RoseWater Kicks Off Live Arts Miami’s ECOCultura Series On April 23 And 24

Live Arts Miami is kicking off their ECOCultura series with two performances of RoseWater, a dance ritual by Miami Dade College professor Michelle Grant-Murray that celebrates ancestral knowledge and practice.

The in-person performances will take place at Pinecrest Gardens,11000 S.W. 57th Ave., on April 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Grant-Murray got the idea for the show from a childhood memory of her grandmother who bathed her in rosewater. She recalled how the ritual comforted her. 

During the pandemic, Grant-Murray craved that security and made some rosewater for herself. 

“In the beginning of quarantine [my grandmother’s] memory hit me hard,” Grant-Murray said. “I’d think to myself how was she able to sustain her family through life’s daily process, what does it mean to be protected, how do you exist in something to get to the other side and ultimately, what were we doing to sustain during a world-wide pandemic.”

The venue where the performance is being held is allowing a limited capacity of 130 guests. Attendees must follow CDC protocols like wearing a face mask and staying six-feet apart. The event will be followed by a 10-minute Q&A.

“It’s my hope for people to walk out of this performance with an understanding that environmental racism is the leading cause to why we are in the situation we are in,” Grant-Murray said. “We have work to do as a community, we must come together to create a better humanity.”

After the performance, guests will get a sample of Grant-Murray’s rosewater that was made at the Kendall Campus Environmental Center. 

In the future, Grant-Murray hopes to tour RoseWater annually in different communities around Miami.

“RoseWater allows us to consider new perspectives and ways of thinking about the multiple intersecting crisis we face,” said Live Arts Miami Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “We want every one of these works to plant a seed to open people’s hearts, minds and spirits to take action to create more sustainable futures.”

ECOCultura was launched in 2019. The initial series brought together six Miami-based artists who shared a passion for climate justice to develop works using theater, dynamic dance and music centered on climate change and sustainability in Miami. 

This year’s artists include Grant-Murray, Dale Andree, Sandra Portal-Andreu, Fereshteh Toosi, Susan Caraballo, and Hattie Mae Williams.

Tickets for RoseWater are sold out, but you can click here to be added to the waitlist.