Culturally-Responsive Dance: Building Community One Step at a Time

James Catterall's, (1997) report, "Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School", espoused the need for Arts Education. Finding that students who were involved in the arts had increased motivation, school attendance, and positive attitudes, this longitudinal study became a national model of Arts Education advocacy. Landson Billings (1995) assertion that culturally-relevant pedagogy is a pillar for student success is but a further expansion of Ogbu (1987) which stated that "A culturally relevant pedagogy must provide a way for students to maintain their cultural identity while succeeding academically" (p. 155).Although the academic world has reflected and responded to the concept of culturally-relevant, culturally-responsive, culturally-congruent and culturally-compatible curriculum through the development of research and a plethora of sensitivity building activities for aspiring and practicing teachers, the arts and arts education world have not gotten as far. The purpose of this research is to look at students who have been exposed to arts intensive education from a culturally-relevant perspective.I stand with the great philosopher John Dewey, in his assertion that the arts should have a central role in general education, and I am interested in identifying ways in which that role is increased in the lives of the often marginalized students of our society: low SES, African-American, urban students in particular