Publication and Research
Dancing Colors: A Case Study
In 2014, I took trip to Southeast Asia that would forever transform my life. Together, with Hoola for Happiness, I co-developed a therapeutic dance program. We spent four months, primarily working with young women from vulnerable populations. The program, based on a color-framework, encouraged and equipped the young women in a story-telling process through dance.
“Sex Trafficking Survivors Use Dance and Color to Share Their Stories”
Dance has the ability to reflect the soul and to communicate thought, feeling, and emotion like no other medium. For some, their stories of darkness run deep. Yet, dance has remained a tool by which they have been able to share their stories. In Asia, young women, rescued from vulnerable and dangerous situations, danced their stories in aftercare homes.
I met those women. With a small team, we offered the women a framework to share their stories through dance. This is the story of Ara, one of those young women. I hope her story grips your heart, as it did mine.
Thanks to Dr. Ambar Basu, project co-author.
“Real-Life Scenerios: A Case-Study Perspective on Health Communication" can be purchased through Oxford University Press or on Amazon.
Chapter Excerpt
“As the music began, Aara sat reading a book. The girls spun yellow hoops around her, joyfully painting the picture of her life as a child. Then came an eerie musical transition, foretelling tragedy. With black hoops and scarves, the girls surrounded Aara, taunting and entangling her. She stretched her arms up and out, and mimicked crying and pleading for help. Her eyes recounted the fear she must have felt in the moment of her capture… The music changed and one of the dancers waved a red silk scarf across the stage…As she lifted Aara’s chin, her rescuer wiped her tears. Aara’s face now wore a hopeful smile.”