Speakers
Description
This workshop delves into the transformative power of dance within diverse educational, community, and cultural contexts. Led by two experienced dance educators, they seek to facilitate a space that presents dance as an effective tool for community building, particularly beneficial for youth and marginalised communities. The Pacific concept of the vā will be activated as an embodied concept within the learning space, evoking a pedagogy focused on the building and sustainability of relationships and a collective sense of identity. This immersive workshop will interweave embodied experiences and reflective discussions aimed at fostering connections within and beyond the dance learning space. The session will present a journey to discover the impact of dance in strengthening communities and nurturing transformative experiences. No prior dance experience is necessary for participation in this workshop.
CV
Teuila Hughes
is a Ph.D. candidate and graduate teacher in Dance Studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. As a Samoan, Australian woman, dance artist, educator and researcher, Teuila is drawn to discourse that unearths socio-cultural narratives, pertaining to identity and sustainability of indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being. Her work has moved her through diverse cultural contexts that include China, Hawai'i, Samoa and Fiji. Grounded in indigenous Oceanic theories and methodologies, her current research explores indigenous articulations of embodied knowledge within Samoan dance practice, pedagogy, and performance.
Trudy Dobbie
studied a Bachelor of Performing and Creative Arts at the University of Auckland. After her degree she continued her studies until gaining a Masters in Dance with the University of Auckland before completing her Graduate Diploma in secondary education. Trudy currently is the curriculum specialist for dance in the school of education at Auckland University of Technology and works full time in the secondary school dance education sector. Trudy also works with the Ministry of Education in assessment and curriculum development in the arts.
