Pesticide Portraits: the anguish of erosion
COMMISSIONED by Carmel Dance Festival for Ballare Carmel
“Kelly Ashton Todd delivered a heartbreaking blow in an awe-striking performance by the ensemble” - Monterey County Now
Premiere: July 26-28, 2024 in Carmel, California
Dedicated to the memory of my late grandfather, a farmer of the Midwest, who raised life amidst fields of corn, wheat, and soy. This piece is a testament to his legacy and the profound lessons etched into the soil of our shared history.
My grandfather cultivated sustenance. Yet, this bounty came with unseen costs. Monocropping, driven by government subsidies and pesticides, promised higher yields but also sowed the seeds of erosion—of soil, body, and spirit.
Parkinson's crept into his life, an uninvited guest, eroding his mind and body. The diagnosis, environmentally induced, cast a stark light on the silent, pervasive impact of our agricultural practices. This excruciating disease mirrored the very land he worked, tilled, and manipulated, revealing a shared vulnerability and resilience.
“Pesticide Portraits” delves into this duality—the power to plunder and to rehabilitate. Through the language of physical theater and dance, we explore the anguish of erosion and the potential for restoration. Our bodies become the soil, our movements the tilling, our spirits the seeds of change.
We stand at a precipice, where the choices we make can lead to devastation or rejuvenation. Just as we have the power to exhaust the earth, we hold the potential to nurture it back to life, to restore our sequestered carbon, and to heal the scars left by our actions.
This performance is not only a reflection of the past but a call to action for the future. Let us honor those who came before us by choosing to restore and rehabilitate, fostering a world where both the land and its inhabitants can thrive.
Director/Choreographer: Kelly Ashton Todd
Dancers: Charmaine Butcher, Haley Heckethorn, Javon Ja’Moon Jones, Joseph Kudra, Natalie Liebert, Anthony Pucci, Skye Schmidt Varga, Nicole Bui, Brittni van Dine
Music: Michelle Djokic (cello), Vincent Pierce (Harp)
Sponsor: The soil used in Pesticide Portraits is generously donated by Valley Hills Nursery and will be repurposed at local gardens.
All photos by Cassidy Tryon