The comprehensive implementation of anti-racist dance pedagogy requires recognition that the prevailing dominance of Anglo-European cannons of teaching, creating, performing, researching, and learning dance has continued to disempower, subjugate, and inhibit knowledge and practices of communities on the margins. As dance practitioners writing from…

Memoirs of studying with acclaimed dancer-choreographer Moustapha Bangoura in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa, illuminate the significant, yet unspoken role played by the "djembefola" (lead drummer) in teaching and learning dance. This portrait provides autobiographical and ethnographic insights, gained through attending "Le…

The following study is a phenomenological qualitative analysis of collegiate dancers' experiences with and perceptions of body awareness and somatic movement. Participants (n = 8) were trained dancers, although not dance majors. Semi-structured interviews explored what kinds of experiences dancers have had in the realm of body awareness, what…

The whole person is a valued part of their dance community, and a healthy community plays an important role in the individual dancer's self-identity and social, psychological, and overall health. As a dance community, we need to do everything we can to help increase body positivity through empathetic and empowering methods that bring everyBODY…

The need for a shift in approach to dance education and non-Eurocentric dance forms in postsecondary dance programs is apparent. This paper begins with a fundamental "why" and then offers the frameworks of gnosis (knowledge by perception) and episteme (knowledge by systematic study) and process-based teaching-learning as viable…

Flamenco is widely practiced around the world, both in its musical and dance forms. It has been taught and studied through formal, non-formal, and informal teaching processes. Traditionally, it is taught through imitation and repetition and learned by ear. Zapateado is the percussive element of the dance. This study aimed to investigate whether a…

This article utilizes dance scholarship and economic theory to re-imagine student engagement within choreography as a consumer-oriented, service-driven environment. The central query considers how the dance student might be viewed as the consumer of a dance-making experience. Seeking to disentangle power structures potentially evident within the…

This article examines the current construction of dancer wellness and argues that the focus on intrapersonal aspects of safety, health, and wellness should be balanced with a stronger consideration of interpersonal, institutional, and systemic aspects. The author explores how infusing dancer wellness with equity literacy can support individual and…

Flow states have been linked to positive emotions, optimal focus, productivity, and a stronger sense of self through learning. Past research has confirmed that dancers experience flow, that flow in dance is related to spirituality and community connectedness, and that environmental factors can inhibit or facilitate dancing flow. This exploratory…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the experiences of college dance majors in Texas who have a background in studio dance, competitive dance, or drill team as they navigate the culture of dance in postsecondary education. At this stage in the research, the experience of college dance majors will be generally defined as the…

The aim of this empirical study was to develop a portrait of and investigate dance education programming in the New York City charter sector. Despite operating within an arts-focused, culturally rich metropolis, the state of arts and dance education in NYC charter schools has yet to receive the attention needed to flourish alongside traditional…

This article presents a study on three somatic movement dance educators' perspectives on developing creativity in dance students. A post-positivist, inductive qualitative study was undertaken to gather practitioners Katye Coe's, Sara Reed's, and Rebecca Weber's phenomenological reflections on teaching somatically informed dance and how somatic…

Professional dancers have described high levels of performance anxiety while also experiencing flow on stage. However, such research tends to capture one period of time in the performance experience and rarely focuses on vocational dance students. The current study samples vocational dance students at a UK performing arts school and captures their…

Teaching Odissi in the university space is not new to me. However, as a dancer-scholar located in India, teaching this dance form in a university in the United States expanded and deepened my understanding of this dance form and the ways it can be taught. This encounter, a collision of cultures, beliefs, and movement practices in the dance studio,…

This article contributes to an emerging academic dialogue about teaching aerial dance. As aerial dance in higher education has become more widespread, institutions and instructors must evaluate both the risks and benefits of implementing these programs. Although the inherent risk of aerial dance may invite some skepticism, the authors propose that…