Reimagining African Diaspora Dance in Higher Education Curricula

The Black Scholar Journal of Black Studies and Research

ISSN: 0006-4246 (Print) 2162-5387 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtbs20

Beyond Hierarchy

Takiyah Nur Amin

To cite this article: Takiyah Nur Amin (2016) Beyond Hierarchy, The Black Scholar, 46:1, 15-26, DOI: 10.1080/00064246.2015.1119634

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00064246.2015.1119634

Published online: 03 Feb 2016.

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Download by: [University of North Carolina Charlotte] Date: 23 February 2016, At: 17:22 Beyond Hierarchy mutually constitutive practices, of which performance is only one. Building on McCarthy- Reimagining African Diaspora Dance in Brown, Doug Risener, Julie Kerr-Berry and Higher Education Curricula others, I argue for a reimagining of curricula that, using African diaspora dance as an TAKIYAH NUR AMIN example, destabilizes the central position of Western and historically privileged move- s dance became ensconced in the ment and approaches. Centering an invest- A academy with the early 1960s establish- ment in the development of twenty- ment of programs at UC-Irvine, UC-Los first-century skills (including communication, Angeles and others,1 department curricula collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, generally prioritized European-derived move- digital/media literacy, and global awareness), ment vocabularies, aesthetics and approaches I posit that a practice-based (as opposed to a to dance education. This emphasis on what Dr. performance-based) approach to the develop- NyamaMcCarthy-Brownreferstoas“western ment of higher-education dance curricula and historically privileged techniques”2 mar- creates space for African diaspora dance and ginalized other movement vocabularies and similarly marginalized movement vocabul- perspectives, including African-derived aries to be amplified within the academy, dances and their aesthetic principles, within and in undergraduate dance education higher-education dance curricula. Citing specifically. By understanding dance as an Judith Lynne Hanna’s Partnering Dance and academic discipline grounded in a set of inter- Education, McCarthy-Brown notes Sarah Hil- related practices (including research, teach- sendager’s revealing quote: ing, movement, somatic, choreographic, and pedagogical approaches,) institutions com- The majority of university dance programs mitted to inclusive, progressive and meaning- emphasize Ballet and Modern genres, ful curricula can abandon the historic “which are Eurocentric in both content and prioritization of Eurocentric approaches to teaching approach.” Dance forms with movement and embrace a fuller range of pos- origins other than Europe are often slighted, sibilities for undergraduate dance students in causing future teachers to be unprepared for higher education. working with diverse student populations.3 Why African Diaspora Dance? The emphasis in undergraduate dance edu- Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 Definitions, Terminology and the cation in particular on performance as Context of Higher Education central to the course of study often leaves little room for thorough and critical consider- The African diaspora refers to communities ation of other aspects of dance as an aca- that descend from the movement of native demic discipline. While dance is a peoples from Africa, predominantly to the performing art, it is also a humanities disci- Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, pline, constituted by overlapping and among other areas around the globe. As

