leaders and direct involvement of community members,
leading towards collaborative dance rituals responsive to
community concerns through the embodiment of Native
world views.
Critics such as P.W. Manchester have stated that
McKayle as a choreographer is a humanist, because all of
his masterpieces are created with a deep sense of history,
rooted in the American experience and “deal not with
abstractions, but with people; living, laughing, suffering,
bitter, protesting, superbly human beings.” (Reynolds and
McCormick, 347)
Choreographers across the globe have created work
about socio-political issues such as racism, HIV/AIDS,
poverty, gender identities, and feminisim. In summary
socially engaged dance will continue to connect communi-
ties through choreography that creates dance that promotes
civic dialogue. As anthropologist Felicia Hughes-Freeland
(2008) proposes: “Dance is more than it appears: it is a site of
latent resistance and concealment, and a source of tactics
which works against other institutional locations.” One
could argue that this is because intrinsically dance is always
constructed around tensions and conflicts within the body.”
Winifred Muench is the Chairman and Executive Director of the
Sedona Chamber Ballet. She has over 18 years of executive healthcare
experience, most recently as a member of the corporate staff at the
University of Pennsylvania as the executive responsible for Venture
and Industry Relationships. She was instrumental in the development
and implementation of an integrated continuum of health services
with expertise in strategic planning, merger/acquisitions and business
development. Winifred also has extensive experience in developing
community-based programs for the disadvantaged and geriatric
populations. Winnie has studied dance her entire life and continues
to this day.
Dancing Earth dance the rich diversity of indigenous contemporary heritage with intent to promote ecological awareness, cultural diversity, healing
and understanding between peoples. Their aesthetic embodies the spirituality inherent in earth, and is created by, with, and for the land and the
peoples of the land. (Performed in Sedona April 2015). Photo courtesy Paulo T. Photography.
18 IMAGINE l Spring 2017