The Staten Island Dance Project is an oral history and community archive project that focuses on collecting the stories of dancers on Staten Island. Dance is an ephemeral art form—using the body as the vehicle for expression does not yield itself to the same archival methods one would employ with material objects. As a result, there is often little measurement of the impact that dance can have on a community. This project seeks to give space for dancers to reflect upon their life's work in a communal way.

This project curates Staten Island’s dance history into digital and physical spaces. It explores the following questions:

• What is the process of transmission between generations of dancers?

• How do we document and preserve dance?

• How can we nurture community through sharing our individual and collective dance histories and knowledge?

The Staten Island Dance Project utilizes performances, workshops, roundtables, and other events to bring local dancers together. The work is documented on this website.