 You're going to probably you're going to die lonely Or to be more precise you're going to die lonely a Recent extensive study from the University of York comprehensively evidenced that people living in social isolation are more likely to experience a chronic and terminal medical conditions The experience of loneliness Makes us more susceptible to death The same study identified Dance activities are one of the best ways to socialize and stave off such conditions An early death is not the only problem that emerges from social isolation Study after study indicate the impact of social alienation on health security education and the economy Social alienation in school leads to low engagement with learning leads to low achievement Social alienation in society leads to crime terrorism and suicide Social alienation within workplaces leads to low productivity and low employability Alternatively individuals who can effectively communicate collaborate and collectively innovate are the most sought after with employment markets So what does all of this have to do with my research in dance studies? Today, I'm going to illustrate this in association with three words community creativity and refuge My research focuses on dance and how the creative moving body can foster a sense of belonging Social interaction can be intimidating Who has not felt uncomfortable the first time they enter a classroom a playground a workplace a prison a retirement home a refugee camp a new country a Cocktail party an academic symposium. I know that I've felt intimidated and so that's why I research it So how does one gain a sense of belonging and acceptance? For some it will be through words listening and talking For many, however words languages discourses Will be the intimidating block that is causing the discomfort and sense of dislocation Dance is not the only alternative to words, but it is one. It's one that I practice and so I research through it Dance can help us to feel comfortable in our own bodies feel comfortable surrounded by other bodies feel comfortable with ideas Feel comfortable with our physical environments My dance research focuses on how dance can foster community creativity and refuge Dance can allow us to commune Through dancing we can negotiate the norms and distinctions that help identify and reinforce a sense of community Dance a lot can allow us to feel creative Through dancing we can generate and contribute to culture within such a community feel a sense of agency and not simply replicate culture Dance can provide a refuge through dancing individuals can get a sense of inclusion amongst others a sense that they belong and that their presence is valued Research that I've been involved in has evidence that dance practices can foster both social inclusion and social exclusion It has shown that dance education has empowered learners and demeaned learners Dance has connected people to their bodies and others and further alienated people from others and their bodies The world is full of people with good intentions Artists educators community activists social workers Business leaders healthcare professionals security professionals who want to use dance to support people and society Their practices do not always achieve those good intentions, however Often it is because they do not recognize the complexity of those good intentions So I work with researchers that are investigating these practices They are asking how questions like how might a dance class help an elderly woman save off Alzheimer's? How might a dance production help a young refugee to feel a sense of future in a strange land? How might a dance workshop bring a group of employees into a more cooperative sense of mind? How might dance inside of a curriculum help a teenage boy feel that he is valued at school? How might a dance session allow a young woman in prison to evaluate her body and sustain a sense of self-worth? How might a dance activity allow a child with autism to communicate? Through partnerships with researchers in education social work Maori studies Pacific studies health and medical sciences and business and economics this research is releasing possibilities They cannot simply be achieved through medication legislation strategic direction formal education verbal mediation or economic repatriation I Spent eight years living in the West Bank in Gaza Strip investigating how dance may support traumatized communities there But I also recognize that we may need very different approaches for other communities traumatized by political environmental or economic upheavals Through the arts equal project in Finland. I'm currently working with Scandinavian researchers addressing the refugee crisis in Europe This dance research recognizes how different we all are and seeks more nuanced and responsive approaches to how we use dance to address issues of social inclusion My research involves ethnographic studies Through the Talking Dance book series that I'm co-authoring with Associate Professor Ralph Buck and Dr. Rosemary Martin. I seek marginalized voices This book series challenges dominant national patriarchal and colonial narratives That regarding the role and function of dance in places like the Middle East Asia the Pacific and Eastern Europe My research also involves creative practice interventions in the form of community-based dance filmmaking My current research project is a film entitled five cities five sensors. It's created with community-based organizations in Laos Palestine Italy Australia and Fiji It seeks to collectively reimagine urban landscapes in these places. This is an image from that film So my research places the body the moving body the creative moving body at the center of broader socio-political issues So how does this relate to you? You did not all arrive here today by attaching your brains to some standard technological interface Your very different bodies brought you into this room and to get here today to reach this room Your body has been central to thousands of decisions Your body has brought you information and intuitions Your body has improvised ideas identified possibilities and avoided problems Through your bodies you have experienced creation communication reflection and inspiration When we consider this it does not seem so surprising that research into the creatively moving body can be interlinked with so many other disciplines and research directions Thank you