full interview_yamilee toussaint_2.mp4
Yamilee Toussaint [00:00:00] My name is Yamile and I am the founder and CEO of Stem From Dance.
Speaker 2 [00:00:06] Do you want to say your full name, or do you know if you can go by your own name?
Yamilee Toussaint [00:00:11] Yeah, I'm always fine, keep it informal.
Speaker 2 [00:00:13] All right, so tell us what that is.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:00:19] What is STEM from Dance? STEM from dance is all about capturing the joy, the beauty, the creativity that exists in STEM through the power of dance.
Speaker 2 [00:00:35] Yeah, it's not news, so yeah, you can expand a little bit. It was great, it was a great start. Okay, okay. Just continue.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:00:42] Okay. You know, from my experience, I see that—actually, I want to say something else. When I think about this challenge that we're up against of the lack of representation of women of color in STEM, I think of the barriers that women face. I think about the mindsets that start to form at a young age that girls don't do STEM. And that's what I created STEM from Dance to Change. Without changing these preconceptions about STEM, we're not going to see girls get excited to do things like engineering and programming. I found that I needed an additional amount of confidence in order to withstand some of these environments that existence stem where I would be in a room in an engineering class and see that I would be the only black woman, or just one of a few. There takes an additional resilience to be able to persist in an atmosphere where you don't feel like you belong. And again, I think in order to see more women of color be able endure through these kind of circumstances, we have to do something different. We have to take a different approach. And that's where I think dance allows us to do that. Dance allows us to extract the joy, the fun, what's interesting and amazing about STEM. I know that when I dance, I feel challenged. I feel empowered. I feel connected to my peers. Those are the words that I wanted girls of color to describe their math and science and engineering experience. So all of that is what led me to start Stem From Dance.
Speaker 2 [00:02:49] Did you have like a moment where you said this is my idea and you came up with the idea?
Yamilee Toussaint [00:02:56] Mmmmmmmmm Well, I mean like the honest answer is I first had the idea when I was not working and searching for what my purpose was. You know, I knew I had this engineering degree, I had, you know, a few years teaching and having an impact in education, I've been dancing my whole life and just felt like these The paths were conflicting. Um, and when I had a moment to just stop and reflect and really grapple with my future, my purpose, you know, it was like an aha moment when I was praying where I got to see that actually there is a way that these, these interests can actually compliment one another and that I'm uniquely positioned to think about a solution for this issue of representation in STEM. Through an artistic lens. And so that's where it began is just with my own grappling of how do I choose between these things that I love and enjoy so much? And actually I don't have to choose. There's a world where these can intersect and not only can they intersect, but they can come together to create a positive impact in the world. And that's what I wanted to do with my life is to serve others and to see those to are underrepresented, those whose voices aren't heard to be highlighted and lifted up.
Speaker 2 [00:04:38] Why do you think STEM and the arts are considered so separate?
Yamilee Toussaint [00:04:46] I think there are these boxes that are created, especially in education. You go to math class, you go to English class, you go social studies, you to dance, maybe, if a school offers dance, and in reality we know that that's not quite the case. Things are blended and intersect naturally. As a young person, I just naturally... Was interested in, or I say it this way, like as a young person, I really loved playing the violin and I was obsessed with dance and I also loved doing math problems for fun. And so for me, I was just pursuing the things that interested me. I wasn't thinking, oh, how strange is it of me to like both things that are artistic and scientific. I was just doing what? What I gravitated towards. It's only as an adult that I started to see that I had to make a choice. I remember when I was starting to apply for colleges, and that's where this notion of boxes started to form. OK, what major am I going to choose? And it's very different to consider an engineering pathway and a dance pathway. So I felt like around 16, I had to make that decision. In the next one. And I decided to go towards engineering because it felt stable and secure and I didn't really know what a career as a dancer would look like, but my father was a mechanical engineer, so I knew what that pathway looked like and that's really why I gravitated towards it.
Speaker 2 [00:06:30] Fantastic. So talking about the kids here who are middle schoolers, What's the selling point? Is the day of the selling, point of the stem? Tell us, what's your general experience? Mm-mm.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:06:42] Mm-hmm most often I see that girls come because they like to dance they see there's dance in the title there's a dancer on the poster and And they want to be part of it And what happens most often is that that stem part of what we do is you know? It's it's a little there's uncertain about it They're they know there's something to do with stem and they're open enough and to participate in the program but really... Coming in hesitant about it. And then over the course of time, they start to see, oh wow, like I could do this. And I'm actually kind of good at this. And I want to do more of it. And they start look forward to the STEM part of the day, even more than dance.
Speaker 2 [00:07:28] So if I'm an 11 year old girl would come to you and say, why do you like, why do like the STEM part? Why do you engineering? What, what, how does this speak to you? What do you feel?
Yamilee Toussaint [00:07:40] If they ask what is interesting about engineering?
