The climate crisis is reshaping our world; displacing communities, transforming landscapes, and creating new environmental borders. Dance, as an embodied language, is emerging as a critical form of resistance, reflection, and resilience in the face of these urgent challenges. This paper investigates how contemporary choreographers and community-based dance practitioners engage with the climate crisis through performance. particularly in Uganda’s Kiryandongo District. Focusing on themes of environmental displacement, site-specific performance, and digital dance activism, the paper draws on global and local case studies to explore how movement becomes a form of enyironmental storytelling. In Kiryandongo, traditional dances like Ekizino are being reimagined to communicate the effects of deforestation and displacement. Community initiatives such as Brass for life Uganda and eco dance projects at Kabalega Junior School use dance as a pedagogical and activist tool; engaging young people in environmental education and tree-planting campaigns through choreographed performance. This paper argues for dance as a dynamic method of climate activism; one that transcends borders, centers indigenous knowledge, and opens up space for collective imagining of sustainable futures.
Ochan Zechariah is an Educator, Filmmaker, and Community Leader from Kiryandongo District, Uganda, with a strong interest in using arts for social change. He holds a Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education and is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in the same field at Muni University. Zechariah is the founder of Kabalega Junior School and Brass for Life Uganda, a Community Brass Band that performs at national events and promotes peace, education, and inclusion through music and movement. As a filmmaker, his works (The Mask, When lightning Strikes) address public health, child safety, and climate crises. Zechariah integrates dance, storytelling, and film to engage refugee and rural communities, aligning with the 2025 JOMBA! MASIHAMBISANE DIALOGUE’s vision of exploring dance within socio-political and borderland contexts. His practice offers grounded insights into how performance can challenge boundaries, promote healing, and foster systemic change in education and community development.