CSULB professor Zakiya Atkinson reflects on her passion for dance, community work and spreading the art form

Dance professor Zakiya Atkinson sees dance as "a transformative space," where people from different backgrounds can teach each other and themselves important concepts and lessons.

Through her efforts at Cal State Long Beach, Renaissance High School for the Arts and at CSULB's Isabel Patterson Child Development Center, the assistant professor in dance is pushing the boundaries of dance instruction, bringing the art form to young people who aren't typically exposed to dance at a high level.

Atkinson has created a contemporary dance collective, organized dance festivals, and has led arts programming and workshops throughout the country and internationally. In addition to teaching dance and dance pedagogy classes at The Beach, she coordinates the single subject credential program for dance in the College of Education.

Q: Why is dance important?

Zakiya Atkinson: Dance connects people to their bodies and cultivates embodied awareness. It's a space that taps into students' social and emotional competencies. It's a space where obviously we're putting up a performance, with costume and lighting. But in its bare essence, it's really a space for embodied learning.

Zakiya Atkinson, center, leads CSULB students in a dance credential course.

Q: What do your dance pedagogy students learn when they are teaching dance?

ZA: They learn how to follow a lesson plan, connect with their students and differentiate instruction as needed. They learn the historical context of the dance forms. They gain an understanding of how to create learning objectives that are measurable.

CSULB dance students instructing students from Renaissance High School.

Q: What do the Renaissance High School students learn when they are engaging with your students?

ZA: The RHS students were able to experience a variety of dance forms and styles throughout the workshop series. Because the sessions were open to students with a wide range of experience, the pedagogy students began each lesson with a brief overview of the history of the dance form or style they were teaching. Some lessons focused on exploring themes and creating original movement phrases, while others guided students in learning technique and choreography in a specific style. The workshops also gave the RHS students a glimpse of what college dance learning experiences could look like.

Q: Tell us about your dance research.

ZA: I am conducting a multidisciplinary research project with my colleague, Min Gu (Department of Liberal Studies), titled "Investigating Inclusive Arts Practices: A Global Exploration of Arts, Race, and Disability," which is supported by a 2024-2025 ORED Multidisciplinary Research Grant.

One of the second-year MFA dance students has been working as our research assistant. We also facilitated a workshop for students who participate in BMAC's LIFE Project this semester as a part of our research.

Q: How do you use dance to engage students in community work?

ZA: I've facilitated arts workshops in community spaces throughout the Philadelphia, New York City and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, and I've also worked with communities in Uganda and South Africa. I've recently had the opportunity to explore cultural dances in community settings in both Cuba and Grenada.

In the (CSULB) pedagogy course, students get the chance to engage learners in educational settings, but we also explore how dance can be used in community spaces and how to adapt lessons to different groups.

Zakiya Atkinson, front, leads a class of CSULB dance credential students.

Q: Beyond the technical aspects of dance, what are some general life skills that students can get out of dance instruction?

ZA: In a dance class, students learn to take risks, make choices, collaborate, problem-solve, self-critique and think creatively.

Q: How did your background outside academia inform how you approach teaching at The Beach?

ZA: I've studied different art forms - dance, theater and music, and worked across different sectors in dance, so I'm familiar with the paths and opportunities available to students pursuing a career in the arts. I try to integrate this knowledge into my lessons so students can build skills that connect to real-world opportunities.

As a cheerleader (for the Philadelphia Eagles), I learned a lot of discipline. I learned how to interact with people. I learned preparedness. It was a great experience, learning how to be a part of a professional entity as it relates to dance.

Q: What is your proudest moment as a dance professor?

ZA: My proudest moment has been seeing graduates of the CSULB Dance Credential Program obtain full-time positions as dance educators. Graduates have been hired in Long Beach Unified School District, Garden Grove Unified School District and Anaheim Union High School District.

I like performing, but I really like teaching. I really like to have a hand in cultivating and orchestrating artistic process.