How can we create more inclusive spaces in the field of dance?

ABOUT our work

Sinclair Ogaga Emoghene and Kathleen A. Spanos present a framework for dance practitioners and researchers working in diverse dance cultures to navigate academia and the professional dance field. The framework is based on the idea of “cultural confluences,” conjuring up an image of bodies of water meeting and flowing into and past one another, migrating through what they refer to as the mainstream and non-mainstream. These streams are fluid categories that are associated with power, privilege, and the ability (or inability) to absorb other cultural forms in shared dance spaces.

In reflective interludes and dialogues, Emoghene and Spanos consider the effects of migration on their own individual experiences in dance to understand what it means to carry culture through the body in various spaces. Through an analysis of language, aesthetic values, spaces, creative processes, and archival research practices, the book offers a collaborative model for communicating the value that marginalized dance communities bring to the field.

Emoghene & Spanos Dancing in the World Cover

“Dancing in the World” was released on August 16, 2023.

PROJECTS

Dancing in the World podcast

Podcast


Our podcast continues the conversations we started in the book and invites others to engage with us on these topics.

Data project


Our data project provides visualizations of the our dance research processes.

NextLOOK 2021

Documentary


Our documentary film project expands on ideas presented in our book and podcast.

Instagram

FUNDERS & PARTNERS