ABSTRACT
Dance educators who make efforts to emphasize individuality as a central component of cultural identity do so partially by exploring dance through various lenses that promote contextual meanings. Context often is understood through social, political, cultural, historical, or community lenses, which serve to deepen and broaden understanding and empathy for individuals with backgrounds that are different than the own. One mode of connecting dance to other contexts is to explore and view dance through its social and cultural lenses. The ability to recognize, understand, discuss, and empathize with social and cultural experiences different than the own is an important social literacy that can be developed within the dance classroom, particularly when teachers make informed efforts to ensure diverse content within their curricular plans. This chapter explores the process of connecting through issues of diversity and the marginalization of diversity, namely, culture, race, and privilege.
