What does it feel like to live uninterrupted? For so many marginalized groups within the United States the ability to move through the country unencumbered is a rare privilege. Be it the over-policing of Black and Brown communities; the surveillance of citizens deemed a threat due to religious beliefs, or even the ability of female-identifying people to walk home without being  physically/verbally/sexually accosted. In this panel discussion, we ask ourselves: what is the possibility of safety and peace for those that society has categorized as the “other”?

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This event is part of The Clarice’s BlackLight Summit. To interrogate this unique historical moment, the BlackLight Summit seeks to be a spark that ignites daring innovation and reveals the creativity within the dance ecosystem in America. The inaugural BlackLight Summit is a year-long dance initiative that investigates how time, people, possibility and hope can come together to examine legacy, citizenship and scholarship. The summit asks, through the practice of being socially responsible within the arts: How do we create traditions? How do we transform them into enduring legacies?

The peak of the BlackLight Summit is a virtual three-day convening that features roundtable conversations, movement labs and artistic presentations from BlackLight featured artists Micaela Taylor, Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Candace Scarborough and Jamal Abrams. Our initiative aims to re-envision how dance can be a conduit to galvanize imagination, resilience, and inventiveness.