Speaker 2 [00:07:42] Yeah, because the answer is I think an easier self, right? Because people will say, well, you can exercise and all that. But it's like, well you just said you have what you love, math and all that sort of thing. So tell me about the passion that one could have for engineering.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:07:57] Mm-hmm, I think I think of STEM as like a toolbox, right? It is the, it provides the tools that allow you to build your dreams and your ideas. I think it's so empowering to be able to have an idea and also be equipped with what it takes to create it. So with our students, they get to dream of ways that dance and STEM intersect, and we're teaching them. You know, the foundational skills that they need to be able to create this. So it's not just dreaming of an idea. It's not just dreaming of an idea, it's creating it and seeing it on a stage and just seeing yourself do the thing that you envisioned is just so empowering. I think that is the power of learning STEM and it's more than just the jobs that they can have in their future. You know, they're in fifth grade, right? They're not quite planning out their future trajectory. But it's just the beauty of learning these skills in an atmosphere that feels welcoming and inviting and where you can sort of lower those fears and anxieties that we know form in young girls at such a young age. They can experience it without the pressure that can come with being in a math class and facing a hard math problem, but they're doing these mathematical things. In an atmosphere where they feel actually encouraged that they can do it.
Speaker 3 [00:09:43] Marion or Andy, do you have any questions? Just a follow up on that, just a little bit. So they have these little belts, these little colored belts. And so how does that fit into what it is that you're talking about?
Yamilee Toussaint [00:10:00] So they are making circuits in order to, they are making circuits to enhance their dance performance. They're not just on stage dancing, but they're using the circuit that they created to complement their movement. So for example, you know they can choose to have the it light up every time. Faye. Or stop or whatever that intersect that that interaction is a waste of that one more time So am I trying to come in I can't even see
Speaker 2 [00:10:41] Oh, you're going to go in that direction. We're going in front of the station again.
Speaker 4 [00:10:46] Okay, perfect.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:10:49] Um...
Speaker 2 [00:10:51] So. Oh, okay.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:10:53] This one again, okay. Yes, so the the girls are asked to make a dance performance that incorporates these circuits in some kind of way. So they learn about how circuits work, how do electricity, they learn about how circuits works and how to program the light so that it's interactive with their movement in some way. They're not just on stage dancing, but they're dancing with technology.
Speaker 2 [00:11:25] And I'm just going to follow up on that, which is they seem to be having a good, a really good time, okay. And it's almost like it's not school, it's like playing, you know, it a little bit like playing. Do you think about is play important to what your agenda is, your, your system, your systems of how people learn stuff, let's talk about play.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:11:48] Mmm, next eat. Yeah, okay. I think at the heart of this experience is this sense of play and joy. So important for girls of color to experience joy in their education, especially in STEM education. So oftentimes STEM is associated with it being boring and irrelevant and too complicated, but in the context that we provide where they get to make this performance, they get to be on stage, they got to create something with their peers, you see laughter, you smiles, you see a relaxation. And you see joy and that's what we want them to experience.
Speaker 2 [00:12:39] Fantastic. Okay, I think there's one more and then...
Speaker 4 [00:12:42] Two, two, where does your creativity come from? Like my own? Yeah.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:12:50] Hmm. My creativity comes from seeing a problem that exists and just wanting to be part of that solution, especially when I see a problem that just seems solvable. When I was in an engineering class at MIT and saw so few people who looked like me, that felt like something that could be different. It didn't feel impossible to me. All right, and that's what got my ideas flowing. Like, what if this, and is this the issue? And it's those kind of challenges that really get my ideas going.
Speaker 4 [00:13:31] So are art and science different in terms of creativity and innovation, or does it?
Yamilee Toussaint [00:13:36] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I, when I think of art and science, my lived experience is that they, how do I say this?
Speaker 4 [00:13:56] With experience.
Yamilee Toussaint [00:13:59] Yeah, when I think of my lived experience in art and science, I think there's just so much that's in common. When I think about the creative process in making a dance performance, there's ways that it mirrors the creative processes when you're designing a product. And so, for me, I find myself drawing on... A similar skill set, a similar way of thinking whether I'm doing something artistic or scientific.
Speaker 2 [00:14:39] Okay? Okay. I'm good. We should go. I don't wanna miss the performance. I just.
Speaker 4 [00:14:44] One quick thing to sum up, and you've sort of said it, how do STEM and dance intersect in what we've seen here at this wonderful school?
Yamilee Toussaint [00:15:02] Can I say what you're seeing here at the school? What you're seeing here at the school with these girls is they're getting to experience the intersection of dance and STEM. They're going to see an example of what it looks like to apply a STEM concept, a STEM skill, to something that is very familiar to them, right? Dance is very cultural. It is something that you do for joy, for fun. And they're getting to apply STEM to this context that's very natural to them. So we almost see it as this gateway, this pathway, where they get to start from what is familiar with them and lead them to what may feel unreachable or really unthinkable, and make that something that feels tangible to them
