Dance Activism: What's Dance Got to Do with It?

Dance Activism: What's Dance Got to Do with It? is a Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies class taught by Daphne Lowell.

Course Description
Who in America dances today? Why do they dance? Who doesn't? Where do we dance? Where don't we? Why would we? Why don't we? Dance activism: it seems an oxymoronic term. Why should anyone care that dance isn't taught in most schools (even though educators know children learn physically)? Or, despite an abundance of health problems due to changeable lifestyle choices, healthcare generally ignores what dance could offer? Or, although communities have built networks of relationship, social and cultural, through dance for thousands of years, today few intergenerational dance events occur? Nevertheless, in schools and studios, hospitals and clinics, rural parks and inner city streets, there are examples of people using dance to meet needs in ways the dominant culture can't imagine. This course will be a research and planning methods workshop for future dancer activists. We'll develop strategies for effectively bringing dance to contribute to issues we care about. Prerequisite: some coursework in dance, interested students with other experience contact the professor.