Soliloquy vol 3

An Introduction to Volume 3:

Provocations, Drama+Dance: ART of DISRUPTION

by Christine Jackson

Rather than taking up space with my thoughts, I choose to listen and ask questions. I am training my body to listen and my heart to hear the approach of this “another world” conjured by Arundahti Roy (2003) in the following passage:

Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it.

To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music,

our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentless-

ness – and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from

the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe.The corporate revolution will

collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version

of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability. Remember

this: We be many and they be few.They need us more than we need them.

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can

hear her breathing.

Arundhati Roy, War Talk

Can we be relentless in our siege?

Can we craft a siege that is built upon a foundation of critical love and care?

How might we use drama and dance to claim space for different stories - stories of strength and refusal and resilience and joy?

These wonderings, and so many more, are explored by the 20+ students, teachers, poets, and artists presented in volume 3 of Provocations. These contributors are telling new stories: disrupting dominant narratives, resisting notions of inevitability, and envisioning a world that is kind and just.

Here is a brief overview to help you navigate to topics of personal interest and relevance:

touchstone (student, teacher & artist voices) features:

An Interview with Cliff Cardinal: Cliff Cardinal and Jane Deluzio chat about the importance, value, and limitations of disruption in theatre and in life.

Crip Provocations by Jose Miguel Esteban: a poetic and choreographic provocation inspired by the disability arts and the cultural practice of “cripping”.

Why Not Disrupt Theatre?, an interview with Ravi Jain: in conversation with Brendon Allen, Ravi challenges the idea of disruption and shares some thoughts about sharing story, creating culture, and harnessing change.

Food for Thought by James Hicks: a student teacher presents an art project that metaphorically represents his thoughts about selecting plays for study in high school.

Reflections on the National Theatre of Costa Rica by Emil Calder: Emil, a young tour guide, reflects on the complicated history of the National Theatre of Costa Rica.

Dancing Disruption: Jane Deluzio, Jody Terio, Lisa Harding, Diane Coutts, Patty Jarvis. This article highlights the multiple voices and perspectives of older community dancers involved in a dance series called Older & Reckless. Suggestions for classroom activities are included.

Dance of Disruption, a poem by Jane Deluzio

Curbs: by Kaydance Lane; intro by Jessie Kennedy. Curbs is a dynamic personal monologue about the experience of disability (script, audio performance and reflection).

folio (articles & stories) features:

Docudrama and Dance by Megan Hughes-Oko: a teacher describes a project that brings senior level drama and dance students together to research and create original works about issues of personal and social relevance.

Reclaiming Dance through Decolonization: Creating Space for All by Ruwani de Fonseka: In this article, Ruwani examines how systematic barriers and the continued centering of whiteness in Ontario dance adversely affects opportunities for students and teachers.

Empowering French Drama and Dance Teachers by Tessa Lofthouse: Tessa tells us about the work of translating 40 Drama and Dance resources from English to French and discusses the importance of fostering deeper critical engagement with language-learning and the intercultural components of the curriculum.

Brave New Space: AI and the Performing Arts by Anastasia Lainas-Hayward: this article invites readers to consider the place of AI in our drama spaces. She makes a strong case for focussing on embodied, collaborative learning in the drama classroom.

Imagining the Possibilities through Story-Drama: A Photo Journal Journey by Frances Shortt and Jan Buley: this teaching story documents a collaborative project in a primary classroom involving the teacher, students, an Elder and university faculty. Through a rich arts integration, the children explore connection to place.

cue2cue (reviews & resources) features:

Reviews of two professional resources:

Brendon Allen reviews This is Beyond>A Time Capsule of Queer Experience, ed. by Evan Tsitsias and Bilal Baig
Matthew Sheahan reviews The Femme Playlist, by Catherine Hernandez and outlines how it might be used in a senior level drama classroom.
Christine Jackson recommends a resource for teachers: PBS Learning Medium: Dance

A review of a picture book:

Anastasia Lainas-Hayward reviews On the Trapline by Author David A. Robertson and Illustrator Julie Flett, and suggests some drama, dance and literacy-based learning activities.

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As a community of caring arts educators, let’s support one another in our ongoing commitment to listening, thinking and feeling deeply. Let’s amplify and celebrate the voices of arts educators and their students as they imagine and create a better future for all.

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Provocations 2024-25

Looking forward to 2024-2025, Provocations will focus on community building and professional dialogue through a PAUSE, PONDER, PLAN initiative:

Let’s take a communal breath - deep and long - to reconnect with ourselves and each other.

Let’s come together as a community to celebrate and honour the work we do, while also challenging ourselves to grow in our practice and pedagogy.

Let’s TALK!

From September 2024- May 2025 we invite you to a series of conversations and provocations designed to kindle community, inspire creative ideas, and open up new possibilities in our drama and dance spaces.

Here are some of the questions guiding the Pause, Ponder, Plan initiative:

What instructional and assessment practices best serve our students?
What do we need to stop, start, continue, or change in our particular contexts?
What do I want to investigate in my practice?
How might action research/collaborative inquiry frameworks help us grow and develop as drama and dance educators?
What kinds of collaborations and partnerships are possible?
What do you want to talk about?

Our goal is to facilitate connections and conversations that are current and relevant to drama and dance educators. We can't do that without your participation. We'd like to hear about what you think is important and identify topics that you'd like to explore with other drama and dance educators. Sign up here if you are interested in learning more about this initiative. More details to follow in late August.

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Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge and thank the Editorial and Advisory Board. (see names and bios here)

A final thank you goes to the Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators (CODE) for supporting this project from its inception. The participation of executive members on our editorial board and communication with the CODE community has been invaluable.

Please reach out to us with questions, feedback, and suggestions for future publications here.

On behalf of the Editorial team, I wish you all good health, good relations, and many more good stories!

Christine Jackson

Managing Editor, Provocations: drama+dance

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Reference

Roy, Arundhati. (2003) WarTalk. South End Press.