New London ― Students took a dance workshop with choreographer Ronald K. Brown and Associate Artistic Director Arcell Cabuag with the group EVIDENCE during the Igniting Emancipatory Possibilities through African Diaspora Dance Summit at Connecticut College on Thursday.

The purpose of the summit is to bring artists, practitioners, students and scholars from across the Northeast together to create a community to envision the possibilities for the future of African Diasporic dance.

The three-day event features dancing, lectures, presentations and discussions for attendees.

Rachel Boggia, co-organizer and chair of Connecticut College’s dance department, said for her it was important to get people together to discuss what it means to teach this form of knowledge in a predominantly white space.

“This is the future of dance in higher education,” she said, “focusing on the decolonization of dance education.”

The conference was made possible by the Dayton Artist-in-Residence Program, which enables students to encounter and learn from artists and performers who are not typically accessible in an academic setting, giving them the opportunity to explore a wider variety of artistic approaches.