Why we dance: a community autoethnographic study of four African American community dance artists

African American and other nonwestern and non-White dance traditions are a part of cultural expression, historic preservation, a reflection of lived experiences, and a part of everyday life. In many dance programs at colleges and universities, culturally specific dance practices are often not considered valuable, necessary, or given recognition in the same way as other dance forms. In dance programs within higher education, engagement with these nonwestern and non-White dance practices are minimal, superficial, and on the periphery, dismissing their relevance as White, western Eurocentric dance forms take center stage, especially at predominantly White institutions (PWI). This autoethnographic study highlighted the value and benefits of African American/Black dance to strengthen cultural connections with the diverse populations who participate in dance programs. Four community dance educators were interviewed for this study. Research questions included: 1) What were the lived experiences of African American dance students in performing arts programs at PWIs? 2) How did the educational experiences of African American performing artists/educators inform their current role as community educators engaging with African American culture? 3) How do African American performing artists/educators engage communities in African American culture through the performing arts generally and dance specifically? It also demonstrated how African American/Black dance and performing artists engage a community with culture through a movement-based practice through experiential learning. While literature on adult education and dance education in higher education and community is rare, the practice of community dance education employs aspects of collaborative learning and connects to Knowles’s principles of adult education. The purpose of this study is to gain insight from the experiences of Black dance artists who studied dance in predominantly White institutions (PWI) of higher education and how they currently engage communities in African American culture through the performing arts. This study used theories of cultural competence, critical race theory, and culturally relevant pedagogy to draw a through-line from early, culturally grounded dance experiences to a Eurocentric focused collegiate dance training to a community-centered culturally relevant practice. This study discussed how participant experiences in these programs led to the formation of culturally relevant community and socially conscious dance programming. Recommendations for future research include adding to the qualitative data set of narratives from African American community dance artists who attended PWIs of higher education performing arts programs who are currently engaging communities with culture through the art of dance in the community sector. In addition, future research could also include the assessment of the implementation of best practices gleaned from the narratives of study participants regarding the implementation of culturally relevant dance programming in dance programs and institutions of higher education as they seek to diversify the dance curriculum.