Embodying Police-Free Futures

Abstract

Embodying Police-Free Futures investigates how dance can inform and expand conversations on police abolition. The project sought to contribute to the police abolition movement in the Twin Cities by simultaneously tackling these two interwoven questions: How can an embodied investigation of our collective hopes and fears about police abolition further our personal activism? How can live embodied demonstrations of police-free worlds connect with audience members whose positions on police abolition are wide-ranging? My research culminated in the creation and sharing of Practice , a 40-minute-long dance work in collaboration with local dance artists Sarah Abdel-Jelil, Hannah Pierce, Lu Chen, and Ansel Langmead. With clear communication, mutual commitment to safety, and constant re-evaluation of COVID-19 safety protocols, we were able to move through the process with no COVID-19 spread traced to Practice rehearsals or performances. Practice was performed on October 17th, 18th, and 24th with a total of five shows, each at full audience capacity. Embodying Police Free Futures was a deep investigation into how dance can contribute to the police abolition movement, how abolition can be embodied and processed in white and non-Black bodies, and how live improvised performance can communicate alternate realities and futures. When discussing police abolition and planning for our collective future, we often look to words, statistics, and reason. By centering our bodies, which already hold feeling and knowledge that our intellects may not recognize, Practice operated on intellectual, emotional, and physical levels. Practice created space for personal reflection on police abolition and embodiment by artists and audiences and brought people into community, potentially re-energizing audience members around the police abolition movement in the Twin Cities.