Due to the cancellation of the international conference “Future(s) of dance Education(s) – possibilities and challenges” we were planning hosting at NTNU in April 2020 we are not able to meet and exchange research and ideas in a regular way. 

But, we do not want to miss out on everything planned for the program, and all of your good ideas, work and practices! Therefore, this research group will work as an online meeting point for conference participants and others interested in dance education around the world. 

The world is, as we speak, going through a critical time of crisis and chaos. We do not know what the future brings. In times like these it is important to encourage each other and keep working things that matters to us, to create meaning amidst of chaos, to move in new directions and find hope in creative communities all over the world. The power of the arts is important to remember, especially in challenging times. 

The functions of dance education are changing in tandem with social, cultural and political changes. Therefore, it is timely to reflect critically on and adapt educational practices in dance. Such reflection addresses for example lifelong learning, resilience, embodied and holistic learning, but also the individual willingness to take risks and confront habitual modes of working and go beyond normative boundaries. With this research group we want to illuminate the power of the art of dance in society and in people´s lives.

Based on the current momentum of interests in the potential of arts education, the research group aims to illuminate research and practices, which focus on the above issues and facilitate the possibility to strengthen the field and to exchange knowledge. The creation of new networks this group can offer will hopefully result new research projects and collaborations.

Right now, visioning possible and alternative futures can help us to take informed steps in constructing new opportunities and landscapes for dance, dance education, and dance educational research.