© 2016 The Black World Foundation The Black Scholar 2016 Vol. 46, No. 1, 15–26, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00064246.2015.1119634 such, the umbrella term “African diaspora dance in US higher education. Studying dance” refers to the full range of dance and American dance history without critical, sus- expressive movement vocabularies, aes- tained engagement with African diaspora thetics, and philosophies emanating from dance renders one’s education thoroughly these communities. The term recognizes tra- deficient. As Kerr-Berry writes, higher edu- ditional and/or classical corporeal forms, as cation “fails to fully represent American well as contemporary movement vocabul- dance as a product of cultural fusion in all aries emerging from across the diaspora. facets of a dance student’s educational experi- Within the context of African diaspora ences” and “curricula and pedagogic prac- dance, one might explore the historical roots tices are unsuccessful in acknowledging the of hip hop dance as a contemporary African- assumptions of white superiority” that main- derived form as readily as theorizing the tain this state of affairs.4 impact of postcolonial migration on dances While dance has managed to secure a pos- from a particular African language and/or cul- ition as a recognized academic discipline, it tural group. So-called “Latin” and “Carib- faces significant challenges in “diversifying its bean” dance forms are included within the faculty and student body, as well as its pedago- African diaspora dance framework, as are gic practices and curricula.” Kerr-Berry argues tap and jazz dance, uniquely North American that “such resistance exists because white forms shaped by Africanist aesthetics. hegemony is the norm in academia, which While other non-Eurocentric movement “has not kept pace with African-American vocabularies have been marginalized and/or concert dance participation.” The persistence sublimated within dance curricula in higher of white cultural dominance and the overwhel- education, I focus here on dances that mingly white dance faculty population in the emanate from the African diaspora, for three academy (79.5 percent in 2011)5 is certainly reasons. First, African diaspora dances rep- implicated in the marginalization of African resent some of the most dynamic, recogniz- diaspora dance within higher-education curri- able and influential movement vocabularies cula and the continued emphasis on highlight- in popular culture. One need only consider ing Western and historically privileged the ubiquitous impact of hip-hop dance’s movement vocabularies and aesthetics. While various iterations as evidence of its global the contemporary scholarship of Brenda stronghold. Second, African diaspora dances Dixon-Gottschild, Kariamu Welsh, Susan have been critical to the development of Manning, Thomas F. DeFrantz, John Perpener twentieth- and twenty-first-century American and others has increased the academic body Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 concert dance, whether explicitly referenced of knowledge about African diaspora dance, in choreography or deconstructed and appro- their work “is being integrated into college priated for their generative possibilities. Third, and university dance courses at a slow trickle as a persistent, influential and foundational —minimally affecting Eurocentric paradigms aspect of American culture, it is both odd of teaching and learning.”6 The persistent mar- and iniquitous that dances from the African ginalization of both the movement vocabul- diaspora remain marginal within the study of aries under the African diaspora dance

16 TBS • Volume 46 • Number 1 • Spring 2016 umbrella and scholarship that documents and [Including but … ] not limited to, the study theorizes its impactful contributions is a and interpretation of the following: language, notable blemish on dance in higher education. both modern and classical; linguistics; litera- Moreover, the impulse, when African diaspora ture; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; dance is present, to focus on how it is indistinct archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; from other dance forms in the spirit of multicul- the history, criticism and theory of the arts; turalism, only serves to “diminishes the nuance those aspects of social sciences which have and cultural specificity of all forms,”7 doing humanistic content and employ humanistic nothing to challenge the persistent dominance methods; and the study and application of of Eurocentric dance forms and aesthetics in the humanities to the human environment higher education. White cultural hegemony with particular attention to reflecting our within dance in higher education continues diverse heritage, traditions, and history and the marginalization of African diaspora to the relevance of the humanities to the dance, rendering its contributions, histories current conditions of national life.8 and aesthetics largely moot. A word on terminology: I use “movement Dance is both a performing art and a huma- vocabularies,”“approaches to movement,” or nities discipline. As a primal and exclusive “dance forms” in place of the more commonly aspect of the human experience pre-dating used terms “technique” and/or “style.” This is both spoken and written language, dance intentional: “technique” has been used to dis- functions in part as an embodied text by tinguish and prioritize European dance forms which heritage and tradition can be pre- and aesthetic approaches; “style” is often served, communicated and interpreted. invoked to reference vernacular, popular or Further, dance is a means by which “the “street” dance forms deemed to be less devel- current conditions of national life” are oped than the coveted Western forms of ballet explored and expressed. Classical dance tra- and modern dance. In its simplest iteration, a ditions, including southern India’s Bharatana- “technique” is merely an approach, a means tyam, the ballet tradition of France and the to accomplish something. As such, all dance Senegambia region’s Lamban certainly forms have within them some method or reflect “heritage, tradition and history” inas- sense of how the movement is executed. To dis- much as contemporary movement vocabul- tance the ideas herein from the power differen- aries reflect the shifting boundaries of an tials and hierarchies traditionally employed by increasingly complex, global world. Huma- the use of the term “technique,” I abandon it nities disciplines allow one to study human Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 altogether for the sake of this article. culture through both critical and historical approaches. The presence and persistence of dance within the social, cultural, and spiritual Getting Past Performance: Dance as a aspects of human life further evidence that, Humanities Discipline beyond its dominant interpretation as a per- The 1965 National Foundation on the Arts forming art, dance is a reference point for and Humanities Act defines “humanities” as: the study of human lived experience. Dance

