This article briefly discusses the challenges of teaching the 2,000 year-old classical dance form of Bharatanatyam to a student population that is alienated from its mythological framework. Bharatanatyam teachers today are responsible for passing on the technique, grammar, and artistic character of this ancient performing art to the current…

This article invites the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the aesthetics of African-based dance through the elements of tradition, transformation, and social justice. A discussion of the aesthetics of African dances within Africa and throughout the African diaspora opens the doors to present these dances in a K-12 setting, to explore a…