“WeCameToDance is an an interactive, interplanetary musical adventure imparting an urgent political message while working the pulse.” –Matt Wolf, The New York Times
WeCameToDance by Food Tank is a smash success! Featured on the BBC, Good Morning Britain, ITV, Al Jazeera, and in the New York Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, The Independent, the Irish Times, Herald (Scotland), National (Scotland), and dozens more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐+ –The Stage, The Scotsman, Edinburgh Reporter, The List, Edinburgh Guide, Musical Theatre Review, and more.
“WeCameToDance by Food Tank is an interactive extravaganza about sustainable agriculture.” –Fergus Morgan, the Stage
“To my eyes (ears, arms and legs), WeCameToDance is a blast – but one that carries a serious message. The music and choreography are exuberant and uplifting.” –Kelly Apter, the Scotsman
“WeCameToDance created a stir at the Edinburgh Fringe enlisting Scots in the battle against climate change. They are working with Nourish Scotland to ensure the show has a legacy, with audiences given a five-point plan to help change behaviour around consumption. They are also being encouraged to sign Nourish Scotland’s petition to the Scottish Government to change food policy.” –Nan Spowart, The National (Scotland)
“WeCameToDance will be the next hottest trend.” –Playbill Magazine
“Glorious music and dancing! WeCameToDance has so much energy — catchy, happy, and positive! When you immersive yourself in singing and dancing the sustainability message becomes so more embedded in your consciousness.” –BBC
After sold out workshops with rave reviews in New York City, WeCameToDance by Food Tank, was the breakout hit of the 2021 Edinburgh Festival Fringe a completely sold out run of 35+ performances in partnership House of Jack, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Food Program USA.
Selections from WeCameToDance were commissioned and performed at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
During the performance audiences interact with aliens from a real exoplanet (they call it “Hanyana”) that we have imagined in partnership with Dr. Steve B. Howell at NASA Ames Research Center. The performers will sing in their own language created by famed linguist David Peterson, who developed Valyrian and Dothraki for HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
Alongside the cast, audiences groove to music created by Grammy-nominated Ghanaian artist Rocky Dawuni and participate in synchronized dance originally designed in New York by Mary Page Nance of Broadway’s “Finding Neverland” and “The Great Comet” and choreographed and directed for the local debut production in Scotland by award-winning Ashley Jack and Becky Enoch of House of Jack Studio in Leith, Edinburgh.
Our interactive musical tells the story of extra-terrestrial life that arrives on Earth to warn its inhabitants of a climate crisis, after barely surviving catastrophe on their own planet. While guiding you in a fully immersed experience through rhythms, dance, and song, the characters relay a call to action and convey the tragedy of a changing climate — yet a sense of hope percolates through each and every motion, movement, and note is infused with hope.
Food Tank devised, developed, and commissioned WeCameToDance within a creative collaboration that mirrors its own non-traditional and decentralized mission to empower communities in coalition.
Thank you to our presenting United Nations partners the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Food Program-USA (WFP)
WeCameToDance found its full manifestation through the creative producing & dramaturgy of Adam Hyndman & Bernard Pollack; music / lyrics of Rocky Dawuni, Allen René Louis, Douglas Romanow & Ximone Rose; script & spoken words of Elizabeth Eaton; developmental choreography & direction of Mary Page Nance; linguistics & language development of David Peterson; and creative devising of Lindsey Jones, Geena Quintos, and Kristin Yancy.
The creative community of collaborators who shared in the journey of WeCameToDance encompassed many, and will undoubtedly extend to countless more! A few additional collaborators deserving particular note being Whitney Mosery, Danielle Nierenberg, Eve Gleeson, Jeff Solomon, & Mia Yoo — thank you for your early trust and investments in this vision of community, change, and joy!
A very special thank you to the Germeshausen Foundation, the Kroger Foundation, and Kirsten Wrinkle for making this incredible endeavor possible.
NOTE: This is not passive entertainment. For this experience to work we need you to arrive fully and engage wholeheartedly — we promise when you do it will have a fiercely powerful impact.
