Umbrella Terms in Dance

We advertise West African as a style... even though it's not! It's a group of styles categorized by region. The same can be said of Chinese Dance, or Philippine Folk Dance, both containing hundreds of regional/ethnic/cultural styles.

But why do we do this? Is it misleading?

Well as educators, you know that when we begin our education in something, we are not ready for ALL of the details. 

We like to think of umbrella terms as gateways into a region, or a broader culture. That's our first thought.

Secondly, we like to leave it to our instructors to be able to read the room and choose more specific styles that suit the age and ability and interest of your students. 

DEI work is not perfect nor straightforward, so we're open to your thoughts! 

How do we best include these huge histories without omitting some of the specificities?