Based on the author's experience as a teacher in a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program, the author offers some ideas to ease the transition from the private studio to a BFA professional preparatory program. As a teacher in the Ailey School and Fordham University BFA program, the author has seen many students work their way through this challenging…

Reviews the contributions of Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) to dance education by placing MI theory in the context of historical perspectives on intelligences and examining the assumptions behind traditional models of intelligence and some of the more recent pluralistic approaches. The paper reviews the principal tenets of MI…

Given the present economic and political climate, how can dance programs in colleges and universities continue to thrive? Recently there has been a national movement to return to the roots of the original altruistic mission of the public university and the land grant legacy. In other words, a movement toward, engagement. Engagement involves a…

This article offers a specific example of the benefits that might result from integrating scientific principles into the daily practice of dance training. Using the mastery of turnout as our focus, we 1. describe the anatomy of turnout in terms familiar to the dance artist, 2. explore conditioning and imagery work designed to improve the use of…

In the dance studio, the mirror can play a large role in the dancer's learning process. Research on learning and memory shows that reducing the amount of feedback during training enhances long-term motor skill retention and that more externally focused attention may aid performance. Research testing the effectiveness of training with a mirror as a…

In this article, the author talks about Motif Notation, a means of creating, recording, and reflecting on dance experience, and dance making as educational partners in an urban middle school. The author shares partial tales of middle school-aged children engaging in dance making and Motif Notation which illustrate the fact that teens need to…

This article describes the school-wide support behind an arts-infused dance curriculum at the Linwood A+ Elementary School. The "A+" stands for "arts plus academics." Linwood A+ Elementary School is based on this model, an approach to teaching and learning that infuses the arts into the whole curriculum. It is a vision of arts-infused teaching and…

The author talks about the benefits of dance education in the middle school setting. The author describes a scene in a dance classroom where all students can be successful, for within the confines of the space, a broad spectrum of learning preferences are addressed and multiple intelligences are acknowledged and validated. The author stresses that…

In the past three years, the author has taught yoga classes to students at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, in addition to her job as Dance Director. This school already is an open environment; the students are generally interested in the arts and the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts is known for its…

A history of the outstanding K-12 dance program in Vancouver, Washington, is provided, including various strategies used to promote its growth from a few pilot elementary schools through middle schools to an arts magnet high school. Numerous changes have been weathered by the professional dance staff, including certification challenges instigated…

This article evaluates strengths and limitations of some studio training. It focuses on values that private studio students bring to the public school setting. One teacher uses this as an opportunity to reflect on and claim her own values and desire to develop students as artists.

The concept of the "hidden curriculum" can reveal complex issues of gender in dance education, ones which often reinforce gender stereotypes in the larger culture. The hidden curriculum, referring to everything students are learning besides what teachers are explicitly teaching, is generated through the taken for granted structures and practices…

The author has spent six years teaching dance and movement to grades pre-kindergarten through fourth at an independent school in New York City. For five of those years, the author has had the privilege of hosting student teachers from New York University's Dance Education Program. Although the author has reflected on what the student teachers may…

The ways in which seven private sector dance professionals in the United States perceive the impact of sexuality in contemporary culture and the choices that they make for their own schools of dance because of these perceptions are explored. This study was conducted through in-depth interviews and a survey instrument. The participants' narratives…

In recent years the number of children, ages 3 to 5, in early childhood programs has rapidly grown. As a result, an emphasis has been placed on developing curriculum guidelines that specifically address the needs of young children. One of these guidelines recommends that children be provided with an opportunity to participate in regular movement…