Street Dance Activism Collective Freedom Dreaming

In his book "Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Tradition," Dr. Robin DG Kelley advises, “Without new visions, we don’t know what to build, only what to knock down. We not only end up confused, rudderless, and cynical, but we forget that making a revolution is not a series of clever maneuvers and tactics, but a process that can and must transform us”. With inspiration from the vocabulary of Kelley, and their “collective freedom dreams,” through dance, meditation, and collective action, Dr. Shamell Bell and members of Street Dance Activism lead us in a process of transformation that shifts us toward a new vision and a dance piece of liberation. Our goal is to embody our Collective Freedom Dreams!!! We will use dance alongside healing modalities such as meditation, sound bowl healing, Liberation Journaling, to "move" our Collective Freedom Dreams forward together.

Bio: "Visionary Instigator" of Street Dance Activism and Global Dance Meditation for Black Liberation, Dr. Shamell Bell is a mother, community organizer, dancer/choreographer, and documentary filmmaker. Some of her coolest, original titles include: Visionary Escalator of the Debt Collective. She is also Co-Social Impact Director for “Ritual of Breath is the Rite to Resist,” an evening length opera-theater piece that responds to the murder of Eric Garner. As Co-Social Impact director with Garner’s mother, Ms. Gwen Carr, Dr. Bell conceived of an intensive ritual-making process with mothers who lost their children to state sanctioned violence, the creators of Ritual of Breath, Dartmouth students, and community members to be shared globally as a healing modality. Formerly a visiting lecturer of African and African American Studies and Theater at Dartmouth College, Dr. Bell is currently a Full Time Lecturer of Somatic Practices and Global Performance at Harvard University. An original member of the #blacklivesmatter movement, beginning as a core organizer with Justice 4 Trayvon Martin Los Angeles (J4TMLA)/Black Lives Matter Los Angeles to what she now describes as an Arts & Culture liaison between several social justice organizations. She also consults for social justice impact in the tv, film, theater and music industry.