Since 2018, award-winning breakdancer and choreographer Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie’s dance company has worked with School Engagement in the Arts’ Discover Dance program to offer curriculum, workshops, and performances to NYC public school students from all five boroughs. She spoke with us about the inextricable connection between her creative practice and intergenerational collaboration, honoring the lineage of her NYC dance elders, why everyone deserves access to dance education, and more.
When did you and the Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD) start working and performing for students through School Engagement with the Arts?
It started in 2018, when we were artists in residence, working on a piece called ODEON. We performed excerpts of the show in the Discover Dance program — the kids really understood the work, because the teaching artists had prepared them for it, and we saw that this was a very special program. I can’t think of another dance education program that is this holistic. We did Discover Dance again last year with another work called UNDERSCORED — a work that is near and dear to our hearts because it involves club legends — our beloved elders-from NYC’s underground dance community. This meant that the students got to work and learn from the same people who taught us. That intergenerational conversation is at the heart of what EAD is about.
What is the lineage and history of your dance practice?
I am drawn to a lot of different dance forms — I started taking ballet classes at 10 — but I’ve always loved hip hop. I grew up listening to it and dancing it socially with my friends. Breaking is the original form of hip-hop dance and early on in my journey as a b-girl I was super fortunate to meet an incredible old school b-boy, educator and mentor, Richard Santiago, a.k.a. Break Easy. Break Easy never separated the dance from the culture. Being a part of the breaking scene meant understanding the history of African American and Latinx communities in New York City. He underscored that the why of how this dance was created informs everything about the movement itself. Learning directly from some of the elders who ushered in the culture — both in breaking and in the underground dance community — shaped me as an artist. For this I am forever grateful.
Why is intergenerational conversation so important to you?
The way that I teach is deeply informed by my mentors. Breaking, hip hop and house are all dances that are part of the continuum of dances from the African diaspora. It’s essential to draw connections between dances and the cultures they emerged from — this is what teaching fully and ethically is about; showing students how and why these dances came about, and who made them. I always lead with that — it connects students with something bigger than themselves. When I teach, I talk about my experience dancing with my elders as a way of honoring them and deepening the conversation around lineage and the vastness and importance of our interconnectedness as artists.
How easy is it for New York public school students to access the arts?
It depends on the student’s socioeconomic status. Arts education, to me, is a human right — you should be able to participate in dance, music, and theater no matter who you are. Some students have lots of access to that, which is great, but there are parts of New York where kids don’t get to participate. The Discover Dance Series here at 92NY is a program that is trying to close that gap and ensure that every young person in all five boroughs finds access to the arts. As artists and art educators, this is our duty.
Why do you think it’s important for students to have dance education?
Every component of education is important, but I have seen young people transform through dance — dance changes the way young people see themselves, how they problem solve, how they make friends, how they find joy. When we’re educating young people through movement, we’re teaching children how to relate to their bodies. It stays with them for their entire lives whether they find a profession in it or not.
What do you hope your students come away with after they work with you?
I hope that they are inspired to move — as a way to express themselves and communicate, connect, and find release. They should feel in the core of their bodies that their potential is limitless.