Inspiration In Motion

Inspiration in Motion:

Secondary Web-based Dance Resources

Compiled by Christine Jackson

Here are a few video and print resources, highlighting dance artists who embrace the political and transformational power of dance. These curated materials are intended for student viewing, reading, discussion, reflection, and creation. It is my hope that learning about these artists and viewing clips of their work will embolden students to tell their own stories through dance. These materials may also spark conversations and analysis about using dance to resist systemic oppression and effect change. It is exciting to draw upon the rich world of dance and activism to inspire our students as thinkers and creators. Some suggested learning activities that can be used/adapted with any of these materials are included, following the weblinks and descriptions.

National Arts Centre: Dancing the Land Series

This resource offers a series of 18 dance videos profiling Indigenous dance artists from across Turtle Island. Each compelling piece is inspired by the artist’s heartfelt and embodied connection to the land. Specificity of place is central to the creation of these works and the diversity of styles, traditions, and practices provide a rich portrait of contemporary Indigenous dance across Canada.

Sea Unseen Sable Island Dance Project -Dancing with Debris: Mocean Dance Brings the Ocean’s Struggle to Life

Mocean Dance company, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, collaborated with the Sable Island Institute on an environmental project, investigating the urgent problem of plastic debris in the ocean. This project is a powerful example of environmental activism and artistic expression combined to draw attention to a complex problem of our time.

Eric Mullis, What is Dance Activism?

This brief article highlights the importance of dance in the Black Lives Matter movement. It also reflects back to the civil rights movements of the 1960’s and 70’s and the ways in which activist dance is about bodies taking up physical space, disrupting the status quo, and insisting upon being seen and heard. This brief overview references additional articles which may be of interest to dance teachers as they build their understanding and knowledgebase of dance activism.

My Disability Justice

This compelling short video documentary features dance artist Antoine Hunter. Hunter talks about his lived experience as a black man, a deaf person, a dancer/choreographer and an activist. This is a powerful story demonstrating the centrality of identity and positionality in relation to dance and activism.

Note: This video inspired one of the submissions in this volume; teacher Joanna Perlus invited her students to speak about why dance matters to them (see Touchstone to access the video submission).

Resistance Through Performance and Pedagogy: What is Dance Activism?

This short article highlights Ananya Dance Theatre, a company that connects the creative process to the act of social transformation. The author argues that contemporary dance is “wrapped up in whiteness”. She speaks powerfully to the ways that dance can serve as a tool for resistance, agitation, and liberation. It would be a powerful way to introduce a Dance Activism unit of study.

Social Change through Joyous Movement

Ana María Álvarez calls herself an “artivist,” a term that describes her passion for art and drive to influence positive social change.. She speaks about the capacity of dance to “ shift worlds, redefine narratives, and imagine new possibilities for the future”. She is an academic, a dance artist, and community-builder committed to positive social change. Her company, CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater, celebrates joy as a radical act of resistance.

Learning Activity Ideas

View/Read and Discuss/ Reflect:

What stood out for you? What resonated for you? Why?
What are you reminded of?
How does place and/or time inform the work that this artist makes?
If you could have a conversation with this artist, what would you like to say or what question would you like to ask them?

Suggestion: The above questions could be structured as an Inside/Outside Circle Discussion

View and Create:

Identify the key themes/ideas of the piece, e.g joy, struggle, relationship to land. Build a dance, based on your own lived experience in relation to this theme. (It may be helpful to begin with a free-write to generate ideas.

Identify an urgent social problem of concern to you. Build a dance work that addresses this issue. Consider a target audience and meaningful place for performing your work, e.g. outside, a Grade 7/8 class, school assembly, etc.

View/Read and Inquire:

Learn more about one of the dance artists or companies introduced in class. Complete this 3-2-1 graphic organizer:

3 new things I learned about this artist/company.
2 things I appreciate about this artist/company.
1 personal connection I make to this artist’s/company’s work.

Conduct an inquiry into other dance artists or companies that focus on social change. Create a PowerPoint presentation, video presentation, infographic, blog poster board, or oral presentation highlighting key information about the artist, their practice, and their cultural, social/political impact.

Conduct an inquiry into Dance and Disability in Canada. Create a list of disabled dance artists and/or companies with a mandate to center creation and performance by disabled dance artists.

Christine has provided arts leadership in a variety of contexts, as a teacher and Arts Coordinator at the Toronto District School Board, Arts Education Officer at the Ministry of Education, and faculty member at OISE/UT, York University, and Brock University. As a Sessional Lecturer at OISE, Christine is currently teaching Intermediate/Senior Drama, P/J Drama and Dance, and Foundations of Teaching & Learning. She is a long-time member and former president of CODE, a Cultural Leader's Lab fellow, and is a board member of several arts organizations.Christine was the founder and managing editor of Provocations, 2020-2026.