Takiyah Nur Amin 17 embraces or contains within it performance as of Western movement vocabularies, and the an important but not singular modality: many assertion of performance as the dominant people in the world will never explicitly endeavor, as illustrated in Figure 1 in which perform; most people will dance at some the larger circle illustrates the centrality of per- point in their lives. Central to understanding formance mastery and demonstrated physical dance as fundamental to the human experi- competency in ballet and modern dance as ence is not necessarily the act of performance, the dominant configuration of many under- but the act of dancing. graduate dance programs. In it, the range of The emphasis in many dance programs on other practices and non-Eurocentric move- centering performance and the wholesale ment vocabularies are present, but periphera- embrace of Western and historically privi- lized and sublimated. This arrangement belies leged dance forms and approaches has fos- the complexity of dance as an academic disci- tered two firm realities in higher education: pline and refuses meaningful engagement (1) undergraduate dance students must with other dance forms in general and demonstrate mastery in performance; and (2) African diaspora dance in particular. such mastery must be evidenced by proficiency in Eurocentric movement vocabularies From Performance to Practice: and aesthetics. While forms other than ballet Opportunities for Curricular Change and modern dance may be present in a curriculum, it is rare that mastery in African- Dr. Jan Van Dyke, Professor Emeritus at UNC derived or other similarly marginalized Greensboro, wrote in a 2010 column for the forms is central to degree attainment beyond Journal of Dance Education that it is critical the completion of elective study. Importantly, for undergraduate dance programs to “give classes taught on dances of the African dia- young artists more preparation than simply spora have been among course offerings for learning to dance” and “that those earning over thirty years9 and there are some insti- dance degrees need more knowledge and tutions—including Duke University, Colum- experience than how to dance or even how bia College Chicago, University of to make dances.”10 How might a shift to a Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Arizona State practice-based approach to curriculum devel- University, to name just a few—that include opment constitute that “knowledge and such sustained coursework in their degree experience” to which Van Dyke gestures? programs. Regardless, the persistent reality And what might African diaspora dance reflects narrowness across the field of higher have to offer in that regard? Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 education with regard to thoughtfully imple- Changing dominant paradigms in dance menting curricula that embraces the full curricula requires an awareness of its con- range of practices constituting dance as a dis- tours as an academic discipline. According cipline and that centralizes African diaspora to the U.K.’s National Centre for Research dance studies in particular as a primary Methods at the University of Southampton, aspect of one’s education. The result is a reca- academic disciplines have identifiable, defin- pitulation of business as usual, the privileging ing characteristics, including:11

