The Seldoms, which presents multimedia performances exploring complex issues, performs the Chicago premiere of Founding Artistic Director Carrie Hanson’s Floe. Performances take place Thursday and Friday, March 12 and 13 at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.
Floe is a compelling dance theatre work that confronts the climate crisis head-on: melting polar ice, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, forced migration, and the stark tension between denial and undeniable evidence, while exploring themes of adaptation and resilience. The piece powerfully embodies the fractured global dialogue on climate change – from anti-science conspiracy theories to the profound and immediate consequences of global warming.
True to The Seldoms’ longstanding commitment to environmental themes, Floe joins a body of work that reimagines our relationship to Earth and all its inhabitants through stewardship, sustainability, pluralism, and justice, embracing the reality that constant change is the new normal.
Choreographed and directed by Hanson, Floe features set/visual design by Bob Faust, projections by Liviu Pasare, lighting design and technical direction by Julie Ballard, costumes by Jeff Hancock, sound design and composition by Mikhail Fiksel, and text by Seth Bockley.
Floe premiered in January 2020 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, featuring a powerful community cast who shared their personal responses to climate change through intimate pop-up performances. Graduate students from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies served as audience guides, weaving in narrated insights from their scripted climate research.
In developing the work, Hanson drew profound inspiration from those directly impacted by the devastating 2018 Wisconsin floods, the rapidly changing sea ice of the Arctic’s Beaufort Sea Lagoon, and the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Houston. At its core, Floe reveals the human body as the true centre of gravity in this urgent, human-driven climate crisis.
“We set out to make Floe because we believe that the fluent and articulate body is a powerful means to convey what is at stake in our warming world and a way to understand our culpability, fragility, and mandate,” Hanson said. “We thank all the people who shared their experiences and expertise; we aim to carry those stories forward as best as we can, perhaps revealing something about this climate emergency that statistics cannot express. While we initially created Floe in 2019, it remains relevant; indeed, climate change is more obvious and urgent seven years later.”
Prior to the Floe performances, The Seldoms hosts “The Selebration and ARC Award Night,” a benefit on Friday, February 6, at 5 p.m. at The Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St., Chicago. The Seldoms introduces a new annual award to recognize Achievement in Remarkable Collaboration, the ARC Award. The inaugural recipient is artist/designer Bob Faust for his outstanding artistic contributions to five major productions by The Seldoms. This award highlights an important feature of The Seldoms—its strong emphasis on visual art collaboration. More information is available at theseldoms.org.
Tickets to Floe are $35 general admission, with an earlybird special of $30 through February 1,
available at dance.colum.edu/events/2026/3/12/the-seldoms-floe.
Share this:
