London Contemporary Dance School introduces new MA Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism

In a world full of increasing tension and crisis, of rapid change and rising challenges, a new timely and necessary postgraduate course explores the potential of dance as a catalyst for change. Unique in addressing the fields of community dance and arts activism for academic study, the course questions how movement and dance contribute to the creation of sustainable social structures, support individuals and communities, perform collective actions and challenge systemic inequity.

London Contemporary Dance School is a world leader in dance and arts education, and this latest postgraduate offering highlights the school’s innovation and vision to build a world with more dance, reflecting the needs, opportunities and most important discussions in the dance ecology of today.

The MA Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism is for students who want to develop a socially engaged dance practice which addresses the urgencies of our times, by joining a global community of artists and researchers working at the intersection of community dance and arts activism.

Taught mostly online, it will allow students globally to remain embedded in the communities with whom they practice and apply their learning immediately within the communities they work with. Two two-week live residencies based at The Place in London will allow students to connect with peers and teachers in person.

The curatorial team working with Jo Parkes in 2023-2024 are:

• Dr Ruth Pethybridge – Dance Artist, Researcher, and Senior Lecturer in dance at Falmouth University
• Dr Nora Amin – founder of the nation-wide Egyptian Project for Theatre of the Oppressed and its Arab network
• Louise Katerega – performer, teacher, choreographer, consultant, dramaturg and creative producer, founder of the cross-generational, culturally diverse, disabled and non-disabled professional dance company Foot In Hand
• Dr Funmi Adewole Elliott – performer, dramaturge and academic focusing on Dance of the African Diaspora
• Dana Yahalomi – Director of Public Movement, a performative research body that investigates and stages political actions in public spaces based in Israel

Jo Parkes has worked internationally for over two decades in co-creative, participatory dance and creates installations, events, performances and videos as a dance artist, facilitator and educator. She is the founder and artistic director of Mobile Dance e.V. an art projects at the intersection of artistic and socio-political concerns. Jo has joined the faculty of London Contemporary Dance School in 2022.

Each year, the curatorial team sets three themes which weave through the units of the course. The themes for 2023-2024 are: Crossings, Care and Resistance.

Dana Yahalomi says “This new MA program in dance is a vital response of academia to the changing needs of our society today. It offers cutting edge theoretical and practical dance studies that will greatly enhance students’ methodologies, particularly due to its unique emphasis on movement in the public space, that forms community alliances and serves as an engine for political thought. The unique structure of the program offers an opportunity of experiencing an enriching and intensive study process, while maintaining and nurturing the students’ ongoing practices at their work bases and within their communities. I am delighted to be part of this intriguing program.”

Dr Ruth Pethybridge: “The emergence of this MA course is timely and necessary, and I am so excited to be part of this important development both in education, but also in terms of changing the way that dance can be seen as a catalyst for positive and sustainable change in a world that needs so much repair. I can’t wait to see what graduates from this MA will do.”

The course can be completed in one year full-time, or two years part-time, to allow studying alongside work, caring responsibilities or other individual needs.

Two fully funded scholarships will be offered to those living and working in the Global South.

More information about the course can be found here: https://theplace.org.uk/lcds-courses/madancepca