18 TBS • Volume 46 • Number 1 • Spring 2016 . a specific, particular object of research absent, but is equitably engaged alongside which may be shared with another the other disciplinary underpinnings, in non- discipline hierarchical relationship to each other. Here, . a body of “specialist knowledge” referring the decentering of performance and the shift to that object of research that is generally to “movement vocabularies” away from not shared with another discipline emphasizing competency in ballet and . theories and/or concepts that organize the modern dance breaks open room for engage- aforementioned body of knowledge ment with a range of forms, including . specific, disciplinary terminology or African diaspora dance. The model does not language suggest substituting performance mastery for . specific research methods according to isolated expertise in some other practice, but their research requirements and rather engagement with dance across the . some institutional manifestation in the range of practices that form its disciplinary form of subjects taught at universities contours. Additionally, Figure 2 suggests and/or colleges via academic depart- exploring movement vocabularies across the ments/programs and propagated by pro- range of ways that dance shows up in human fessional associations. life, as performance but also as social, spiritual and cultural expression. While dance intersects and may share the This model does not suggest that African object of study (i.e., human movement in diaspora dance must be at the center of time and space) with other disciplines, its pres- study, but rather that the vocabularies ence in the academy has grown to include all therein be considered among many of the characteristics noted above. It seems equally valid forms of dance suitable for reasonable, then, that academic study in study. As movement vocabularies often dance should hold in tension its undergirding inform praxis, Figure 2 implies that any range of practices and require student engage- movement vocabulary might function as a ment therewith in undergraduate degree pro- critical lens through which students grams. A practice-based approach to approach the other practices constituting developing dance curricula might take the dance as a discipline. Amplifying African form of Figure 2, in which the act of dancing diaspora dance within higher-education becomes central to the curriculum. In this curricula poses unexplored and underex- model, students are expected to engage with plored questions ripe for critical engage- the various practices that establish and ment: What do dances from the African Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 compose dance as a discipline, including a diaspora offer in terms of choreographic range of movement vocabularies (dance praxis? How does African diaspora dance, forms), research practices (methods), choreo- as the subject of inquiry, influence research graphic practices (approaches to dance- method(s)? What teaching practices are making as art), performance practices/ implicated in the study of various African approaches, somatic/therapeutic practices, diaspora dances, and what best practices and teaching norms. Performance is not emerge therein? What somatic/therapeutic

Takiyah Nur Amin 19 possibilities might movement vocabularies what liberal education involves and requires in under the umbrella of African diaspora the twenty-first century. dance have to offer? What performance According to the Association for American practices and approaches are most appro- Colleges and Universities (AAC&U,) a twenty- priate to the presentation of various first-century liberal arts education13 dances of the African diaspora? Most importantly: how might African diaspora dances is an approach to learning that empowers inform, facilitate, and support the broader individuals and prepares them to deal with goals of liberal education and twenty-first- complexity, diversity, and change. It pro- century skill development for undergradu- vides students with broad knowledge of the ate students in higher education? wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific What the World Needs Now: Liberal area of interest. A liberal education helps stu- Education and Twenty-First-Century dents develop a sense of social responsibil- Skills ity, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills such as com- The sustained emphasis on dance as a perform- munication, analytical and problem-solving ing art in the academy has ensured, according skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply “ to Professor Doug Risener, that dance pro- knowledge and skills in real-world settings. … grams in higher education often focus [Emphasis added] most of their energy, attention and resources to ever increasing BFA programs”—that is, Liberal education is centered not on the degrees offering professionalization experi- mastery of a discrete skillset, but on effectively ences to undergraduate students, primarily in managing life in an increasingly complicated performance and choreography. Revealing global landscape. Students are expected, the irony of this focus, Risener notes that under this paradigm, to explore possibilities, liberal arts degrees in dance (BA, BS) constitute make independent choices and develop more than half of those awarded and “the transferable communication and analysis majority of undergraduate dance majors will skills in order to apply their knowledge not seriously pursue or successfully attain pro- within the wider community. As dance fessional dance careers in performance or scholar and educator Ann Dils writes, choreography.”12 That some 60 percent of “reading and writing … [are] vital to our abil- dance degrees awarded are liberal arts and ities to think, create, and share information Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 not professional degrees suggests that an and to participate in society.”14 Liberal edu- increased emphasis on the creation, develop- cation does not fixate on a singular field of ment and maintenance of BFA programs that study or emphasize specific vocational or emphasize on training performers and dance technical skills. While students are expected makers is ill advised. Since dance degree to engage “in-depth study in a specific area attainment is happening largely within liberal of interest,” the goal is not necessarily profes- arts degree programs, it is critical to reconsider sionalization in that field. This sense that

