Meredith Sallee, a 2007 graduate of Bates College, has found a unique path in the world of dance by combining her foundation in modern dance with freediving. Sallee and her husband, Gabriel Forestieri, run projectLIMB from their home in Calatafimi, Sicily. The project focuses on underwater dancing, which merges the practice of freediving—holding one’s breath underwater without scuba gear—with expressive movement.
Sallee describes the experience as liberating compared to traditional performance. “What is so comforting about the medium of underwater dance is that you actually don’t need to have any steps memorized,” she says. “It is a somatic experience of opening into the space, connecting with your surroundings and just being.”
The couple offers week-long workshops in underwater dancing and freediving that are open to people regardless of their dance background. Classes take place both in a small studio and in the Mediterranean Sea. Students travel internationally to participate, with an emphasis placed on personal exploration rather than performance outcomes.
Forestieri aims to create an environment where participants feel safe to learn at their own pace. “I really work to try to create an environment where you’re learning from yourself,” he says. “I try to make a safe environment where you feel protected, and then you can practice at your own pace and time.”
Sallee’s journey into underwater dance began after overcoming a childhood fear of water. She credits her early experiences at Bates College for shaping her approach: “She just immediately took my hand,” Sallee recalls about Marcy Plavin, founding director of Bates’ dance program. “She goes, ‘You’re a dancer. You’re coming with us. You’re going to be part of this.’”
Bates’ dance program was instrumental for Sallee’s development as an artist. “I got to roll on the floor,” she says. “I got to discover new ways of moving. After that first semester, I was like, ‘Yep, okay, so this is what I want to keep doing forever.’” At Bates she majored in art and visual culture with a minor in dance because there was not yet a formal major for dance.
After college, Sallee worked as a professional dancer and educator before meeting Forestieri through Khambatta Dance Company in Seattle. Forestieri had been running projectLIMB for years as an exploration between people and nature.
When they moved from the U.S. to Sicily nearly seven years ago, Sallee gradually overcame her fear of open water with Forestieri’s support and started dancing underwater herself.
“One of my favorite sensations is being down and actually looking up at the sunlight coming through the water and seeing it ripple and move,” Sallee says. “Everything stops. Everything is silent. Everything is peaceful.”
For Sallee, underwater dancing centers on introspection rather than public performance: “Sometimes, you just snap and feel this connection with almost everything,” she says. “It’s like you’re touching the molecules, and the fish are with you, and there’s just life. It’s invigorating and freeing.”
To document their work, they often film themselves dancing beneath the surface; last summer filmmaker Juliette Sutherland produced a short film about them using freediving techniques herself.
Although projectLIMB remains central for both artists creatively, it does not serve as their main livelihood; they spend more time organizing Montessori Model United Nations conferences remotely for young students focused on international issues.
Reflecting on her time at Bates College and those who influenced her career path—including friendships maintained over decades—Sallee emphasizes gratitude: “I am so honored Marcy is part of my dance lineage. If she hadn’t opened the doors so generously to me, it might have taken me more time to get involved as a Bates dancer,” she says.“Marcy was such a force of nature.”
