Dissertation research For International Masters in Dance Knowledge, Practise and Heritage, a consortium of four European Universities. For this ethnographic research, I spent 3 months in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and three weeks in Manchester and Liverpool of England in 2018.
This research was set to investigate the potential of movement and dance in dissolving toxic patterns
of masculine presentation by harnessing creative capacities of prison system-impacted men. The aim was
to create variation and alternative expressions for self-definition and social liberation from the entrapment of the traditional masculine embodiment. Using arts for rehabilitation, healing and finding self-directiveness for emotionally, socially and economically deprived offenders has gained measurable credibility across western penal institutions, but there remains limited sources of research regarding performing arts and dance programming in prisons. Living in a prison, an inherently masculine institution, imprints and reinforces the stigma of an offender, depriving men of possibility to establish and express themselves freely in the world.
The idea behind bringing art interventions to inmates is widely based on an understanding verbalised by Rebecca Milliken in an article about dance/movement therapy in prisons: “…[e]ngaging in the creative process is a deeply healing experience, one that can lead the individual toward new and profoundly different ways of expressing their innermost feelings of rage, frustration, confusion and alienation” (2002: 203). Through creative forms of dialogue, a space for positive conceptual meeting place can be created regardless of individual’s prior experience, skill base or cultural background (Boal 2002). The performing arts have been utilized for the emancipation of different oppressed groups among conflict resolution (Jeffrey 2017), migrant communities (Hawkins & Georgokopolus 2010), healing former boy soldiers (Harris 2007), and young people exposed to or perpetrating bullying (Bhukhanwala 2014). It has also been implemented to develop empowerment and social change for adolescent offenders and young people at risk (Mohler 2012), which is the area of research this study aims to extend. In prison setting, there is a growing interest and research base concerning theatre as rehabilitation, but dance stays in the background or as a component of theatre practice. Bringing art interventions in poses multitude of challenges from bureaucratic and organisational side all the way to the emotional and psychological aspects of the individual. The idea of healing and personal growth through creative process is a widely accepted form of therapy outside of prisons, and statistics and studies have been recorded to show the effectiveness of arts in reducing violent behaviour in prisons (Batcup 2012, Milliken 2014, Mohler 2012). The question of how to make a solid enough argument to expose more inmates to positive effects of creative arts remains. How to create buy-in with stake holders and prison staff and tell about the power of performing arts in a way that helps to break the barriers in between the prisoners and the art facilitators? This thesis sets to establish the challenges of bringing movement rehabilitation to prisons whilst looking at the dances’ power of inspiring learning, bringing meaning, and building confidence across language and culture barriers in order to provide a route to change for individuals in carceral settings.
During the fieldwork period over the summer 2018 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, my original question “In what way is dance being provided to rehabilitate youth back to society” got a new focus point. Instead of concentrating on the incarcerated youth, the circumstances led me to follow the daily lives of the teaching staff of The Keshet Centre. Instead of collecting data in daily classes held at the detention centres, the main data collection, interviews and observation was done within facilitators. This was due to unforeseen issues of access in the beginning, followed by a consent asked to sign assuring there will not be any extended verbal communication with the youth whilst attending the dance classes. My overarching goal to study the dance practise and its implications on the youth of M3 programme changed into a teacher-oriented study looking at the preparation process, transmission, tools and expertise of these facilitators working with the incarcerated populations.
I extended my fieldwork with a three-week long research-practitioner period with TiPP organisation in Manchester where I experimented with dance workshops in both female and male prisons. The duration was insufficient for conclusions, but worked as a short trial for future reference when extending the research project further.