CICERO — A group of Cicero-North Syracuse High School students kicked off their summer with a splash by participating in the International Global Water Dance Online Film Festival, held June 9-11. Seventeen students from the C-NS Musical Club and Tri-M Music Honor Society came together to film an interpretive dance and educational video for the festival, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of accessing safe, clean water across the world.

The C-NS group met virtually with other dancers and artists participating in the project and consulted with Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) specialists in preparation for the festival.

“It was really interesting to hear people from Africa, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Japan … and how they were going to use dance to spread awareness about pollution and water issues,” choreographer Lisa Stuart said.

“Our goal was to think of water and appreciate what we have,” graduating senior Victoria Scalisi said.

Scalisi said the group started with word association around the topic of water — pipes, mud, waves — and developed dance moves to represent those words.

Graduating senior Thomas Gilbo and rising senior Mikey Mousaw presented the educational video.

“It was eye-opening,” Gilbo said. “It was interesting for me and Mikey both to go through that process of understanding … [the] human impact on the ecosystem.”

“When you have something readily available or a habit that you do every day, it’s hard to notice it,” Mousaw said. “It was a step back in realizing, ‘Oh, people don’t have this.’”

As Stuart and her students honed the choreography, the project gave them a new perspective on the precious, powerful resource of water.

“The more we discussed it, the more water felt like something sacred,” said Jacob Garofalo, a rising senior. “It’s something that can be in acids or bases. It’s something that can kill.”

“You learn about it in science class, but learning what it is in real application is different. It’s so much more than just a molecule,” Gilbo said.

When it came time to film the dance for the splash mob, which commemorated World Ocean Day on June 12, students and teacher traded roles. Rising senior Lily Thorne taught Stuart the choreography for the splash mob.

“I usually don’t perform. This was a different kind of experience of dance,” Stuart said.

“It was a little weird being on the other side,” Thorne said. “It got me a little closer to Lisa.”

Scalisi said she found the project freeing.

“You kind of just go with the flow. We ended up having a lot of fun because it was a lot of unexpected things that were happening,” she said.

A family with a young child watched as the group filmed at William Park in Cicero. The little girl was mimicking the group’s dance moves and told the students, “I loved how you guys danced.” The students taught part of the dance to another onlooker as well.

The Global Water Dance project is a way for the C-NS Musical Club to dip their toes into community service through art, Stuart said.

To watch the C-NS performance of “Water Colors,” featuring original music by local artist Shane Patterson, visit https://youtu.be/vHS1XeK34vU/. Watch the educational “Water Talk” video at https://youtu.be/HgzHIwYCn-k/. For more information about the International Global Water Dance Online Film Festival, visit globalwaterdances.org.