Can youth use dance as a driving force for change ?

• In Event: Poster session I
  In Poster Session: Poster session 1

Proposal

This literature review will examine the concept of dance as a driving force of social change. It will identify the importance of using dance in educational settings, and how dance can impact social justice issues. Exploring dance for social change is relevant to the Youth Development & Education SIG. Dance can be used to educate and combat the struggles that youth have in interpreting and understanding their own identities and the ways that their individual stories can play a role to address similar concern within the field of social justice. Dance education and guided performance practice provides a platform that recognizes their voice in addressing a wide set of issues that may affect them and their communities (Risner & Stinson, 2010).
Dance not only provides a way to educate the performer or participant, but it can also educate those watching. By the very nature of dance, the audience is a part of the performance and is an active participant simply by watching. The audience bears witness to the performance and actively engages in developing their own interpretation of what they are viewing. As a socially organized and visual form of communication, is able to be molded and shaped to tell a story while also being a vehicle for expression of social identity (Pines & Giles, 2017). When performing, the dancer is able to to not only connect with himself/herself, but is also able to connect with the audience. This connection between the individual and a larger whole encourages community-building within that space. That sense of community, and responsibility for a community, can ultimately redefine certain values for an individual.
With dance, educators and performers are able to reach individuals regardless of background, socioeconomic status, race, and abilities. In their dance practice, “Deaf Men Dancing” dance troupe use the vibrations of the floor in order to communicate movement to each other. Deafness affects their ability to speak, but dance gives them a voice. “Movement Exchange” is a second program that unites dance and service through international dance exchanges amongst the United States, Panama, and Brazil. This review will specifically delve into the building blocks of “Movement Exchange” and its international affect, as well as “Deaf Men Dancing” and the inclusive community aspect of dance.
This contribution builds on existing work of dance educators, performers, and scholars by exploring additives that could be made possible to the field of dance, and how we can use dance to combat issues that youth face today. This literature review will explore ways in which dance and education can be bridged together to incorporate elements such as mental, emotional, physical, spiritual well- being, and interdisciplinary themes (Lewis,1983). Life is a performance in and of itself, and dance allows a person to have a deeper internal connection so that they then are able to have an external effect and lasting change on others. Dance is a language with linguistic properties that enhance and foster communication. This in turn can lead youth to become catalysts for social change.

Author

• LaIndia Santos-Phillips, University of Pennsylvania GSE