The integration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) serves to develop creative thinking and twenty-first-century skills in the classroom (Maeda 2012). Learning through STEAM promotes novelty, innovation, ingenuity, and task-specific purposefulness to solve real-world problems--all aspects that define creativity. Lisa…

This paper introduces the concept of creative dexterity within the choreographic process and explores how contemporary dance conservatories are seeking to foster performers' skills in choreographic collaboration. Through investigating the institutional strategies of the London Contemporary Dance School, the Rambert School of Ballet and…

The author identifies higher order thinking as an essential component of dance training for students of all ages and abilities. Weaving together insights from interviews with experts in the field of dance education with practical pedagogical applications within an Improvisation and Composition class for talented and gifted youth, this article…

This article takes a phenomenological approach to understanding embodiment in relation to teaching and learning taking place in movement contexts. Recently a number of studies have pointed to the potential that phenomenology has to understand the meanings and experiences of moving subjects. By presenting two examples of our own work on embodied…

This paper reports on "Web3D dance composer" for ballet e-learning. Elementary "petit allegro" ballet steps were enumerated in collaboration with ballet teachers, digitally acquired through 3D motion capture systems, and categorised into families and sub-families. Digital data was manipulated into virtual reality modelling language (VRML) and fit…

Preserving dance history for future generations includes documenting and maintaining the life and work of dance pioneers who today's dance educators can learn from and imitate. This article offers basic guidelines for conducting interviews; preserving valuable documentation, including photographs and recordings; and unearthing forgotten stories…

Community workers are often described as unsung heroes who work for, with and alongside others in order to make qualitative differences to the communities they serve. This paper reports on the story of a community-based arts educator, Morgan Jai-Morincome, winner of the ACT Adult Learners Week Award for an outstanding program in 2007. This…

Participation in physical activities, in and out of school, remains heavily influenced by social constructions of gendered behaviour. In addition, the body plays a significant part in the presentation of legitimate performances of physical practice and the construction of a physical "identity". The consequence is that in formalized…

Summarizes results of an interpretive study exploring how students in one high school subject (dance) made sense of their experience. Most participants found school restrictive and uncaring. Feelings about a subject were closely connected to students' feelings about the teachers. Dance permitted more positive relationships with teachers and…

This paper traces an experience of designing and conducting qualitative research in dance education. The primary aim is to highlight the importance of giving consideration to research methodologies in the emergence of personal research practice. Making decisions about what method/s to use will ultimately direct the engagement with any study,…