The Cleveland State University Dance Program is proud to announce a new Community Dance Training Workshop with Cleveland native Amie Dowling.  A long-time practitioner of Community- based Dance training and practice, Ms. Dowling will provide information, resources, “hands on” experiences and concrete pointers for artists and organizations interested or engaged in this growing field.

The event is free and open to the public and will be held on Friday, November 22nd from 5:00 until 7:15 p.m., and Saturday, November 23rd from 10:00 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. and 1:00 until 3:15 p.m. All activities will be held in the CSU Dance Studio, (CSU Arts Campus, 1901 E. 13th Street, Cleveland). For more information contact Lynn Deering at dance@csuohio.edu or visit www.csuohio.edu/dance.

Community-based art and dance (alternately called community cultural development) is created by members of a specific community to express their history, identity, hopes or concerns. While practitioners are often classically-trained, their focus is as much on the process as the product, deeply engaging the experiences of the individual participants and paying close attention to the dynamics present within the group. It can be practiced with any community, yet it is normally used with disenfranchised or oppressed communities as a way to promote self-awareness and empowerment, opening the doors to community development or collective political action.  

Amie Dowling creates dance and theater for the stage, for film and in community settings. Currently she is an associate professor in the Performing Arts Department at the University of San Francisco and coordinator of the USF Dance Program. She facilitates performance workshops in the San Francisco-area jails and is a member of the Artistic Ensemble at San Quentin Prison. Amie performed throughout the United States with the Liz Lerman/Dance Exchange and is the founder of the Dance Generators, an intergenerational performance company, whose members span seven decades and come together through their commitment to innovative dance and theater. Her work can be found at www.amiedowling.com.

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