20 TBS • Volume 46 • Number 1 • Spring 2016 students might explore a range of topics and These results were later affirmed in a 2014 practices to develop “broad knowledge of survey conducted by the National Association the wider world” is illustrative of the of Colleges and Employers (NACE), whose Job meaning of “liberal” as a synonym for “free”: Outlook Survey distills the list of desired qual- students are free to choose, to explore, to ities and characteristics to five core abilities:16 make choices, to analyze, to consider, and are not necessarily urged toward any particu- (1) Ability to make decisions and solve lar professional endeavor or career. problems Liberal education’s emphasis on social (2) Ability to verbally communicate with responsibility, intellectual and practical skill persons inside and outside the development, and the ability to apply knowl- organization edge mirrors the characteristics most in (3) Ability to obtain and process information demand by today’s employers. According to (4) Ability to plan, organize and prioritize a 2007 national poll conducted by Peter work D. Hart Research Associates for the AAC&U, (5) Ability to analyze quantitative data. the top ten qualities needed for today’s undergraduate students to thrive in a global Consider again that most undergraduate economy are:15 dance students will not secure professional careers in performance and choreography. Liberal arts degree programs in dance (BA/ (1) The ability to work well in teams— BS) would do well to focus on ensuring that especially with people different from their graduates are equipped with the charac- yourself teristics and skills noted above in order to (2) An understanding of science and tech- engage an increasingly complex global land- nology and how these subjects are scape. If current trends persist and more than used in real-world settings half of undergraduate degree attainment (3) The ability to write and speak well remains outside of BFA programs focused on (4) The ability to think clearly about performance and choreography, higher edu- complex problems cation dance must consider how it can more (5) The ability to analyze a problem to readily support the development of twenty- develop workable solutions first-century skills among its students. The (6) An understanding of global context in question facing dance in higher education is which work is now done how to explicitly prepare students to navigate Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 (7) The ability to be creative and innovative a global economy, communicate effectively in solving problems across groups, collaborate meaningfully, (8) The ability to apply knowledge and skills develop creative solutions to social problems, in new settings deploy digital and media skills, and think cri- (9) The ability to understand numbers and tically about ethical, social, and cultural statistics issues. While coursework emphasizing per- (10) A strong sense of ethics and integrity. formance proficiency and choreographic

Takiyah Nur Amin 21 skill might facilitate some development in practices becomes a site not for the training these areas, their emphasis on content of practitioners per se, but for cultivating mastery does not necessarily ensure twenty- empathy and raising questions about ethical first-century skill development. Similarly, engagement in various sociocultural contexts. while an institution can create degree pro- While performance, choreography, and the grams that foster twenty-first-century skill other practices noted here have intrinsic development and mastery in discrete move- value, extending and demonstrating their uni- ment vocabularies or performance, the latter versal worth relative to twenty-first-century can be achieved with no attention to the skill development is critical to the mainten- former. As such, it is reasonable, worthwhile ance and perpetuation of dance degree pro- and timely for those vested with the power grams in higher education. But what of the to develop higher education dance curricula central object of research within the disci- to center the development of twenty-first- pline—the act of dancing? What possibilities century skills in consideration of “multi- do movement vocabularies, especially those career preparation” for students.17 under the banner of African diaspora dance, offer to twenty-first-century skill development? Complexity, Diversity and Change: The diverse range of African diaspora Opportunities for Dance Curricula in dance forms is particularly well suited to Higher Education developing in-demand characteristics for Developing curricula that decenters an college and university graduates. The emphasis on performance and fosters critical makings of the African diaspora include the engagement with the range of practices massive scattering and involuntary global dis- constituting dance as an academic discipline placement of African-descended people as supports the necessary shift toward twenty- well as pre- and postcolonial immigration first-century skill development. Consider: in and emigration. Those experiences shaped a practice-based approach to dance curricula, dances of the African diaspora into manifold performance and choreography are not vocabularies with varying forms, functions means to an end in themselves. Rather, they and meanings. While dances like twerking function to develop in-demand skills, includ- and Memphis jooking, for example, are both ing collaboration and communication. under the canopy of African diaspora dance, Student engagement with dance pedagogy they embody distinct histories and connota- becomes a way to enhance communication tions. The enduring nature of African diaspo- Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 skills (written, spoken, and danced) within a ric experience is such that dance forms diverse global economy; such communi- continue to emerge, change, and leave aes- cations are facilitated via traditional (and, thetic markers on other movement vocabul- increasingly, digital) means. Teaching aries in global popular culture.18 As research methods nurtures creative problem- undergraduate students gain an understand- solving abilities. In a practice-based model, ing of the opportunities, contradictions, and engagement with therapeutic/somatic possibilities that exist in a global economy,

