The Collective Workshopping of Our Emerging Global Citizenship in Transcultural Fusion Dance (TcFD)

Abstract

Transcultural Fusion Dance (TcFD) is a global, hybrid genre that fuses dance traditions of North Africa and the Arab World with Hip Hop and Electronica. Starting in the 1990’s, TcFD participants utilized the genre to enact their enthusiasm for intercultural exchange, visual cultural mashup, and embodied exploration of global citizenship. The momentum shifted after being confronted with decolonization calls from BIPOC communities in the U.S.A., and is now collectively building ethical practices and interdisciplinary contextualization that also offers a critique of contemporary dance education for its sluggish awakening to decolonization. The author details the historical events that instigated a global decolonization conversation of TcFD practices, conventions, and language, and the unfolding evolution of Fair-Trade Cultural Exchange practices.