Lisa Sandlos
Biography
Lisa Sandlos holds a PhD in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies, an MA in Dance at York and is qualified as a Certified Movement Analyst (CMA) through the Laban Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS) in New York.
A main trajectory of Sandlos’ research is on sexualization in dance for youth and its impacts on dance education, public perceptions of dance, and girls’ psychological and social development. She continues to investigate various aspects of youth dance in her role as a Research Associate in The Dance Lab at Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada. Another branch of her work is accomplished through Soma-City, an organization that uses interdisciplinary methods of research and teaching to explore topics at the intersection of human movement and landscape design.
An enthusiastic presenter of her academic research and the various embodied movement/dance modalities she teaches, Sandlos has shared her expertise at international locations including Theatrum Mundi in Paris, France; The University of El Paso, Texas (UTEP); The University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados; The University of Porto, Portugal; and Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA) in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on her extensive experience in facilitating inclusive, community-based dance, she is the co-director of two eco-somatic arts education projects: Global Water Dances (Hillsburgh, ON chapter) and Sonic Kinesthetic Forest.
Academic Positions
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Research AssociateBrock University , Child and Youth Studies, Canada, Sep 2021 - Present
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Contract FacultyYork University, Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, Canada, May 2019 - Present
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Contract FacultyYork University , Department of Dance, Canada, Sep 2000 - Present
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Contract FacultyYork University , School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Canada, Sep 2000 - Present
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Contract FacultyYork University , Faculty of Education, Canada, Sep 2014 - Present
Degrees
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PhD, Gender, Feminist and Women's StudiesYork University ,
Toronto
Canada -
MA, DanceYork University ,
Toronto
Canada -
Certified Movement Analyst (CMA), Movement AnalysisLaban Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS),
New York ,
United States
Scholarly & Creative Works
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2023, ournal of Dance Education, Special Issue on Mental, Emotional, and Physical Health and Wellness of Dance Teachers and StudentsSandlos, Lisa
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Laban Score for Unwalling the City. In Elahe Karimnia and Fani Kostourou (Eds.), Embodying Otherness, vol. 1.2021, Theatrum Mundi and Future ArchitectSandlos, Lisa and Rennie Tang
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Dance as Activism: Agency and Social Transformation through Bodies in Motion. In Neri Torres, et al. (Eds.), Perspectives in Dance Fusions in the Caribbean and Dance Sustainability: Rituals of Modern Society2019, Cambridge Scholars PublishingSandlos, Lisa
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Shimmy, Shake or Shudder?: Behind-the-Scenes Performances of Competitive Dance Moms. In Amber E. Kinser, Kryn Freehling-Burton and Terri Hawkes (Eds.), Performing Motherhood: Artistic, Activist and Everyday Enactments2014, Demeter PressSandlos, Lisa
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2023, The 2023 Paris Conference on Arts & Humanities (Conference Proceedings)Tang, Rennie, Eleni-Ira Panourgia, and Lisa Sandlos
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2022, European Conference of Art, Design, and Education (ECADE) (Conference Proceedings)Tang, Rennie, Eleni-Ira Panourgia, and Lisa Sandlos.
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Scaling Sensory Experiences: Across Dance, Occupational Therapy and Urban Design2020, Ambiances, Alloaesthesia: Senses, Inventions, Worlds. Proceedings of the 4th International congress on AmbiancesTang, Rennie, Lisa Sandlos, and Elisa Seidner
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Agency and Social Transformation through Bodies in Motion: Why Dance is an Important Tool for Feminism and Gender Equality2015, The Sustainability of Dance as an Art Form: Economics, Politics, and the Philosophy of Resistance (Conference Proceedings)Sandlos, Lisa
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Laban Ladies: Two of the Women behind the Genius2003, The Society of Canadian Scholars Conference ProceedingsSandlos, Lisa
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Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Bias Report on The Arts Curriculum Draft2008, Ontario Ministry of EducationSandlos, Lisa
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2023, DA:NCE (Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited) NewsletterSandlos, Lisa
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In Conversation: Talking about Assessment in Dance2016, The Dance CurrentSandlos, Lisa
Research Interests
Dr. Sandlos' research lies at the intersection of feminist scholarship, dance studies, child and youth studies, choreography and performance, movement analysis, creative arts education, and eco-somatic practice. At the core of all her research is a focus on the body. Using an interdisciplinary lens and feminist ethnographic research methods, she explores theoretical and experiential perspectives on bodies and embodiment, mobilizing this knowledge not only through written publications and academic and public presentations, but also through choreographic creation, performance, somatic and movement education, and community arts. Dr. Sandlos continues to investigate sexualization of young girls in competitive dance which was the topic of her doctoral dissertation, and is now expanding the scope of this research to focus on how sexualization affects boys and non-binary youth who dance. She is also involved in two major, ongoing interdisciplinary research collaborations: Soma-City with landscape designer and Associate Professor at California Polytechnic University, Rennie Tang, and Sonic Kinesthetic Forest, with Rennie Tang and sound artist and Eleni-Ira Panourgia, a Research Fellow at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Potsdam, Germany. Through these projects, Dr. Sandlos has been researching and developing new pedagogies for attuning to the internal landscape of the body and connecting bodies to urban and natural environments.
Teaching Interests
Lisa Sandlos has been a faculty member at York University in Toronto since 1998, teaching in the Department of Dance, School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, and the Faculty of Education. She also teaches Pilates and somatics practices in private studios and schools.
