The Space In Between: A Climate Justice Dance Journey Across Waters, Lands, and Bodies

The Space In Between: A Multi-Media Dance Piece by Cherie Hilliliil

The Space in Between is a multi-media dance that explores distance—how we experience it, carry it, and attempt to bridge it. At its core, the piece examines the emotional and physical spaces between people, between homelands, and between our bodies and the natural world. Rooted in an interdisciplinary approach, the work weaves together movement, visual imagery, and storytelling to reflect on separation, connection, and transformation, climate justice, and dance.

What began as an inquiry into human distance has evolved into a layered exploration of history, environment, and relationship—shifting and adapting with each place, each collaboration, and each community it encounters.

San Francisco Premiere: Separation and Stillness: Climate Justice Dance

The Space in Between first premiered in San Francisco in March 2024, emerging from a time marked by global uncertainty and isolation. This iteration centered on the shared yet deeply personal experience of separation—shaped by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the long histories of displacement rooted in colonization.

Created in collaboration with artists Andreina Maldonado (performance0 and Leslie Foster (video art), the work explored how distance lives in the body. Through movement and video, we examined longing, interruption, and the quiet resilience required to remain connected across physical and emotional divides. This version of the piece held a sense of stillness—an intimate reflection on what it means to be apart.

San Ignacio, Belize: Land, Memory, and Storm

The next evolution of The Space in Between took place in San Ignacio, Belize, in June 2025, as part of the ArtZmosphere artist residency. Here, the work expanded to include environmental and cultural narratives rooted in place.

This iteration highlighted the story of the Garifuna people and their historical displacement, alongside a narrative centered on hurricanes—natural forces that have become increasingly intense due to climate change. Video imagery of Belize’s landscapes—lush, vibrant, and vulnerable—became central to the piece.

In Belize, The Space in Between deepened its connection to land and water, exploring how environmental forces shape memory, identity, and survival. The work began to ask new questions: What does it mean to live with nature's unpredictability? How do we carry both beauty and threat within the same landscape?

Dubuque, Iowa: River, Responsibility, and Reconnection

Now, The Space in Between continues its journey in Dubuque, Iowa, in June 2026, presented as part of a climate-focused arts and culture festival, Dubuque Rendezvous! This newest adaptation centers on the Mississippi River—a powerful and complex presence that sustains life while reflecting the impacts of industry, pollution, and rising temperatures.

For this iteration, I am collaborating with CSUSM Dance Studies students, bringing a multigenerational perspective into the work. Together, we are exploring the river as both a connector and a divider—linking communities while also revealing the consequences of environmental neglect and colonization.

This version weaves together global and local climate realities, connecting hurricanes in Belize to flooding and ecological strain in the Midwest. The choreography incorporates themes of care, protection, and collective responsibility, asking how we might move toward greater alignment with each other and the natural world.

An Ever-Evolving Work

The Space in Between is not a fixed piece—it is a living work that transforms through collaboration and place. Each iteration holds its own story while remaining connected to a larger inquiry about distance, belonging, and relationship.

Across San Francisco, Belize, and now Dubuque, the work continues to ask:

How do we bridge the spaces between us?

How do we reconnect—with land, with water, and with each other?

In these questions, we find both the tension and possibilities of art and dance connecting humanity, climate, environment, and history.