Dancing Communities explores dance as a catalyst for fostering inclusive, culturally sustaining, and mutually beneficial communities. Organized around units in community engagement, outreach, project design, facilitation, and ethical programming, the course examines how dance can function as both an artistic practice and a mode of collaboration, belonging, and social connection. Students study community-based dance, applied arts practice, outreach, and socially engaged choreography through the lenses of cultural humility, accessibility, reciprocity, and ethical partnership. Through readings, discussion, embodied practice, community mapping, and project design, students develop practical skills for facilitating inclusive dance experiences in schools, museums, detention centers, health contexts, public spaces, nonprofit organizations, private studios, and other community environments. The course is designed for dance educators working in K–12, postsecondary, community, and studio settings; dance students interested in outreach, engagement, and nonprofit work; and nonprofit or community leaders interested in the artistic, educational, social, and economic value of dance. At its core, the course emphasizes reciprocal relationships between dance artists, educators, organizations, and communities, positioning dance as a powerful tool for shared creativity, ethical partnership, and community impact.

No book required for this course.