Journal of Development Communication And Applied Theatre

This study investigates how dance functions as a vital tool for locale creation in community theatre, focusing on the BOESTI 2025 Eporo outreach in Emure-Ekiti Local Government, Ekiti State Nigeria. One of the enduring challenges in community theatre is how to make performance spaces feel like lived places rather than neutral stages. Drawing on embodied performance theory, which views identity and place as continually created through movement and collective interaction, the research examines how dance inscribes cultural memory and belonging into ordinary spaces. Ethnographic observation, oral narratives, and performance analysis reveal that choreography, costumes, and music transform simple venues into cultural landscapes, embedding shared histories and values into the fabric of theatre. Importantly, younger generations reinterpret traditional dances, blending heritage with contemporary influences to sustain relevance and articulate modern realities. Dance in community theatre is more than movement on a stage, it becomes a shared heartbeat. It draws people from different walks of life into the same rhythm, inviting them to shape a place together and discover belonging. Through dance, space feels alive: it carries memory, anchors identity, and opens a bridge between past and present. In the BOESTI Eporo outreach, dance was not just an element of performance but the thread that wove strangers into a community. It turned theatre into a home for imagination and togetherness, showing how resilient dance is as a cultural practice that keeps community life vibrant and enduring.

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