About the Work: The Space in Between (Dubuque) is a multi-media dance and video performance that explores the emotional, cultural, and environmental dimensions of separation. Rooted in an eco-feminist and African Diasporic perspective, the work examines how distance—between people, land, and memory—has been shaped by histories of colonization, displacement, and environmental exploitation.
Blending movement, projected imagery, and narrative, the piece traces connections between global and local climate realities. From visual landscapes in the Caribbean, including reflections on hurricanes intensified by warming waters, to imagery inspired by the Mississippi River—central to Dubuque’s history and ecology, together, these environments reveal the interconnected nature of climate change, where rising seas, intensifying storms, and river degradation are part of a shared global system.
Directed and choreographed by Cherie Hill with CSU San Marcos student performers Milan McLaurin and Pike Steck, the work incorporates a multigenerational perspective on climate justice and stewardship. Inspired choreography brings themes of care, resistance, and collective responsibility into the body, positioning nature’s elements as both a life source and a site of struggle.
The Space in Between ultimately asks: How do we bridge the growing divides—ecological, cultural, and relational—that define our current moment? By centering climate as a living presence and the body as a site of memory and transformation, this work invites audiences into a shared reflection on responsibility, resilience, and the possibility of reimagining our relationship to each other and the natural world.
About the Artist: Cherie Hill is a choreographer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist whose work explores human expression through the body in collaboration with nature, music, and visual imagery. Rooted in African Diasporic practices, her choreography examines themes of identity, connection, and the relationships between people, environment, and culture.
Her work has been presented nationally and internationally, and she has held artist residencies with Footloose Productions, Milk Bar Richmond, CounterPulse’s Performing Diaspora, and the David Brower Center. In 2020, she co-created Earth Echoes Virtual Gallery, an exhibition of Bay Area (Ohlone Territory) artists exploring feminism, ecology, and identity. As a performer, she has collaborated with BARD, Makomba West African Drum & Dance, David Dorfman Dance, Kiandanda Dance, and Helander Dance Theater.
Cherie’s creative and scholarly work has been published in Gender Forum, The Sacred Dance Journal, Dance Education in Practice, and In Dance. Across her practice, she creates work that invites reflection, connection, and dialogue around equity, environment, and embodied experience.
Additional Performers: Dancers: Milan McLaurin & Pike Steck
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Instagram: @movedasoul