Bashi Arts: Afro-Contemporary Improvisation

The National Dance Education Organization presents SYNERGY: Uniting to Progress the Field of Dance Education.

Presented by Dr. Enya-Kalia Jordan and Rachel Repinz, this movement session immerses participants in the Bashi Arts methodology for teaching dance to students of all ages and across all settings. Grounded in Africanist aesthetics, Black feminist pedagogies, and Disability Justice principles, the Bashi Arts methodology for teaching dance embraces a radically accessible approach to dance pedagogy. This movement session guides participants through an improvisational dance class, which begins with an access check-in and sensory-based postmodern warm-up. The class then moves into facilitated explorations and improvisational tasks rooted in African Diasporic techniques, pedagogies, practices, and aesthetics, and uses access-based frameworks such as audio description and verbal instruction. This session will close with a cool-down and time to share reflections and questions. Tracks: All Environments, Disability, Pedagogy.