22 TBS • Volume 46 • Number 1 • Spring 2016 engagement with dances of the African dia- choices. Facilitated by a practice-based spora provides a means by which to explore approach to dance as an academic discipline, the impact of political, cultural, and social dance degree programs have the opportunity shifts on human lives. As embodied “texts,” to become the premiere location for multi- African diaspora dance renders legible the career preparation, positioning students to complexities inherent within the lived experi- be successful beyond performance and chor- ences of forced and voluntary migration, eography. Abandoning preoccupations with enslavement, and colonialism. Dances of student proficiency primarily in discrete Euro- the African diaspora are diverse; and they centric movement vocabularies, aesthetics, exist in the popular and sacred realms, and performance traditions reveals the broad within the context of theatrical performance potential of dance programs to help students and daily, lived experience. Sustained craft lives of meaning, service, impact, and engagement with the histories, theories, aes- enduring significance. In “Questioning thetics and philosophies embodied within Trends in University Dance,” Van Dyke various traditional and contemporary dances alludes to these possibilities:19 of the African diaspora invites students to face ambiguity, wrestle with diversity and Personally, I have wished for more time to thoughtfully consider the ethical impact of discuss with students the cultural relation- change, involuntary or otherwise, on the ship with perception and how viewers social, spiritual, and cultural aspects of respond to what they see, how American human experience. While one might choose public policy interacts with the arts, how to explore dances of the African diaspora for art communicates, how artistic ideas mani- performance mastery or proficiency in some fest in dance and when dance goes beyond discrete vocabulary, the pervasive, manifold, personal gratification for the dance artist and ever-changing qualities of these dance into the realm of meaningful communication forms suggest opportunities to do much with an audience. Without doubt, I agree more in support of twenty-first-century skill that, in human terms, a university education development. in dance is forward thinking and beneficial, By destabilizing the prioritization of leading us all to happier lives and making Western and highly privileged forms within our practice less authoritarian and more dance curricula in higher education and inclusive and democratic than in the past. making room for other movement vocabul- Making sense of the demanding and some- aries to be equitably engaged, the primacy times conflicting priorities we have devel- Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 of performance and the Western theatrical tra- oped raises interesting and challenging dition begins to yield. What remains is the questions. possibility for liberal arts degree programs in dance to become intentional sites for develop- Van Dyke suggest that students interested in ing an educated global citizenry equipped public health, arts-based interventions in the with the skills to live in a complex global criminal justice system, public administration environment and make ethical, informed and policy, social justice, and education, for

