Ojeya Cruz Banks
MA PhD(Arizona)
Tel 64 3 479 7684
Email ojeya.cruzbanks@otago.ac.nz
Background
Ojeya Cruz Banks joined the School of Physical Education as a Lecturer of Dance Studies in 2008. She is also the director of the dance lab, a dance collective and performance research group. Ojeya obtained her doctoral degree from the University of Arizona. Her dissertation was entitled "Decolonizing the Body: An International Perspective on Dance Pedagogy from Uganda to the United States", a dance ethnography that examined how cultural identities are produced through dance.
She has conducted dance research abroad in Uganda, Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Cuba, and several other countries. Ojeya has studied with renowned dancers such as Katherine Dunham, Moustapha Bangoura, Ron Brown and Eno Washington. Her most recent work experience includes working as a choreographer and lecturer at the Michigan State, Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan. In 2008, she was selected as a dancer/choreographer to participate in Choreographer’s Lab at the esteemed Jacob’s Pillow School of Dance.
Research Interests
Dr. Cruz Bank's primary research interest focuses on how indigenous knowledge is articulated through dance and pedagogical practices. Her current project is a dance ethnography that examines how dance practices in Senegal and in Aotearoa/New Zealand reflect the negotiation of identity, colonial power, cultural innovation and postcolonial identity constructions. Informed by her research, Ojeya produces choreographic work and teaches Afrocontemporary, Senegalese and Guinean dance. Ojeya’s scholarly pursuits range from dance anthropology, choreography, pedagogy, ethnography, African studies, Pacific Studies, Indigenous studies and postcolonial studies.
Publications
(forthcoming) Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology through African American Dance Pedagogy. Transforming Anthropology
(2011) Dancing te moana: Interdisciplinarity in Oceania. Brolga: An Australian Journal about Dance
(2010) Of Water and Spirit: Locating Dance Epistemologies from Senegal to Aotearoa/New Zealand, Anthropological Notebooks, year XVI, No. 3
(2010) Critical Postcolonial Dance Pedagogy: The Relevance of West African Dance Education in the United States. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 41 (1), pp. 18-34
(2009) Critical Postcolonial Dance Recovery: An International Literature Review. Journal of Pedagogy, Society and Culture. 17 (3) Pp. 355-67 London: Routledge
(2009) "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Dance Education". In Anderson, Noel & Haroon Kharem (Eds.). Education as Freedom: African American Educational Thought and Ideology: Critical Essays. Lanham, MD: Lexington Press.
(2004) “Negro Spirituals and Critical Pedagogy: Recommendations for Classroom Teachers” in New Mexico Journal of Reading (6)
Selected list Choreographic Works
- Espritu Tasi. Mangare Theater, Auckland, New Zealand (October 2011)
- Chocolate Zucchini Cookies. Dunedin Fringe Festival (March 2011)
- Kassa-lamban. Ubud, Bali. Bali Spirit Festival (April 2010)
- Underground Renaissance, Allen Hall Theater, Dunedin, Zealand (September 2009)
- Underground Renaissance Tempo Dance Festival Auckland, New Zealand (October 2008)
- Unseen, Unspoken, Unheard School at Jacob’s Pillow Becker, MA (August 2008)
- Reinventing Thyself Dunedin Fringe Festival (April 2008)
- Playful Warriors Eastern Michigan University (Jan 2008)
- Daughters of the New Moon, Michigan State University (April 2007)
To see details of postgraduate students this staff member may be supervising please visit the Postgraduate Profiles section of our website.
Last Updated 23 Jan 2012
