In the first episode of our series focused on creating socially engaged art, Pawlet Brookes talks with Dancer, Choreographer, and Director of Just Us Dance Theatre, Joseph Toonga. Joseph’s work explores themes around Blackness, tenderness, and vulnerability in masculinity. He and Pawlet discuss his latest works “Born to Manifest” and “Born to Protest,” his own journey with layered identity, and his thoughts on visibility, platform-creation, mentorship, empowerment, and cultural identity.