Diasporic movement practices: African/Afro/Black embodied translineages and contemporary migrations in dance

The work of this dissertation is to unveil less visible narratives of movement artists who are teachers, choreographers, and/or performers in the movement cultures of black/African diasporic dances. Furthermore, this dissertation contributes to critical discourse around identity from diasporic orientations, lived experiences of citizenship in the United States of America, and the intersections of labor, womanhood, race, and class. The main objective of this doctoral work was to gather movement artists of black/African descent who identified with a black/African diasporic identity, and offer their personal and professional lived experiences as collective insight into philosophies and practices of integrity while living and working in the worlds of black/African diasporic movement cultures.

The primary contributors to this dissertation are Dr. Ojeya Cruz Banks, Nia Love, Dr. Nzinga Metzger, Jeannine Osayande, and Shani Sterling. In efforts to gather a group that could offer nuance, complexity, and multiplicity to the field of dance, all contributors to this dissertation: work within a plethora of community spaces including higher education academic settings, have traveled throughout the black/African Diaspora for their practice, and have all performed, staged, and choreographed diasporic rooted dances.

The research process was approached through a combination of qualitative research methodologies and focused on each movement artist as a case study. The research findings rise from the data collected through face to face interviews, participant observations, and video observations that emerge as a collection of philosophies and practices of integrity in black/African diasporic movement cultures.