University of Washington Tacoma UW Tacoma Digital Commons Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice Education Spring 6-16-2021 Experiences of Contemporary Dance Choreographers of Color in the Pacific Northwest Sue Ann Huang University of Washington - Tacoma Campus, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/edd_capstones Part of the Dance Commons, and the Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons Recommended Citation Huang, Sue Ann, "Experiences of Contemporary Dance Choreographers of Color in the Pacific Northwest" (2021). Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice. 49. https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/edd_capstones/49 This Open Access (no embargo, no restriction) is brought to you for free and open access by the Education at UW Tacoma Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice by an authorized administrator of UW Tacoma Digital Commons. EXPERIENCES OF CHOREOGRAPHERS OF COLOR 1 Experiences of Contemporary Dance Choreographers of Color in the Pacific Northwest Sue Ann Huang A dissertation in practice proposal submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership University of Washington Tacoma 2021 Supervisory Committee: Dr. Christopher Knaus, Ph.D., Co-Chair Dr. M. Billye Sankofa Waters, Ph.D., Co-Chair Dr. Victoria Watts, Ph.D., Member Program Authorized to Offer Degree: UWT Education Program EXPERIENCES OF CHOREOGRAPHERS OF COLOR 2 Abstract In the context of racism in the U.S., dancers and choreographers of color are underrepresented in contemporary dance. Critical race theory (CRT) was utilized as the framework to understand the literature, frame interview questions, and interpret the findings. A review of the literature reviews many ways dance institutions and organizations perpetuate racism. Racism is reinforced in dance education, through messages to dancers that they do not belong, and necessitating additional emotional labor to navigate systems. Dance artists of color resist racism by choosing to have a presence in contemporary dance. This study explored the experiences of 13 choreographers of color in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) asking the research question: what are the intersections of dance, identity, and resistance among contemporary dance choreographers of color in the PNW? The participants shared their experiences with racism and resisting through interviews. The findings focused on four themes and a number of subthemes that capture the ways participants experienced racism in the PNW contemporary dance community and chose to resist. The four themes from the research are: ways racism caused participants to experience isolation, ways racism caused participants to experience tokenism, ways participants demonstrated their internal commitment to choreograph, and ways participants are changing the narrative of racism in contemporary dance. Applying a CRT lens to the findings illuminates the permanence of racism, Whiteness as a property right, interest convergence, and the power of counterstories. Implications include reflection on the findings and impacts for individuals and organizations committed to reducing racism for artists of color as well as encouraging joy and healing with artists of color. Keywords: dance, contemporary dance, dancers of color, choreographers of color, artists of color, racism, isolation, tokenism, counterstories, critical race theory, activism EXPERIENCES OF CHOREOGRAPHERS OF COLOR 3 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Statement of Problem ............................................................................................................................... 10 Study Context ............................................................................................................................................ 15 Critical Race Theory ................................................................................................................................. 19 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Contemporary Dance History .............................................................................................................. 22 Racism in Dance Education ................................................................................................................. 25 Whiteness as Property in Dance Curriculum ................................................................................... 25 Whiteness as Property in Dance Pedagogy ....................................................................................... 27 Racist Messages that Artists of Color Receive that they do not Belong ........................................... 28 Presence as Resistance .......................................................................................................................... 30 Dance as Counterstories ....................................................................................................................... 33 Positionality ............................................................................................................................................... 36 How I Have Been Racialized ................................................................................................................ 36 My Experiences as a Dancer ................................................................................................................ 39 My Experiences as a Producer ............................................................................................................. 42 Research Question .................................................................................................................................... 46 Methods ...................................................................................................................................................... 47 Research Design .................................................................................................................................... 47 Data Collection Strategy ....................................................................................................................... 48 Participant Recruitment ..................................................................................................................... 48 Protection of Human Subjects ........................................................................................................... 49 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................... 50 Data Processing .................................................................................................................................. 51 Data Analysis Strategy ......................................................................................................................... 52 Participants ............................................................................................................................................ 52 Catalina .............................................................................................................................................. 53 Mika .................................................................................................................................................... 55 EXPERIENCES OF CHOREOGRAPHERS OF COLOR 4 Elijah .................................................................................................................................................. 56 Elena ................................................................................................................................................... 57 Maya ................................................................................................................................................... 59 Kiaria .................................................................................................................................................. 61 Aki ....................................................................................................................................................... 63 June .................................................................................................................................................... 64 Nora .................................................................................................................................................... 64 Kayla ................................................................................................................................................... 66 Sebastian............................................................................................................................................. 68 Adeline ...............................................................................................................................................