Teaching Dance: Discussion

Dear Kelda,

I really connected to the idea of teaching dance although my memories of school dance don't coincide with this excitement. I remember formal barn dances we were taught and it was a cultural learned choreography, not learning how to explore and share ideas using your body in fundamental movements, and to choreograph your own work as in now indicated (ACARA, 2015). The thinking around teaching dance has certainly changed over time.

Recently during NAIDOC week my practicum class attended a cultural learning experience at the sustainability center in Mt. Nelson. One part was a dance lesson given by Aboriginal sharer of knowledge Linton Burgess who encouraged the students to make the movements of a particular animal or two and to dance as that animal to some clap sticks. He asked students “when no-one knows how to dance what is it they look to, who do they watch?” going back to the Aesthetic learning process in Sinclair (2012, p.47), it was a very intentional ploy to get students to appreciate, and create. This was very powerful teaching. 

Source: Linton Burgess During NAIDOC week

After watching videos of students having dance/movement lessons from prep to grade six, (see youtube) it is important to understand how the concept of using your body evolves and the method of teaching develops with the students physical and cognitive abilities. The difference looking at little preppies becoming horses, bunnies and frogs, and the Grade six's using sport motions to synchronize a choreographed dance sequence shows this natural progression both in physical control of their own bodies but also in the ability to work together, to use symbolic gesture and to solve problems.

Here is my own universal writing dance technique, it is not always the end product but the process of making that is worth reflecting on. I would gladly use the universal dance technique with my own students.

Good Luck,

Tracey


References:

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015, May 15). The Australian Curriculum: Dance (Version 7.5), Foundation to Year 2, Years 3 and 4, Years 5 and 6, Years 7 and 8 and Years 9 and 10, all curriculum elements, all curriculum dimensions. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/download/f10].

Sinclair, C. (2012). Teaching for the Aesthetic, Teaching as Aesthetic. In Sinclair, C., Jeanneret, N. & O’Toole, J. (ed.) Education in the Arts. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.