Introduction and Overview of the book.- Historical, Sociocultural and Political Contexts of Indigenous Dance Practices in Uganda.- Ubuntu, indigenous communities and dance practices in African cultures.- Biographic complexities of selected Indigenous Dance Teachers in Uganda.- Contexts and meanings of indigenous dance education practices.- Individuality, community, inclusion, and agency in indigenous dance.- Music as a pedagogic aid in indigenous dance education.- Diversity, Inter-ethnicity, and Inclusion in Indigenous Dance Pedagogy.- Practice, pedagogy, people, process, and participation (p5): inclusion and agency in indigenous dances.- Implications of Ubuntu as Pedagogy for Local and Global Education.- An Example of a Dance Session Undergirded by Ubuntu Philosophy.
Alfdaniels Mabingo is a dance researcher, scholar, performer and educator from Uganda. A Fulbright alumnus, he received his Ph.D. in Dance Studies from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Mabingo’s dance research interrogates decolonization, Indigenous knowledge systems, postcolonialism and interculturalism in the contexts of education, research and performance of Indigenous African dances.
This book locates the philosophy of Ubuntu as the undergirding framework for indigenous dance pedagogies in local communities in Uganda. Through critical examination of the reflections and practices of selected local dance teachers, the volume reveals how issues of inclusion, belonging, and agency are negotiated through a creatively complex interplay between individuality and communality. The analysis frames pedagogies as sites where reflective thought and kinaesthetic practice converge to facilitate ever-evolving individual imagination and community innovations.