DANCE + SOCIAL JUSTICE

Hard Times Require Furious Dancing

                                                       – Alice Walker

For the high school assembly on March 5th, 2018, dancers explored the intersection between Dance and Social Justice. Their work addressed the ways in which the Arts in general, and Dance, in particular, can be used as a powerful vehicle for revealing, resisting, and rectifying different forms of abuse and injustice. One of the ways this is achieved is through intentionally choreographed work; dances that tell larger stories and take risks; dances that make us want to jump out of our seats; and dances that force us to pause, catch our breath, and reflect.

Adaptations of Bill T. Jones’ D-Man in the Waters

At the beginning of the school year, the Dance II class began to study the work of American choreographer Bill T. Jones. They went to BAM to see Jone’s newest work, A Letter to My Nephew. Back in the studio they viewed, discussed, and reinterpreted  Jones’ 1989 masterpiece, D-Man in the Waters. Even though these 10th grade students did not live through the AIDS crisis of the 80’s and 90’s, they asked themselves what issues give them the same sense of urgency. This urgency fueled their performance.