Critical Dance Pedagogy: Bodies as Sites of Social Change

Teaching dance in the university raises political and ethical questions regarding the process of cultural transmission. Framed by pedagogical theories of Spinoza, Friere and Giroux, and two case studies, three authors explore intersections of race, class, gender, and religion. Authors also dissect their own critical pedagogies, attending to constructs of identity as they relate to their work with university students. One case study features the use of critical pedagogy in the dance–making process where Islam is the focus. The other case study presents investigations of performances of race to consider the social locations of students of different racial backgrounds and how race factors into who gets to dance. Transmissions of identity and culture by way of the dancing body are grappled with throughout the paper.