| Volume 23 Special Issue 1.3 | October 10, 2022 |
Redefining American Dance in the Classroom: Responsibility to Racial Justice
Deanna Lynn Martinez
New York City Department of Education, USA
Citation: Martinez, D. L. (2022). Redefining American dance in the classroom: Responsibility to racial justice. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 23(SI 1.3). Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea23si1.3
Abstract
After what was eighteen months of isolation and remote learning for some due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, it is imperative that dance classroom spaces become community spaces united in solidarity for all. Calling attention toward the racism systemically ingrained in the American dance legacy serves as an impetus to eliminate that racism while transforming American dance education into a sincerely American (multicultural) dance experience that is better informed, empathetic, and equitable. This essay based on literature in the fields of dance, education, and social justice discusses the racism embedded in America and American dance, the conglomeration of cultures and identities that inherently forge American dance, the need to see and understand thyself and others in the classroom, and methods for curricula diversification.
