Health Benefits of Culturally Oriented Dance

Abstract

Racial and ethnic inequities in higher education remain for African American and Latino/Hispanic students with regard to acceptance and graduation rates. These disparities are also persistent in higher education dance programs. Research suggests that in the academy, dance is both taught and practiced primarily by whites and that dance faculty in higher education are also becoming increasingly white with less representations from racial and ethnic minorities. Strategies for engaging more students of color into higher education dance programs, including reaching out to arts-based high schools with diverse student populations and recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, have been successful. An additional potential strategy for engaging more students and faculty of color into higher education dance programs is incorporating curriculum related to culturally oriented forms of dance. Despite the available research demonstrating the significant benefits of cultural dance, there is still insufficient empirical evidence to encourage widespread implementation of cultural dance programs in higher education. To begin to address this gap in the literature, the current project utilized semi-structured interviews to examine the psychological and physical health benefits of West African dance from the perspectives of pre-professional and professional dancers who attended a West African dance conference. Brief surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 participants. Our analysis revealed three predominant themes: (1) overarching health benefits of African dance, (2) challenges and barriers to participation in physical activity, and (3) connection. Implications for research and practice are discussed.