Dancing into Communities: Creativity and Collaboration through Dance Using the International Schools Theatre Association Model

Creative play might be the ultimate community-creator and boundary-breaker, and dance creation is a form of play that can foster both the sense of shared humanity and the celebration of difference. When young people of diverse backgrounds come together to create dance in a way that respects individual ideas and ways of moving, and nurtures openness to those of others, they also co-create community. Through a collaborative process and creative problem solving, they are able to share their voices individually and as one.

The International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) runs creative theatre “festivals”, using a model through which young people already move, speak, dance, act, and music themselves into communities. This paper uses a phenomenological approach to show how this model works so effectively, and how it could be replicated for dance.