WELCOME TO THE INTANGIBLE ROOTS PEDAGOGICAL SCHOOL
“...I know there exists impalpable elements that lie beyond physical movement. They are intangibles that tether jazz dance to an African American experience and hold a deep structure of cellular memory of African aesthetics, traditions, and rituals.”
~ Professor Moncell E. Durden in Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century
2023 summer intensive recap
Photos by: Wyatt Florin B.F.A Dance, Minor Marketing 2025
University of Southern California
PAST COURSES
INTANGIBLE ROOTS ONLINE Professional DeveLOPMENT Course
In February 2024, INTANGIBLE ROOTS Professional Development online classes began To view the syllabus for the course click here and stay tuned for more online classes.
INTANGIBLE ROOTS 2023 Summer intensive
INTANGIBLE ROOTS 2023 Summer intensive FACULTY
FEBRUARY 2023 LECTURE SERIES Black 2 my Roots: Black Heritage Celebration
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WEEK 1 – How to Analyze Dance on Film
02.05.2023
10:00am-11:30am PST
Go from a passive watcher to an active watcher. A film is something we can read just as carefully and consciously as a book or poem.
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WEEK 2 – Belonging and Identity
02.12.2023
10:00am-11:30am PST
Belonging means more than having access. Belonging entails being respected at a basic level that includes the right to both co-create and make demands on society.
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WEEK 3 – Rhythm and Representation
02.19.2023
10:00am – 11:30am PST
Rhythm is essential to life, we have to allow our own embodied experience to guide and enrich our perceptions about the dance we are studying.
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WEEK 4 – Aesthetic of the Kool
02.26.2023
10:00am-11:30am PST
Coolness was central to the culture of many ancient African civilizations. John Janzen believes that coolness was expressed in oral culture, character building, artwork, linguistics, dance initiation rituals, warrior cults, mating rituals, and the concept of health.