Dance Education and Pedagogies in Contemporary Contexts

This book brings together a range of critical perspectives on dance education in contemporary contexts, positioning it as an expanding field deeply entangled with broader transformations in the arts and education. It reflects a paradigm shift toward critical and inclusive educational practices, and highlights ongoing efforts to open, stretch, challenge, and question established - and often exclusive - structures and pedagogies within dance education. The book emerges from the critical explorations that have shaped the editors' and authors' trajectories through the dance and dance education fields. The contributors are affiliated with institutions in and/or have backgrounds from Sweden, Uganda, Norway, the United States, Brazil, Finland, Iran, South Africa, Jamaica, and New Zealand, and each chapter draws from their ongoing work in glocalized, contemporary dance education contexts. The book is intended for dance teachers, researchers, and students in tertiary-level dance and arts education, as well as for the broader community engaged in critical arts pedagogies. The idea for the book was sparked by the critical transformation of dance education underway at Stockholm University of the Arts (Sweden) and Makerere University (Uganda). While the editors have known each other for many years, their collaboration deepened through the international online conference Decolonizing Tertiary Dance Education: Time to Act, hosted by the two institutions on April 7-8, 2022. Although this is not a conference proceedings volume, the energy generated through that gathering helped inspire and shape the project. The book explores dance education as an artistic, practice-based, exploratory, and innovative field - one that creates the acquisition of knowledge and skills in a rapidly changing world. It responds to and reflects the ongoing paradigm shifts toward decolonization, anti-ableism, and inclusive pedagogical practices. The chapters offer insights that contribute to critical discussions and actions promoting diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion in dance research, education, and pedagogy. Comprising fourteen peer-reviewed chapters written by 23 authors in various constellations, along with an Editorial and an Editorial Closure co-authored by the three editors, the book is organized into four thematic sections-each with intentionally porous boundaries: Decolonial and Norm-Critical Perspectives on Dance Education; Tertiary Dance Education Transformations; Space-Making for Indigeneity in Dance Education; Critical and Creative Dance Pedagogical Practices. The result is a multi-contextual, multi-sited collection that embodies the value of celebrating difference. The publication amplifies voices and practices from diverse cultures, geographies, identities, and bodies, contributing to a richer and more inclusive vision of dance education and pedagogy.