As I began this reading, I was unsure of how the dance form of hip hop could be used in school. Growing up in school, dance was part of our arts education curriculum. This was the only time that I have ever witnessed dance as part of my schooling. After reading this article, my eyes have been opened to how hip hop can be used as a tool to promote social justice and youth activism. I have been dancing since the young age of 3. Due to my busy schedule with school, other sports, and having spare time, I recently have stopped dancing. This was a hard decision for me to make. In fact, it took a very long time for me to decide if I was actually going to quit or not. This being said, hearing that a form of dance can be added into other lessons, makes me really excited. I do believe that dance is a form of art. I enjoy that dance is being used to talk about a serious topic such as social justice issues. It feels as if you have a calm way to talk about a serious and heavy topic. You could almost call it, “the calm to the storm”.
Through dance, we often tell stories. Sometimes these stories are more visible than others, but for the most part, some sort of story is always there. Hip hop is a story in itself. Hip hop often speaks on different forms of oppression, such as racism. While often addressing factors such as skin colour, money, and living situations. All of these factors correspond with the idea of oppression, and speaks to those who often feel oppressed. Some may resort to the form of rap music, when these feelings relate to ones life. Additionally, a form of music, similar to wrap is often used in hip hop dancing. Overall, the concept of hip hop dances works to tell the sport of the oppressed and speaks out about social Justice issues.