Literature Review D

Teaching Dance in The 21^st Century

http://www.futureacademy.org.uk/files/menu_items/other/ejsbs99.pdf

(Soot, Viskus, 2014, Accessed 7/4/16)

This article gives an overview of current trends and findings in developments of dance pedagogy. It presents theories and methods that have evolved during the 21^st century including holistic, somatic and reflective approaches to teaching. I feel this article is relevant to my inquiry as it focusses on aspects ideal for the development of artistry in performance. The following quote encompasses the need for this approach, ‘Teachers need these understandings in addition to dance content including dance techniques, choreographic principles and processes, somatic practices, dance history, cultures and philosophy.’ (Gilbert 2005). I selected various theories from the following as I feel I can consider these approaches when devising my artistic curriculum.

The Holistic Teacher

The article discusses the term ‘Holistic’ meaning teaching the student as a whole, taking into account the views and personality of each individual learner. This will be informed by the student’s intellectual, physical, social and creative experience and responses to stimulus, all of which are connected. ‘The holistic dance teacher’ explores learning theories that connect the learner with the outside world through dance. By encompassing personal qualities and individual life experiences it is possible to bring together a unique development of expression.

Practitioner theories suggest that the teacher should consider the concept of the ‘multiple self’ incorporating instinctive, personal and environmental influences and address each of these within their training. It is therefore necessary to go beyond the generic teaching method of instructing students to imitate example and go far more in depth than simply training technique. Holistic teaching is defined in the following quote, ‘It is a conscious activity of compiling the learner’s world view… Uniting personal identity with teaching, the mind with the body, the curriculum to the community, to address the human as a whole.’ (p2).

Self-regulation and Reflection

‘Concentration, focus, self-discipline, working hard to achieve a goal, being your own teacher, being fully alive and present, problem solving, making connections, seeing relationships, collaboration are more important than any dance content we teach’ (Stinson 2003, p3).

In the 20^th century, teaching dance consisted primarily of training the body, however contemporary methods now encourage the progression of acknowledging dancers as individuals. Reflection encourages students to recognise their experiences and build awareness of their own learning process. This theory points out that students must be their own teacher and play an active role in their own learning to identify the connection between method and results. This theory proposes the idea that the student is responsible for their own progress, however the teacher must provide the tools for creating their own learning environment by combining discovery, exploration and reflective learning. This method is essential to motivate student’s self-awareness and encourage the ability to critique and correct themselves.

‘It is essential to take people’s characteristics and the development process of their whole personalities into account.’ (p2)

The Somatic in Dance

Somatic practice is the body’s internal physical perception. This approach in a dance context encourages the student to gain a greater awareness of their own body. This entails working from the inside and sensitively listening to the body’s feelings, intentions and movements, it explores the cognitive aspect of physical movement. It is an intuitive and creative approach to learning and nurtures the student’s imagination allowing them to find their artistic individuality. It is a method that is also commonly used in psychotherapy, spiritual practice, Pilates and Laban Movement Technique. Through internal perception it is possible to some extent to prevent injury.

‘As dance is definitely a physical and aesthetic discipline, the role of the teacher in the somatic teacher in the somatic approach in dance could be seen as to encourage learners to originate from their bodies and its personal characteristics’ (Soot, Viskus, 2014)

The Relation of Dance Pedagogy to the Art

The role of the dance teacher is a combination both artist and educator, many dancers study teaching as part of full time professional training, this is described as interdisciplinary education. Experienced dancers should not undertake teaching without prior pedagogical experience and therefore need to transform their existing knowledge to meet the demands of the role. The risk being that they could potentially cause psychological and physical damage to the student in the pursuit of artistic and technical excellence.

 ‘As artists it is important to understand the content, process and methodology of creating, performing and responding to dance as an art form. As educators, they have to understand the content, process and methodology of developing and delivering curricula, syllabi, and assessments’. (Bonbright, 1999, p5)

Media and technology in dance education

Advances in media and technology have enabled dance to reach a wider audience. Through social media platforms such as Face Book, Linked In and Instagram, teachers can join dance communities and network with likeminded professionals (much like the BA PP course!). When taught to manage these correctly and efficiently, these sources can enhance learning outside of dance class. Students are now able to develop their skills and career prospects by having an online presence. Popular culture can inspire both teachers and students by providing ideas for choreography, teaching methods and stimuli for creative artistry. This provides awareness of current trends in dance, ‘But the availability of dance through media can improve the teaching of dance as well as bring excitement to the classroom where the learners are already acquainted with technology. Dance in the media could serve dance education as a conduit or connection between the known, popular culture.’ (p5)

Conclusion

This article has allowed me to acknowledge the advancements in today’s components of dance education. I feel that these approaches are essential in the development of artistry and it shows just how much more information is readily available to access. This article highlights the advancements in the approach to teaching and I plan to make use of these ideas within my structured programme for developing artistry.

Having commenced my professional dance training over 18 years ago I have since seen many changes in the approach to teaching. There is a noticeable difference in the way that I was trained as a student to the ways I was trained to teach. I was informed that we were to be a ‘new breed’ of teachers as a new curriculum and programme had been formulated in 2006 to train ISTD teachers. This article led me to consider the ways I could potentially incorporate some these ideas within my class in order to enhance student’s artistry.

In my previous blog, ‘Dance Artists Who Have Informed Performance’ I identified attributes that made these individuals exceptional and outstanding performers. They achieved this status by bringing their own personality and life experience to their work, they took the initiative to develop their technical training further by committing themselves as a whole. I feel that this encompasses the holistic approach as described within the literature and I feel that is it necessary for teachers to encourage individual input in order to produce outstanding and unique performers.