Judith Marcuse, Judith Marcuse Projects—Choreographer, Arts Producer, Advocate
By ADRIAN MACK
Unsung heroes toil behind the scenes, and if they get recognized on the street, it’s too often because of a little civil disobedience and subsequent face time on the evening news. Judith Marcuse’s face time comes from another place entirely: her achievements in dance, choreography, production, and direction have brought worldwide acclaim.
Started as DanceArts in 1980, Judith Marcuse Projects was founded with a strict commitment to Marcuse’s passion for integrating art and community, as she so deftly showcased through her efforts with the recent World Urban Festival in Vancouver.
“The arts make us more human . . . creating dialogue at a deep level, producing insight, energizing people, and connecting communities,” she explains. Marcuse is particularly fond of the ICE Project—a dance piece that addresses teen suicide, originally developed in 1994 with teenaged volunteers. In a rather brilliant move, it debuted at the Pacific Centre Mall. “The kids were lined up around the block,” she remembers. “That was kind of overwhelming.”
Marcuse’s next vision involves creating a one-year curriculum in “art and social change,” a topic on which she was invited to speak at The Hague this summer. “We’re still in discussion with various academic institutions about where it might be housed,” she says. “But I think a lot of young artists are really, really hungry to do this kind of activist work . . . both locally and overseas.”
“I travel so much that I’m so aware of our extraordinary privilege,” she says. “Out of that comes a sense of responsibility.”
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