Exploring Power and Agency in Early Childhood Dance
by Aiano Nakagawa
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Within the current dominant U.S. cul- ture, the most common way we understand Power is through oppressive power or, power-over. In turn, we internalize Power as something we attain when we have power over other people. The power-over structure is the root of all patriarchal (hierarchical) structures, including white-supremacy, able- ism, adultism, ageism, classism, cisnormativ- ity, heterosexism, sexism, etc. A step towards dismantling these power-over systems is to cultivate Power-with, also known as inner Power, Power-to, and Empowerment. 3 Developmentally, four-year-olds are all about exploring power 4 - I see them punch- ing, kicking, slashing, and running as fast as they can through space. Instead of prohib- iting dancers from using these movements - which are actions that can be used in vio- lent and oppressive ways - I encourage them to use their full Power, but never towards another body. This allows the dancers to still explore Power, but not at the expense of another person’s autonomy, safety, or well- being. Encouraging children to explore their powerful movements also allows them to realize that they don’t need to exercise domi- nant power-over another person to be Pow- erful, but rather that they are already Power- ful on their own. There is also immense Power in knowing one’s boundaries and having the agency to make one’s own decisions. As dance educa- tors, we can support children in claiming their agency through activities like freeze dance. Three-year-olds, in particular, are just coming into their individual bodies, expe- riencing it as separate from their primary caregivers. Freeze dance with body part articulation can aid children in being able to identify their body parts as they build confi- dence through knowing they have the power to control their body. 5 In every class, I practice a tactile activity, not only to support learning where our bod- ies start and end in space but to give every- one a chance to learn about our body’s pref- erences. Without fail, in every class, there is one child who jokingly yelps “Ow! Ow! Ow!” as they pat up and down their body. I use these moments to remind the whole group that we are the ones in charge of our bodies, and if we are doing something that hurts our bodies, we have the power to stop and/or shift our actions. I end this activity by opening the space for children to share what kind of tactile touch they enjoyed most. By doing this, I hope to encourage children’s ability to be aware of and name their body’s preferences. I also hope to hold space for the spectrum that exists between the child who needs a harder, heavier tactile experience to feel grounded and the child who needs lighter, gentler touch because they are extremely sensitive. In this process, young dancers become attuned to their own needs/preferences and to the varying needs/preferences that exist amongst their peers - needs/preferences that are all valid and worthy of being honored. When children are aware of their bound- aries, they are more able to speak up when they have been crossed. However, even if we recognize our boundaries being crossed and we speak up, we have seen time and time again that the dominant culture does not teach us to understand that no means no.
In the current political backdrop of the United States and the slew of problems we’re facing, the role of the early dance educa- tor has never been more vital to ensuring a just, equitable, and sustainable future. In our efforts to confront issues such as rapid cli- mate change, mass incarceration, the school to prison pipeline, the rise of Neo-Fascism, racism, xenophobia, gentrification, the houseless crisis, capitalism, etc., we need as many creative problem solvers as we can get. As an early childhood dance educator, I understand my work as a direct action towards building a world in which all peo- ple can be seen, honored, and live freely. As children already see the world in their own unique way, I believe creative dance in ECE can support children in sustaining and deepening their creative and critical think- ing skills. For example, when I ask young dancers to make a sharp shape, I want to see as many varying sharp shapes as there are dancers in the room and then I encourage them to find another way, and another way, and another way... so they’re able to explore all of the possibilities. Dance, like many things, can be used either as a tool of oppression or liberation. Growing up, most of my dance experiences consisted of me trying to fit my big, Brown body into a mold constructed by Eurocentric and white-supremacist aesthetics of beauty. Although I had been dancing my whole life, it wasn’t until college, in my first improvisa- tion class, that I began to feel and connect with my body. Through this experience of feeling and connecting, I began to heal from a long-term eating disorder and to access my Power from within. I began to shift from using dance as a tool of self-oppression to one of self-liberation. And along this jour- ney, I continued to imagine what life might be like if we didn’t have to unlearn oppres- sive cultural norms and could instead live in our Power throughout childhood and ado- lescence. As 80% of the brain is formed by the age of three 1 , the messages we receive in those first three years literally shape how our brains understand the world for the rest of our lives. This is why so much of anti-oppression work with adults consists of unlearning toxic cultural norms deeply ingrained in our brains. Now, I invite you to imagine what the world could look like if we did address ideas of power and social equity in early child- hood, when children’s brains are learning at such a rapid rate. I think that as a society, we underestimate the innate intelligence and capacity children have to learn about social justice issues. They have a natural sense of justice and want things to be “fair.” 2 I don’t think it’s appropriate to bog them down with every terrible thing happening in the world, but I believe it is possible to culti- vate developmentally appropriate ways for children to explore these topics and to me, dance is one of those ways. Dance, like many things, can be used either as a tool of oppression or liberation.
