Perspektives was a theatrical dance performance that took place on May 4 and May 5, 2019, at Kahilu Theatre on Hawaii Island. The show featured over 100 Prince Dance Institute students.

The show is about navigating the tricky waters of conflict resolution told through performance art. This performance-based narrative tells the story of Jacob and Claire, two teens—now bound together through their parents’ re-marriage—spiraling through conflicts that touch their inner self, their friends and family, their home environment, and their school context. It is a stork of working through real-world disputes.

The plot of Perspektives incorporated the four elements of peacebuilding (according to John Paul Lederach, professor of international peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame) with the overarching theme that conflict can be complicated and is not necessarily always resolved. Through the show’s characters, Jacob and Claire, their peers, and the relationships around them—seen and unseen—the story follows conflict as a journey versus a contained experience.

In addition to the storyline, Perspektives included contemporary dance, acting, trapeze, musical theatre, aerial silks, and hip-hop and breakdancing and features choreography by Angel Prince, Elizabeth McDonald, Kat Reuss, Kalena Zindric, Mana Ho’opai (Hilo), and original pieces by Candie Duggan and Noelani Anderson.

Perspektives was created in partnership with West Hawai’i Mediation Center.