Cassie Meador’s
Moving Field Guide
Meet Moving Field Guide Discover
In this video series, you’ll be guided by Choreographer Cassie Meador and a guest environmental educator to discover nature by making a dance together.
The Moving Field Guide gives people across generations the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of—and connection to—their local environment and community.
Who gets to dance?
Students, teachers, ecologists, forest rangers, community members, local leaders and knowledge keepers, and more.
The project is led by Dance Exchange Executive Artistic Director Cassie Meador.
What is it about?
Developed in partnership with the US Forest Service, this immersive outdoor experience invites participants to activate their senses and observation skills through an artistic and ecological approach to discovery.
Moving Field Guide is customizable for a range of ages, places, and group sizes. Ways to experience a Moving Field Guide include:
Workshops and residencies in partnership with schools, nature centers, and national to regional parks.
Training and professional development for teachers, environmental educators, artists, and park rangers.
The book: Cassie Meador’s Moving Field Guide: A Teacher Training Toolkit for Grades 3-5.
Where is it happening?
Dance Exchange has led Moving Field Guides from the islands of Hawaii to the deserts of Arizona, in the coastal wetlands of Maine and in the swamps of Georgia. We've worked with communities in city parks, in the mountains of North Carolina, and in schools from Boston to Mississippi.
Why does it matter?
Moving Field Guides support participants in creatively moving along a path of recognition, appreciation, and ultimately stewardship of and advocacy for the environment. By learning, moving, and making together, participants come to understand the unique opportunities and challenges of the place.
“Dance Exchange has allowed me to be part of the creation of spaces where people can interface with environmental issues in non-traditional ways. Spaces where people can ask questions and search for answers in community, not just by talking but by moving as well. It’s a powerful combination.”
— Jamē McCray, Interdisciplinary Ecologist
Photos on this page by Jori Ketten and others.