What does community engagement look like? For Professor of Dance Paula Frasz, it looks like designing dances that mirror her students, their experiences and the world we all live in. As the makeup of the students in the dance program has become more diverse, Frasz has challenged herself to create works that reflect her students and their world. For her efforts over nearly three decades, Frasz was named a 2021 Presidential Engagement and Partnerships Professor.
“All artists reflect wherever they are,” Frasz has said. “I don’t just see our students in the classroom. This is my community. This is their community and their surroundings.”
One example: In 2018, students from the NIU Dance program earned an invitation to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to perform, “ENUF” a dance choregraphed by Frasz. The dance had been judged to be the best performance at the Central Conference of the American College Dance Association (ACDA).
In 2018, students from the NIU Dance program earned an invitation to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to perform, “ENUF” a dance choreographed by Frasz.
“In the summer of 2016 I was sitting in my car waiting for the endless train to pass by in downtown DeKalb,” Frasz said. “The news was all about another young black man shot by police, and the Colin Kapernick kneeling situation during the national anthem. One of the train cars that went by had a graffiti tag on it that said ENUF in capital letters.
“I sat there and thought to myself, ‘Yes, I agree. ENUF already.’ I decided at that moment, because we have a wonderful group of minority dancers, that my next piece of choreography would be a dance addressing the history of oppression, suppression and violence against minority groups. I am an old hippie and protest is in my blood. It was time to speak out and my forum is movement.
“The dance, “ENUF,” was born.”
“What better opportunity to give voice to an underserved population than to place their issues and concerns on stage?” Frasz asks. “My personal growth has been profound, as the students generously share their cultural experiences and viewpoints, which helps me develop choreographic material to best suit them.”
Learn more about Frasz’s work in this NIU Today article from 2021.
