Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Andrew is a lecturer, researcher, artist, and activist working across dance, anthropology, and ecology in the UK. He completed his PhD in Anthropology from University College London studying under Hélène Neveu-Kringelbach and Jerome Lewis. He is currently a Lecturer in Dance and Contextual Studies at The Place | London Contemporary Dance School teaching on the MA Dance: Performance. Alongside teaching and research, he has been a company dancer with Jody Oberfelder Projects, and Vatic Theatre touring in the USA, the UK, and Germany. His research explores the development of environmental sensibility through dance practice, performance, and protest in the UK.

“Rivers have always been meaningful places of connection, respite, and creativity for me playing amongst the brooks and streams of Michigan as a child. After moving to London and living in Vauxhall and Woolwich, I came to know the Thames as a companion. In 2022, I moved to Colliers Wood and the Wandle became the river I now walk with my dog every day. I feel so blessed to live nearby a beautiful chalk stream and regularly encounter egrets, herons, and kingfishers on my morning walks despite living in a big city. I enjoy making tinctures, teas, and foraged food from the plants that grow nearby. UK rivers are confluences of biodiversity and need speaking up for to protect them from pollution and criminal sewage spills.

As an anthropologist and artist studying with UK performance artists and activists from over the last five years, I have come to believe that meaningful embodied encounters with landscape are crucial for developing an environmental sensibility and inspiring others to action. This is why I want to contribute to the UK River Summit, to share an artistic response to what the Wandle means to me and others who walk along its banks. Additionally, I believe spending time conversing with others who share this river can provide insight into the many meaningful relationships people have with rivers and their denizens while also informing conservation discourse.”

- Andrew Sanger