Daniel Fobi & Sitso (Gloria Ahlijah)
Watershed Bodies: Embodying the Flow of Water, Memory, and Change in Iowa
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium
June 26 | 2 – 5 PM
About the Work: We propose Watershed Bodies, a 15-minute interdisciplinary performance that translates scientific data on Iowa’s water quality and community memories of Iowa’s rivers into contemporary dance, video, and original sound. The work will emerge from a sustained, three-phase creative process: first, a focused environmental analysis of 2–3 Iowa watersheds impacted by agricultural pollution; second, a series of conversational interviews with
residents in those watersheds. These materials – maps, narratives, field recordings, and embodied responses – will serve as the generative source materials for the third phase – an original choreographic work. Watershed Bodies offers a novel model for environmental engagement: one that moves beyond data dissemination to create shared, visceral understanding of water as a living system to which all Iowans are connected.
About the Artists:
Sitso (Gloria Ahlijah) is an instructor, dancer and choreographer hailing from Ghana, West Africa and, a graduate from the University of Michigan. She is serving as an Assistant Professor of African Contemporary Forms at the University of Iowa. She has undergone comprehensive training in West African Dance, African Contemporary Dance, and Afrobeat. As an educator, she hopes to make great impact by contributing to cultural appreciation, preservation and identity
discovery through her art form. Finally, as a facilitator, she conducts workshops aimed at helping individuals connect with their bodies and minds through movement. Her choreographies possess a unique essence as they strive to amplify individual voices and share stories that resonate with
people from all walks of life.
Daniel Fobi is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Sustainability whose research focuses on sustainable agriculture, food security, and the human-soil interface. His work, particularly in West African contexts, examines how policy and smallholder farmer decisions influence
conservation outcomes. Daniel has published on topics ranging from informal food systems and the impact of supermarkets on food security in Accra, Ghana to sustainable food production and consumption patterns. Committed to translating research into practice, he brings expertise in GIS, community-engaged methods, and interdisciplinary collaboration to environmental problem-solving.
Additional Performer: Victoria (Tori) Lefler, (student, University of Iowa)
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