate in religious studies from Harvard University before teaching at Brown and then Harvard. In 2005, she moved to a farm with her musician partner and their five children, in search of a place where she could write and dance in closer proximity to the natural world. She is the author of six books, including Why We Dance: A Philosophy of Bodily Becoming (Columbia, 2015), and numerous articles in the emergent field of religion and dance. She has created three solo dance concerts, and wrote the book, lyrics, and music for a full-length musical: Happy If Happy When. LaMothe has received fellowships for her work from the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions, and the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council. She writes a regular blog for Psychology Today, and serves as a consultant, lecturer, guest teacher, and choreographer for colleges and universities, dance companies, and secondary schools. When not writing, singing, or dancing, she is helping her children take care of their ox, three cows, four cats, thirteen hens, and large vegetable garden.
