Resources
In accordance with the Bodies in Play beliefs and values, the following resources are recommended for artists committed to welcoming all bodies into rehearsal and performance spaces.
While there is full intention to keep this list growing, it must be acknowledged that it will never be an exhaustive guide. It cannot include lived experience, conversation, or the multitudes of social media content that go into shaping beliefs and values. It can, however, serve as a tangible starting point for conversations, questioning the status quo, and expanding understanding.
While there is full intention to keep this list growing, it must be acknowledged that it will never be an exhaustive guide. It cannot include lived experience, conversation, or the multitudes of social media content that go into shaping beliefs and values. It can, however, serve as a tangible starting point for conversations, questioning the status quo, and expanding understanding.
LOOKING AT RACE
The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture
Racism and Contemporary Dance (Short Film)
LA Anti-Racist Theatre Standards
We See You, White American Theater (Statement)
What I Think About When I Hear That Broadway Is Racist (Article)
Seeing White (Podcast)
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad (Book)
Resmaa Menakem speaks with On Being (Podcast)
Dear White People (Netflix Series)
Recognizing Systemic Racism in Dance
Practice Progress
The Grace in Growth - Equity, Justice & Transformation Consulting
LOOKING AT GENDER
Gender and Sexuality Workshop with Andy Cofino
Alok on The Business of Fashion (Video)
Making Dance Studios More Gender-Inclusive (Article)
The Gender Accelerationist Manifesto
LOOKING AT THE BODY AND ABILITY
Axis Dance Company's Resources for Physically-Integrated Dance
Intro to Alice Sheppard's The Learning Curve (Short Film)
The Body is Not an Apology (Instagram)
Pleasure Activism by adrienne marie brown (Book)
Sin's Invalid 10 Principles of Disability Justice*
*Thank you to CSULB Affinity AIDE for the introduction to these principles.
LOOKING AT HISTORY
Uprooted (Film)
John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons (Netflix Special)
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen (Book)
The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich (Book)
LOOKING AT CREATIVITY
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (Book)
Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby (Book)
Elements of Style by Suzan-Lori Parks (Essay)
Clowning by American Theatre Wing (Video)
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp (Book)
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon (Ted Talk)
Suzuki Tadashi's Philosophy of Theatre (Essay)
This is Your Brain on Improv by The World in Words (Podcast)
HowlRound Theatre Commons
LOOKING AT GROUPS/COMMUNITIES
15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership
Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva (Book)
Start with Why (Ted Talk)
Phrases We Should Eliminate in the Rehearsal Room (Article)
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker (Book)
Theatrical Intimacy Education (Workshop)
Solidarity Not Charity (Article)
the fearless organization by Amy C. Edmondson (Book)
Holding Change by adrienne marie brown (Book)
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (Podcast)
LOOKING INSIDE OURSELVES
No Impact Man and How to be Alive by Colin Beavan (Books)
Everyday Bias by Howard J. Ross (Book)
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Book)
The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown (Book or Ted Talk)
Unlocking Us by Brené Brown (Podcast)
LOOKING AT DANCE ADVOCACY
Dance/USA
Dance Artist National Collective (DANC)
Creating New Futures
The Dance Union Podcast
Dancegeist Magazine
LA Dance Workers Coalition
Dance Resource Center Los Angeles
International Presenting Commons
National Center for Choreography (NCCAkron)
Acknowledgements
As a facilitator of Bodies in Play, I am committed to always continuing my own education in support of all artists' physical empowerment and autonomy, and promise to share resources and knowledge freely and broadly.
Based on this commitment, I'm devoted to transparency in regard to the lineage of ideas, concepts, and practitioners that have shaped my beliefs and values. The below acknowledgements aim to support this lineage and hold myself accountable to an ancestry of artists and cultural contributors.
I welcome questions, conversations, and corrections.
May we all forever be Bodies, in Play. - Andrew Pearson
Based on this commitment, I'm devoted to transparency in regard to the lineage of ideas, concepts, and practitioners that have shaped my beliefs and values. The below acknowledgements aim to support this lineage and hold myself accountable to an ancestry of artists and cultural contributors.
I welcome questions, conversations, and corrections.
May we all forever be Bodies, in Play. - Andrew Pearson
Land Acknowledgement
First and foremost, as the development of Bodies in Play has taken place in what we call Los Angeles, I recognize this land as the home to those who identify as the Gabrielino-Tongva people and the Kizh people, who cared for and watched over this land prior to Spanish settlement and the eventual colonization of what we now call the United States. Those who identify as the Tongva and Kizh people as well as thousands of indigenous people continue to inhabit what we know as Los Angeles and I acknowledge and honor their past, present, and future on this land.
Lineage Acknowledgement
This is the same land "modern dance pioneer" Lester Horton developed the techniques that make up the foundations of my own contemporary dance practice, as shared to me through Loretta Livingston by way of Bella Lewitzky. The credit for Horton's dance training often goes solely to Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn and unfortunately his formidable studies with Native American dancers is usually ignored or underrepresented with no acknowledgement of the tribes or individuals with which he studied.
Philosophy Acknowledgement
Loretta Livingston also introduced me to Bartenieff Fundamentals, developed by dancer and physiotherapist Irmgard Bartinieff. These movement Fundamentals "mirror the stages of development of the brain and the motor skills that babies and toddlers progress through on their way to mastering mature movement patterns" and as such lay the groundwork for a playful body. I must then also recognize the work of Dr. Stuart Brown as the leading researcher of play for providing language and support for the benefits of lifelong play.
Additional Influences
To my very first dance instructor, Natasha Dorsey, thank you for sharing your love of dance as an expression of joy.
First and foremost, as the development of Bodies in Play has taken place in what we call Los Angeles, I recognize this land as the home to those who identify as the Gabrielino-Tongva people and the Kizh people, who cared for and watched over this land prior to Spanish settlement and the eventual colonization of what we now call the United States. Those who identify as the Tongva and Kizh people as well as thousands of indigenous people continue to inhabit what we know as Los Angeles and I acknowledge and honor their past, present, and future on this land.
Lineage Acknowledgement
This is the same land "modern dance pioneer" Lester Horton developed the techniques that make up the foundations of my own contemporary dance practice, as shared to me through Loretta Livingston by way of Bella Lewitzky. The credit for Horton's dance training often goes solely to Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn and unfortunately his formidable studies with Native American dancers is usually ignored or underrepresented with no acknowledgement of the tribes or individuals with which he studied.
Philosophy Acknowledgement
Loretta Livingston also introduced me to Bartenieff Fundamentals, developed by dancer and physiotherapist Irmgard Bartinieff. These movement Fundamentals "mirror the stages of development of the brain and the motor skills that babies and toddlers progress through on their way to mastering mature movement patterns" and as such lay the groundwork for a playful body. I must then also recognize the work of Dr. Stuart Brown as the leading researcher of play for providing language and support for the benefits of lifelong play.
Additional Influences
To my very first dance instructor, Natasha Dorsey, thank you for sharing your love of dance as an expression of joy.
Last but not least, to all of my students, past, present, and future.
You shape this practice with every encounter.
You are my reason to keep playing.
You shape this practice with every encounter.
You are my reason to keep playing.
Friends of BIP
If you are a fan of Bodies in Play, you may also enjoy the work of these LA based companies: