“¡Juntos!” ("Together!"), says Marsha Parrilla good naturedly as she watches members of her company, Danza Orgánica, work through a piece at the Tony Williams Dance Center in Jamaica Plain. Company members practice movement and together with Parrilla, choreographer and founding artistic director, decide how to best embody the work. This inclusive approach makes their performances powerful and their social justice work resonant.
The contemporary dance theater company, launched in 2007, uses dance as a tool for social change by creating work with diverse narratives and engaging various communities in "Dance For Social Justice Workshops." The workshops — with curriculum informed by Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” — are open to everyone, but sometimes center around themes like environmental justice or cater to specific populations such as indigenous groups or women of color. Parrilla cultivates a space where people can talk about what's on their hearts, including personal trauma. There, they can be heard and then express ideas through movement. Read more.