When I dance, I feel like Myself: The Experiences of Adolescent Girls in an After-School Jazz Dance Workshop

In the face of planetary crisis, art and art education have been commodified and deprived of any transformative role within society. With the intent of exploring the potential of dance education to generate a positive impact in community settings, this project gathered the experiences of 7 adolescent girls of color who participated in an after-school Jazz dance workshop. The participant observation process encountered that the girls were able to feel accomplished through their committed engagement to the class, the construction of a reciprocal, supportive environment with peers and mentors, and the opportunity to have fun and enjoy the class process. The dance class also constituted a safe environment for the reinterpretation of important socialization processes such as identity building and community engagement. Overall, the Jazz dance workshop encountered positive experiences that helped to further understand how dance education constitutes a powerful tool for social transformation and community building.