NDEO鈥檚 Guest Blog Series features posts written by our members about their experiences in the fields of dance and dance education. We continue this series with a post by Dr. Andrea K. Markus, Ed.D.聽 Guest posts reflect the experiences, opinions, and viewpoints of the author and are printed here with their permission. NDEO does not endorse any business, product, or service mentioned in guest blog posts. If you are interested in learning more about the guest blogger program or submitting an article for consideration, please click here.听听听听
Future Echoes of the Continuous Quest for Afrofuturism in Dance Education
Afrofuturism is a term first coined by cultural critic Mark Dery (1994) to describe Black people鈥檚 relationship with science fiction, fantasy, history, and technology, and how these can center issues unique to the Black community. It is a cultural movement that reimagines the past, present, and future through the lens of the African diaspora to reclaim Black narratives, identity, and possibility (Boyd Acuff, 2020; Larkin, 2022; Womack, 2013). Afrofuturism challenges and transcends deficit narratives of oppression and marginalization and imagines a future where Black culture and identity prosper (Boyd Acuff, 2020; Jones, 2022). The term was popularized in the 1990s, but its roots trace back to earlier works by writer Octavia Butler and musicians Sun Ra and George Clinton, to name a few.
Though I have been a lifelong fan of speculative and science fiction, my own journey into Afrofuturism began during my doctoral studies. First as an exploration of literature and data, then as a framework for my teaching practice, artistic expression, and scholarly research, culminating in my dissertation, 鈥�(Ubuntu + Sankofa) x Dance: Visions of a Joyful Afrofuturist Dance Education Praxis,鈥� published in May 2024. This proved an arduous journey, one germinating the seed of what I hope to become a lush, fertile, even speculative field of Afrofuturist endeavors. The 鈥淚 am because we are鈥� of Ubuntu and 鈥済o back and fetch it鈥� of Sankofa are credos that I thrillingly let infuse all my work and activities as a pedagogist, academic, dancer, teaching artist, and choreographer across New York City鈥檚 five boroughs, the country, and overseas.
My Doctoral Dissertation
After reviewing and analyzing my qualitative results, largely the many conversations I had with my research participants, Afrofuturism emerged as a pronounced theme鈥攚hich didn鈥檛 surprise me since my participants were diverse Black women artist-dance educators who taught with care, love, and mentorship towards the racial uplift of Black youth. I had wanted to understand how these perspectives could empower students, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, to envision their futures not only critically but creatively. My research design also engaged qualitatively with the theories and practices of these Black women dance educators via a comprehensive literature review. Endarkened storywork, as outlined by Toliver (2022), as well as Boyd Acoff (2020) and Womack (2013) regarding the possibilities of Afrofuturism as a movement, are just some of the scholarly works that fueled my trek.
My research revealed that Afrofuturism embodies visions of liberation, possibility, and creativity that allows individuals to reclaim narratives that have left them historically marginalized, an awakening that has become the heart of my teaching philosophy, guiding me in creating a fertile learning environment that not only values diverse identities but also encourages students to imagine and construct their futures.
Interweaving Afrofuturism into Teaching Practices
Since being awarded my Ed.D., I have more consciously woven Afrofuturistic themes into my teaching practices. One way I have approached this is by utilizing the five pursuits of abolitionist teaching instruction as outlined by Muhammad (2023): identity, skill, intellect, criticality, and joy. Each of these pursuits shapes the imagining, planning, and execution of the learning experiences for the students in my classroom. To deepen this shaping, I also self-reflect over each pursuit:
Identity: How will we co-create an inclusive space for the expression of our unique culture and personal narratives?
Skill: How will I ensure that the process of developing crucial skills remains culturally responsive and sustaining?
Intellect: What does intellectual engagement look like in my classroom?
Criticality: How will I support the practice of questioning and challenging existing narratives to develop student understanding of their roles as artists and citizens?
#JOY: How will I work to co-create an atmosphere full of joyful practices that allow students to connect with their community and experience the transformative power of dance?
My goal here is to envision, create, and execute pedagogies of love that instill possibility in the artistic quest of every participant in my classroom, synergizing their pasts, presents, and futures.