Takiyah Nur Amin 23 example, might find great utility in a degree or “musical knowledge gained, no matter how certificate program that, in place of Western limited, is meaningful and retained longer in and historically privileged vocabularies life,” including: (1) music education as a con- emphasizes cultivating twenty-first-century versation informed by problems and ques- skills through a recognition of evolving, tions posed by students and teachers; (2) that robust, and diverse dance practices. The the goal of teaching and learning is to many forms of African diaspora dance, as cor- broaden a student’s view of reality and poreal histories of migration, community, impact the way both students and teachers heritage, and culture offer provocative possi- see the world. Moreover, Freire’s notion of bilities toward including sustained engage- “conscientization” is a process of empower- ment with dance as a central force in human ment that “implies a knowing that has depth life. Making this change in dance education and goes beyond the recall of information will require significant changes in dance edu- and includes understanding and the ability cator training: a commitment to resisting to act on learning in such a way as to affect hegemony and embracing critical pedagogy a change.” Under this model, education is are essential for dance degree programs to both transformative and political, allowing impart their unique potential as intentional students and teachers to recognize changes sites for multi-career preparation and training in their perception of the world and to resist grounds for transferable, in-demand, twenty- the constraints that institutions impose on first-century skills. classroom learning.20 Higher-education dance curricula’s unique opportunity to engage the range of Pathways to Critical Pedagogy in Dance Education possibilities implicated in a practice-based approach to the discipline, release the poten- Critical pedagogy views teaching and learn- tial offered by sustained engagement with ing as a conversation among teachers and stu- African diaspora dance and foster the devel- dents, using the knowledge students enter the opment of twenty-first-century skills requires classroom with as an intentional pathway to dance educators willing to embrace critical learning new concepts. This process of “con- pedagogy in the classroom. Through a com- scientization” is intended to inform the per- mitment to Freire’s “conscientization” ceptions of both student and teacher. process and application of the core principles Developed by Brazilian philosopher and edu- in the CPME model, dance educators can, cator Paulo Freire in the 1960s, critical peda- with their students, resist authoritarian edu- Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 gogy is intended to disrupt barriers between cational paradigms meant to cede insti- student and teacher, offering empowering tutional power solely to the hands of the opportunities for learning. Critical pedagogy’s instructor. By honoring and centralizing the emphasis on active learning and student lived experiences that dance students bring engagement through dialog yields several into the classroom, educators might disrupt key principles that music educator Frank the hierarchy that prioritizes Western and his- Abrahams posits as essential to ensuring that torically privileged dance forms and their

24 TBS • Volume 46 • Number 1 • Spring 2016 mastery and performance as most important to and/or deeply considering what dance edu- degree attainment. No longer are all other cation is … I don’t see or hear much respon- dance forms subjugated to Eurocentric aes- sibility about the future the dance educator thetics and traditions. The application of criti- has to securing and forwarding the field. I cal pedagogy creates an opportunity to don’t think there’s much discussion about actively resist and transform the pervasive responsibility to the larger benefit of the white cultural hegemony of dance in the field. It’s not about you being in dance, it’s academy in favor of an inclusive and diverse about dance being in the world.23 vision for dance education. If, as Sherry Shapiro writes, “dance education as a disci- Dance curricula in higher education must pline and curricular subject cannot forego consider its responsibility to the future of the critical reflection upon issues of historical, field and inculcate that concern within its stu- social and cultural construction,”21 then dents to ensure the discipline’s perpetuation similar scrutiny is demanded in teaching. and expose its value beyond the academy. Dance scholar Jill Green notes that a number By embracing a practice-based approach, of thinkers in dance education engage critical decentering Western and historically privi- pedagogy with regard to “how issues such as leged dance forms and emphasizing twenty- body image, teacher and student power first-century skill development, liberal arts relationships, and pressure to meet aesthetic degree programs in dance are especially and bodily ideals, affect dance students and poised to reshape the future of the field. Appli- the ways dance is taught.” Needed to cation of critical pedagogy within dance combat the ongoing white cultural hegemony classrooms in higher education, and sus- in dance in higher education is a conscien- tained engagement with the wealth of tra- tious, meticulous and purposeful turn toward ditional and contemporary dance forms embracing the commitment within critical under the umbrella of African diaspora pedagogy to focus on “social justice issues dance, create an opportunity to move dance and marginalization regarding levels of curricula beyond hierarchy. status such as race, gender, culture, class, sexuality, ability, and so on … and on how these levels of status play out in traditional Notes Western dance training.”22 In a conversation about the future of dance 1. Thomas K. Hagood, Legacy in Dance Edu- cation: Essays and Interviews on Values, Practices education with Thomas K. Hagood, professor Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 and People (Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2008), Emeritus Luke C. Kahlich notes: 30–32. 2. Nyama McCarthy-Brown, “‘The Proof is in There is so little time or energy spent on con- The Pudding’: An Examination of How Stated sidering what teaching and learning in dance Values of Cultural Diversity are Implemented in ’ is all about. You don t have many people Three Selected Dance Department Curricula” coming through the pipeline that have had (PhD diss., Temple University, 2011), 259. any experience asking questions, debating, 3. Ibid., 91.

