By Lisa Traiger
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, April 25, 2008

Never thought of the Anacostia River as a beautiful stage? Think again.

In collaboration with the Anacostia Watershed Society, choreographer Marylee Hardenbergh has created a 23-minute piece to be performed Saturday for this year's Earth Day cleanup of the Anacostia. "Green Dance" is her tribute to the beauty of one of the region's more neglected waterways.

In ultra-dramatic fashion, dancers will perform alongside the water's edge, in the river aboard boats and suspended above the river from the John Philip Sousa Bridge on 26-foot-long swaths of Chinese silk.

An original score featuring local a cappella group In Process will be broadcast on WPFW 89.3 FM.

This is the first time Gaithersburg-based aerial dancer Ann Behrends will work at this height: 43 feet from the bridge to the river. She and another dancer will entwine in the silk, depending on the weather and wind conditions. "I like the idea of working off the bridge and hanging over the water," Behrends says. "I think [the idea of the bridge] will be a nice way to pull all the elements of the project together."

Hardenbergh, who specializes in site-specific choreography, founded the Minneapolis-based Global Site Performance in 1985 to bring the power of dance to outdoor environments and renew people's experiences with places they otherwise overlook.

"So many people think of the Anacostia as dirty, dark and trashy," says Steve Reynolds, spokesman for the Anacostia Watershed Society, which commissioned "Green Dance" and partnered with more than 40 groups to coordinate the cleanup and celebration. "They don't see the intrinsic beauty of this place. Marylee's choreography will highlight the beauty of the river, and I hope people will change their minds and see it is a resource that they can use and enjoy."

"GREEN DANCE" Saturday at 12:30 (Earth Day rally from noon to 2). Seafarers Yacht Club, 1950 M St. SE. Shuttles from Navy Yard Metro. Earth Day cleanup, 8:30 to noon at 30 sites throughout the Anacostia watershed. To volunteer, call 301-699-6204 or visithttp://www.anacostiaws.org.