On Pursuing Identity
I have explored what the pursuit of identity would look like in a dance-education classroom if one situated identity as an element of Afrofuturism. To explore identity with my students, I use the I Am Poem. An 鈥淚 Am鈥� poem is a type of personal poem in which the author describes themselves through a series of prompts a la:
My name is ______________________________, and I. AM. from:
The sound of 冲冲冲冲冲冲冲冲冲冲冲冲听
The sight of______________
The smell of ______________
The taste of _______________
The touch of______________
The value of_______________
The idea of________________
For which the present author might describe herself in her artist biography by stating:
My name is Dr. Andrea K. Markus, and I. AM. from:
The sound of reggae music by Bob Marley and other 90鈥檚 dancehall greats
The sight of the Blue Mountains, the Caribbean Sea, and Black and Brown people
The smell of escovitch fish and fried festival
The taste of stewed oxtails with rice and peas, and fried plantains
The touch of the trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit of the mango tree
The value of education as a ticket to the future
The idea of peace, love, harmony, and #JOY, born from an imagination that dares.
I AM Poems serve as the genesis of the artist statement, literally and figuratively, and facilitate the co-creation of a space filled with the peace, love, harmony, and #JOY in which the students and I will work together. The shared essences of these elements create the singularity of identity as a locus of past, present, and future, bound up in the one of self and of community.
Embodying Afrofuturism through Dance Choreography
I recently had the privilege of exploring Afrofuturism through my choreography, 鈥淓choes of the Future,鈥� at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, December 4鈥�6, 2025. My quest was to create a work that draws from who I am as a Black woman from Jamaica, training in and performing Jamaican folk dance, modern concert dance, and traditional West African djembe dance, and infusing these into a work that honors my past, present pursuits, and vision for the future while conveying a message of resilience and hope in collaboration with my students. I joyfully invited in and embraced their experiences, voices, and movements to shape the choreography, a collaborative approach fully aligned with my vision of a joyful, Afrofuturist dance-education praxis, because only together could we, the dancers and I, create work that is artistically, culturally, and socially responsive.
麻豆视频直播 That Future
At the intersection of my artistic, scholarly and pedagogical practices in dance education lies the heart of my Afrofuturistic vision, a vision where individuals connect to themselves and their communities in building Black futures, where Afrofuturism in dance education becomes more than just a form of artistic and pedagogical practice, where a revolutionary movement challenges norms and imagines an awe-inspiring future, where identity, culture, and #JOY remain at the heart of learning.
Dr. Andrea K. Markus, Ed.D.,鈥痠s a dance artist, educator, and scholar who received her Doctor of Education degree in dance education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Andrea studied dance at New York Theatre Ballet School, Ithaca College, Dance New Amsterdam, and The Limon Institute. She has traveled to Guinea, West Africa, to study with members of the national companies Les Ballets Africains de Guinea and Ballet Djoliba. Andrea has performed with the Alpha Omega 1-7 Theatrical Dance Company, performing dance works by George Faison, Eleo Pomare, and more. She is a dance teaching artist, working with students in grades PK-12 with ArtsConnection, New York City Ballet, The Alvin Ailey Arts in Education and Community Programs, Misty Copeland Foundation's BEBOLD Program, and Dancewave. She is currently a faculty member of New York University鈥檚 Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions, Marymount Manhattan College鈥檚 Department of Dance, and CUNY Bronx Community College鈥檚 Department of Education & Literacy. Andrea is an Afrofuturist dance educator who is devoted to intersectional social justice in and beyond the dance education classroom. She truly believes in the transformative power of dance education to engage, educate, uplift, and bring #JOY to students.
References
Boyd Acuff, J. (2020). Afrofuturism: Reimagining art curricula for Black existence. Art Education (Reston), 73(3), 13鈥�21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2020.1717910
Dery, M. (1994). Flame wars: The discourse of cyberculture. Duke University Press./
Jones, S. V.-M. (2022). Afrofuturist feminism as theory and praxis: Rhetorical root working in the Black Speculative Arts Movement [ProQuest Dissertations Publishing]. https://search.proquest.com/docview/2730156752
Larkin, L. (2022). Afrofuturism. In L. Larkin, S. J. Burn, & P. O鈥橠onnell (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction 1980鈥�2020, Volume I (pp. 1鈥�10). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119431732.ecaf0229
Muhammad, G. (2023). Unearthing joy: A guide to culturally and historically responsive curriculum and instruction. Scholastic.
Toliver, S. R. (2022). Recovering Black storytelling in qualitative research: Endarkened storywork. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003159285
Womack, Y. (2013). Afrofuturism : the world of black sci-fi and fantasy culture (First edition.). Chicago Review Press.
Photo Credits: Featured photo and dance action shots by Nisa Tatum, Headshot by Stevenson Michel