Conference Registration
is now open!

June 5-8, 2025
Harvard Square, Cambridge MA

Activating the Power of Dance

Concern about climate change and its disproportionate impact on under-resourced or otherwise disadvantaged communities continues to grow. After decades of persistent advocacy and activism to advance social and environmental justice, recent destabilizing orders from top US government officials are brazenly countermanding advances in climate science, public health, education, diversity, inclusion, equity and other areas. It is no wonder why, in today’s environment, independent artists and arts organizations are looking to expand their role as advocates and activists, to support creative and rational solutions to the critical global issues that ultimately affect us all.

From the muralist who mobilizes an entire community to paint uplifting images in a depressed urban space, to the composer who writes a symphony to evince the destruction that humanity is inflicting on the planet’s ecological systems, artists of all media and forms continue to respond to the urgencies of our age.

Dance for World Community, initiated in 2009 by a ballet organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts, proposes that dance is particularly well suited to effective advocacy and activism. Inherently social, dance is universally understandable, has great potential to bring diverse people together across cultural divides and can quickly build trust and community cohesion.

Powerful as it is, dance is one of the most under-resourced sectors in America and is underrepresented in many institutional settings. In spite of the steady increases in the number of training and performance centers, established schools and companies are notoriously insular and inward-looking. The sector lacks the inclusive, unified voice it needs to respond to the challenges that now all the arts and other industries are facing in 2025.

How will we as dancers — performers, instructors, choreographers, administrators, scholars, independent dance artists and aficionados — respond to the critical social and environmental crises that can no longer be ignored by any of us?

In this conference, we will examine different initiatives and models, exchange ideas and begin to build the necessary networks to strengthen our efforts to make a difference. Through this shared process, we will rouse the advocate and activist in each of us. 

Conference Schedule

José Mateo Ballet Theatre • 400 Harvard St, Cambridge MA

4:00PM
Check-In and New Registrations

5:00PM
Opening Reception (hors d’oeuvres and drinks)

6:30PM
Orientation Gathering

The Charles Hotel • 1 Bennett St, Cambridge MA

8:00AM
Continental Breakfast

9:00AM
Opening Meeting
with Keynote Speaker Julian Agyeman, expert on “Just Sustainabilities”
Q&A
Review Seminar Schedule and Introduce Presenters & Facilitators


Industrious • 20 University Rd, Cambridge MA

10:45AM
Seminar 1 | What’s Dance Got To Do With It?
What is the history of activism in dance?
What are the particular conditions today that make dance activism more of an imperative now? What is at stake? What are the barriers to participation in activism by today’s dance practitioners and the sector as a whole?

12:00PM
Break for Lunch

1:15PM
Seminar 2 | How Does Dance Respond to the New Endangerment of Social and Environmental Justice Systems?
What are different forms of dance activism? What are some local, regional or global models of dance activism in other art forms industries that we can learn from? Should “Just Sustainabilities” (to use Agyeman’s term) be the priority objective of dance activism? What other issues or causes can be a focus of dance activism?

2:30PM
Seminar 3 | What kind of leadership is needed for a dance-based response to the address community issues?
Are conventional models of leadership reliable? What biases or assumptions about leadership may be impeding new ideas about organizing the diverse, independent communities of dance that exist in our multi-cultural society? What are the barriers to volunteering leadership?

3:45PM
Seminar 4 | Think Globally / Act Locally: The Logistics of Building a Local Framework for Effective Dance Activism
What are the activities that can catalyze participation in a new movement or give momentum to existing movements? Who are the partners and how can they be engaged to support these activities? How do we build useful and manageable networks?


The Charles Hotel • 1 Bennett St, Cambridge MA

5:15PM
Report-Outs

Indoor: José Mateo Ballet Theatre’s Sanctuary Theatre • 400 Harvard St, Cambridge MA
Outdoor: Mass Ave in between Putnam Ave & Bow St, Cambridge MA

11:30AM
Convene at designated Conference Attendees Tent

12:00-6:00PM
15th Anniversary Dance for World Community Festival
Lunch vouchers for festival food vendors provided

The Charles Hotel • 1 Bennett St, Cambridge MA

10:00AM
Brunch

11:00AM
Panel & Discussion
Report-Outs / Next Steps
Closing Remarks


Fee | $215

Register before April 30 for special early bird pricing: $165

Includes admission to Opening Reception, Panel, Seminars, Roundtables

Plus Friday Continental Breakfast, Saturday Lunch Vouchers, and Sunday Brunch


Meet Our Conference Speakers & Participants

Keynote Speaker

Julian Agyeman, Ph.D. FRSA FRGS

Professor, Tufts University

Seminar Leaders

Mariko Cantley

Ballroom Dancer

Aaron Myers

Executive Director, Boston Dance Alliance

Folashade Solomon

Associate Professor, Framingham State University

Stephanie Scherpf

Co-Director / CEO, Arts at the Armory


Download Brochure


Registration is on a first come, first serve basis.


Thanks to our Conference Partners