Encouraging children to explore their powerful movements also allows them to realize that they don’t need to exercise dominant power-over another person to be Powerful, but rather
to Perú), the experience was pivotal in help- ing her decide to create her own dance com- pany called Cunamacué, an Afro-Peruvian dance company fusing historical Afro-Peru- vian dances with contemporary themes and dance languages. This December, Carmen and her dance company will be performing Son de los diablos in three pieces: Ofrenda , a duet; a suite called La ruta de Cachafaz by Pierr Padilla Vásquez, an Afro-Peruvian artist; and Símbolos . Ofrenda will be the open- ing piece for Son de los diablos . Ofrenda means “offering” in Spanish and this piece is an offering to the ancestors, a personal offering of gratitude. The suite is based on the historical events in which the dance was created. Essentially, it shows the process of religious syncretism towards the enslaved Afro-descendants and how they resisted to express their ancestral memory through their dance and music. Overall, Carmen says she wanted to explore Son de los dia- blos because of its origins and history for Afro-Peruvians in the face of Catholicism. She explains that the use of masks, with accentuated African features, were used in Catholic processions demonizing Afro- descendants; however, in Perú, as well as for Carmen and Cunamacué, the masks reclaim African heritage and pride breaking free from Catholic hegemony. In addition, when she began to perform Son de los diablos , it was a deliberate offer- ing to the ancestors, but as the dance proj- ects progressed, others blossomed: dance workshops in Oakland; a symposium about Afro-Peruvian dance emphasizing Son de los diablos ; a documentary, which was played in the Fruitvale district; and an outdoor per- formance of Son de los diablos held in the Fruitvale, as well. Currently, Carmen’s dance company – Cunamacué, has partnered with Pierr Padilla Vásquez and percussionist Pedro Rosales to bring Afro-Peruvian dance and culture to children in schools. She says she looks forward to sharing this dance with others. She wants to continue using outdoor spaces for free performances and for acces- sibility to communities. Of the upcoming performance at San Francisco City Hall’s Rotunda, she is grateful for the opportunity to have Cunamacué perform and share Son de los diablos once more. Y yo, mínimo ser,/ ebrio del gran vacío/ constelado, /a semejanza, a imagen /del mis- terio, /me sentí parte pura /del abismo, /rodé con las estrellas, /mi corazón se desató en el viento. Lastly, I ask her about other projects she is working on. She mentions a few that will take place in the middle of 2019, but then she pauses, looks at her daughter, and as if blow- ing her heart into the wind, she says, “Aitana.” Yaccaira Salvatierra is a poet, translator, educator and youths’ art instructor. Her poems have appeared in Huizache , Kweli , Puerto del Sol , and Rattle among others. Her honors include the Dorrit Sibley Award for achievement in Poetry, the 2015 recipient of the Puerto del Sol Poetry Prize, the Lucille Clifton Memorial Scholarship as a fellow at the Community of Writers Workshop at Squaw Valley, a scholarship recipient for the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and a fellow at VONA. She has been nominated a Pushcart Prize and a Best of the Net. She lives in San José, California.
that they are already Powerful on their own.
As a society, we are at the beginning of our journey in practicing consent and addressing harmful power dynamics. Build- ing kinesthetic empathy through dance can help move the dominant culture towards one where when a boundary is crossed, the person crossing the boundary can intuitively sense they’ve crossed a line, step back, and address it. As dancers, we know the deep connection that is built with the people we sweat, move, and create with. I believe that through creative dance in ECE we can cul- tivate experiences of kinesthetic empathy, encourage creative problem-solving, exercise critical thinking, and explore Power - all of which are all critical components to actualiz- ing this future world. 1. The Urban Child Institute, “Baby’s Brain Begins Now: Conception to Age 3,” http://www.urban- childinstitute.org/why-0-3/baby-and-brain 2. Alison Gopnik, “Four Year Olds Don’t Act Like Trump,” New York Times (May 2017), https://www. nytimes.com/2017/05/20/opinion/sunday/4-year- olds-children-trump-gopnik.html?mcubz=0 3. Nieto, Leticia. "Part One: Reading Social Interac- tions." Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment: A Developmental Strategy to Liberate Everyon e, 13. Cuetzpalin Publishing, 2010. 4. Reedy, Patricia. Body, Mind & Spirit in Action: A Teachers Gude to Creative Dance , 72. Berkeley, CA: Luna Dance Institute, 2015. 5. Reedy, Patricia. Body, Mind & Spirit in Action: A Teachers Gude to Creative Dance , 71. Berkeley, CA: Luna Dance Institute, 2015. Aiano Nakagawa is an Oakland based queer, mixed, big bodied dance artist of color working towards liberation through education, healing, and community-based creative practices. As an M.A. candidate in the Women, Gender, Spirituality, and Social Justice department at CIIS, Aiano works to develop a deep and practical understanding of inter- sectional and decolonial justice to inform her work/ practice in all areas of life. As a full-time faculty member at Luna Dance Institute, Aiano works with dancers from infancy to adulthood, with a specialty in family dance and ECE. In addition to her work as a dance educator, Aiano is the founder and creative director of Art for Ourselves (artforourselves.org), a community-based online publication dedicated to centering the stories and voices of the QTBIPOC creative communities.
Rotunda Dance Series presents Cunamacué: Dec 7, City Hall Rotunda, SF. dancersgroup.org/rotunda
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in dance DEC 2018
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