On many Sundays, Black New Orleanians dance through city streets in Second Lines. Although the parades have been widely recognized as public expressions of Black resistance, the importance of dance within the tradition has remained under-examined. In this talk, dance studies scholar Dr. Rachel Carrico shares research from her recent monograph, Dancing the Politics of Pleasure at the New Orleans Second Line (University of Illinois Press, 2024), in which she examines the parading bodies in motion as a form of negotiating and understanding power. When second liners dance, they are usually doing more than showing off fancy footwork; they might be building community, catching the spirit, fighting for freedom, or claiming home.

Dr. Rachel Carrico (she/her) believes that art serves an essential function in the lives of all people, including as a tool for justice. Accordingly, her recent book, Dancing the Politics of Pleasure at the New Orleans Second Line (University of Illinois Press, 2024), reveals how Black New Orleanians (re)claim self and city by dancing through the streets. The book received an honorable mention for the Dance Studies Association’s de la Torre Bueno First Book Award in 2025. Carrico’s scholarship on second lines, as well as on arts and disaster response, has been published in several journals and edited volumes. Her work has been supported by numerous fellowships, including a New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive Fellowship and a Gulf South Scholars Fellowship from Tulane University.

A serial collaborator, some of Carrico’s favorite collective projects include: co-founding Goat in the Road Productions (New Orleans); mounting an annual Second Line parade with the Ice Divas Social & Pleasure Club in New Orleans; and working on film projects (Buckjumping [Lily Keber, dir.]; an episode of the Webby-award winning KQED series, If Cities Could Dance; and Light Rock and Bounce [Neighborhood Story Project, New Orleans]). She is currently beginning a new collaboration that explores dance, culture, and Parkinson’s Disease. Carrico holds a Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies from the University of California–Riverside, an M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU, and a teaching certificate from the José Limón Institute. She is an assistant professor of dance studies at the University of Florida.

Sponsored by the dance department. Free and open to the public.