by YAYOI KAMBARA
PART ONE
U NCOMFORTABLE SWEAT DRIPS under my arms, my cheeks burning as I speak up on the panel. I challenge an appli- cation because it’s unclear how the applicant belonged to a marginalized BIPOC community and why they share stories of this community as a cis-white person. Why do I, as a person who regularly advocates for equity, have so much discomfort confronting equity issues in our dance field? I often wonder if this unsettling is something I’m supposed to get a grip on? As a parent, I frequently hear educators speaking about students learning to regulate their bodies. As a dancer, I feel I should have bet- ter control, yet these uninvited physiological reactions startle me. Even though I am a member of Dancing Around Race, Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA), my small group Power Cirque from APAP LFP, and I’ve gotten to work through residencies like Aesthetic Shift , the physical dis- ruption continues to have the same intensity. OPEN AND SHARING WITH STRENGTH SOFT POWER
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in dance SPRING 2021 32
SPRING 2021 in dance 33
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