Takiyah Nur Amin 25 4. Julie A. Kerr-Berry, “Dance Education in an 14. Jan Van Dyke, “Questioning Trends in Uni- Era of Racial Backlash: Moving Forward as We Step versity Dance,” Journal of Dance Education 12 Backwards,” Journal of Dance Education 12 (2012): 31. (2012): 50. 15. “Top Ten Things Employers Look for in 5. Ibid., 49–50. New College Graduates,” American Association 6. Ibid., 49. of Colleges & Universities, http://www.aacu.org/ 7. Ibid., 50. leap/students/employers-top-ten. 8. “About NEH,” National Endowment for 16. “Press Room: Frequently Asked Ques- Humanities, http://www.neh.gov/about, paragraph tions,” National Association of Colleges and 5. Employers, https://www web.org/press/faq.aspx. 9. Dance Directory: Program of Professional 17. Doug Risener, “ Curriculum Revision in Preparation in American Colleges and Univer- Practice: Designing a Liberal Arts Degree in sities, 9th ed., compiled by Betty Toman Dance Professions,” Journal of Dance Education (Washington, DC: American Alliance for 13, no. 2 (2013): 58. Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, 18. Brenda Dixon-Gottschild, Digging the Afri- 1976). canist Presence in American Performance: Dance 10. Jan Van Dyke, “ARealisticLookat and Other Contexts (Westport, CT: Greenwood Graduating Dance Majors: Problems and Sol- Press, 1996). utions,” Journal of Dance Education 10, no. 3 19. Van Dyke, 32. (2010): 81. 20. Frank Abrahams, “Critical Pedagogy for 11. Armin Krishnan, “What are Academic Dis- Music Education: A Best Practice to Prepare ciplines? Some Observations on the Disciplinarity Future Music Educators” (Working Paper, West- vs. Interdisciplinarity Debate” (Working Paper, minster Choir College of Rider University), 2–3. University of Southampton, National Centre for 21. Sherry Shapiro, Dance, Power and Differ- Research Methods, 2009), 9–10. ence: Critical and Feminist Perspectives on Dance 12. Kerr-Berry, 50. Education (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1998), 3. 13. “What is a 21st Century Liberal Arts 22. Jill Green, “Student Bodies: Dance Pedagogy Education?” American Association of Colleges & and the Soma,” file:///Users/tnuramin/Downloads/ Universities, https://www.aacu.org/leap/what-is-a- 00b495231fc48aed0f000000%20(1).pdf. liberal-education, paragraph 1. 23. Hagood, 242.

Takiyah Nur Amin is Assistant Professor of Dance and affiliate faculty in Africana Studies at the Uni- versity of North Carolina–Charlotte. She was a Future Faculty Fellow and recipient of the Edrie Ferdun Scholarly Achievement Award for excellence in dance studies from Temple University and a Riley

Downloaded by [University of North Carolina Charlotte] at 17:22 23 February 2016 Scholar-in-Residence at Colorado College. Dr. Amin is a member of the Congress on Research in Dance Board of Directors and founding member of the Collegium for African Diaspora Dance.

26 TBS • Volume 46 • Number 1 • Spring 2016