Unifying Dance and Relationship Through MPACT

ABSTRACT

The MPACT program was founded in 2001 to bring parent–child dance classes to families in the child welfare system after teaching artist and attorney Chantal Sampogna became curious if family dance could help her clients who had been separated from their children due to court mandates. With enthusiasm, Luna Dance Institute took on her inquiry, piloting short family dance sessions at the Alice Arts Center in Oakland, and eventually forming a partnership with the Solid Foundation founded by the late Minnie Thomas. In this article Cherie Hill, dance teaching artist, and Nancy Ng, MPACT's cofounder, share the design, approach, and practices used to develop a 17-year-old family dance program.