At Arts Advocacy Day 2009 in Washington, over 500 citizens educated, advocated, and lobbied for federal support for the arts and its positive impact on the U.S. economy. This year the Nancy Hanks Lecture was given by Wynton Marsalis, whose extraordinary address voiced the potential of the arts in this new era of hope. For dance educators, Marsalis…

A model for the holistic preparation of dance teachers is presented. The model includes four tenets: focus on the whole person, integrated curriculum, explicit identity development, and apprenticeships in relevant communities of practice. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article presents an approach to teaching that acknowledges the history and style of authentic jazz dance; also known as traditional jazz dance. Described for students on the first class-day as "...your great-grandparents' jazz..." the course is an introduction to the stylistic characteristics of an indigenous U.S. form evolved primarily from…

Recommendations for the teaching and performance of grand rond de jambe en l'air are presented. Incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data, information generated from biomechanic analysis is balanced with observation of the testing and questionnaire and interview data. The voices of the participants in the research contribute to an…

For the majority of undergraduate dance students, success is the realization of a career in performance; however, given that this will be the outcome for so few graduates, should this ideal be redefined? This paper draws on findings from a case study of Australian dance artists, which sought to determine how dance artists allocate their working…

Research on the efficacy of traditional ballet barre exercises in relation to student learning and performance in technique class essentially is non-existent. This research explored how students described their experiences with barre work as well as how they saw these experiences as developing desired skills for moving in the center work.…

Effective teaching of dance skills is informed by a variety of theoretical frameworks and individual teaching and learning styles. The purpose of this paper is to present practical teaching strategies that enhance the mastery of skills and promote self-esteem, self-efficacy, and positive self-image. The predominant thinking and primary research…

This essay explores factors influencing high-quality teaching in dance. The author argues that deficiencies in the skills needed to teach the content of dance (i.e., pedagogical knowledge) pose a bigger threat to effective instruction than familiarity with the subject being taught (i.e., content knowledge). The process of learning to teach not…

This article explores the importance of vision in dance from both the teacher's and the learner's perspectives. Since vision does not function in isolation, the interplay between sight and other modes of learning movement-based material is considered as well. Movement activities are provided to assist with understanding this information…

When children create dances using their ideas, they are empowered to explore their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Through dance, they bring their inner self to the surface where they can express their dreams, fears, needs, and joys. Dance educators need to support children's ideas and trust the children's creative process, especially when…

This article presents multiple perspectives of "petit battement sur le cou de pied". These perspectives include historical, biomechanical, and pedagogic points of view. The article offers useful information for ballet specialists and applied research studies aimed at ballet pedagogy. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

The article addresses the utilization of modern dance compositional approaches in the development of sacred dance works. A brief history of sacred dance in the Western Church is traced as a foundation for students' stereotypical approaches to dance and religion. Also examined is the 20th Century modern dance choreographers' practice of…

This article provides a brief description of a dance program at the Old Donation Center Dance Education Program in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The mission of DSI--Dance Scene Investigation--is to nurture the full development of each student's dance potential through intense involvement in every aspect of the art. The program provides differentiated…

In this action research study, the author examines her teaching a unit of study focusing on the dance "Outside In," choreographed by Victoria Marks in 1994. Aided by an analysis of multiple forms of data collected from her high school dance students in response to the unit, the author identifies and then reflects upon two important themes, one…

These short essays address the political nature of teaching dance in higher education from various perspectives. Issues of identity, authority, power, expectation, and assumption are addressed within the context of the teacher-student paradigm. From personal perspectives, each author examines the ways in which who they are affects what and how…