COMMUNITY IN MOTION:
THE DANCE OF
HEALING Tim Brestowski
By Chelley Canales
*Trigger warning:
references to racial violence
W
hen we connect to the past, we can heal the present. When we do it together, the ripple effects can change the world. Daniel Banks, Ph.D. and Adam W. McKinney, M.A. have been doing just that since 2006 as founders of DNAWORKS, a Fort Worth, Texas-based “arts and service organization dedicated to furthering artistic expression and dialogue, focusing on issues of identity, culture, class and heritage.”
FWLT3
A COMPLEX IDENTITY The productions and programs that DNAWORKS takes to 37 states in the United States (U.S.) and 17 countries are not meant to be merely seen but experienced. Disconnection and trauma are alchemized into belonging and healing, creating a sense of home for many who live outside of society’s traditional boxes. Banks, a renowned director, choreographer and educator, whose credits include Shakespeare in the Park, National Theatre of Uganda and Singapore Repertory Theatre, considers his own experience a driving force for his creativity.
I find home around people who also don’t neatly line up and check off all the boxes. — Daniel Banks
www.CultursMag.com
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Summer 2021
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