Throughout history, dance has been regarded as an act of rebellion. This art form has persisted to become a means for the common person to demonstrate impassioned objections to issues from racism and religious oppression to communism, plastic waste, and human trafficking. As early as the plantation era, dance has provided a means of physical…

This arts-based narrative research was an inquiry into how embodied dialogic spaces can provide access to dance learning reflections by students after graduating from a pre-professional dance program (DanceWorks, Berlin, and Palucca University, Dresden, in Germany, and Duncan Center, Prague, in the Czech Republic). Dialogic spaces, a term used by…

Across three studies and empirical papers, this dissertation focuses on the ways embodied, choreographic sense-making practices can expand the means and ends of STEM learning with respect to mathematics and computation. Specifically, this work demonstrates how practices for developing rule-based improvisational choreography map generatively onto…

This qualitative case study investigates the ways stakeholders in a senior/seminar teaching practicum construct and engage in reflection. It also explores the ways these modes of reflection intersect with pre-service dance teachers' development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and critical consciousness (CC). Specifically, the study…

The purpose of this dissertation study was tri-fold: (1) to gain insight into the overall impact and implications of remote dance teaching and learning which resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) to investigate potential online applications of Lincoln Center Education's (LCE) approach to Aesthetic Education (AE); and (3) to identify concrete…

This dissertation examines a century of Chinese dancers' bodily citizenship from the 1920s to the 2020s with emphasis on accounts of dance instruction and artistic exchange at the Beijing Dance Academy through a review of historical dance photo and newspaper archives, data collection of lived experiences in artistic practice, and oral history…

This dissertation examines the integration of behavior analytical procedures into teaching performing arts dance skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), mainly the innovative use of song-lyrics self-instruction. Individuals with ASD often face unique challenges, including social communication delays, limited play interests, and…

Expressions of multicultural information from dances of non-Eurocentric or partial Eurocentric lineage are routinely absent from private sector curricula, though Eurocentric dances and non-Eurocentric or partial Eurocentric lineage dances exist simultaneously within the private sector. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine…

A well-established conceptualization of academic capitalism is rooted in the marriage of economic theory and critical social. Significantly, academic capitalism links economic dimensions with the political-ideological transformations of U.S. society associated with the fall of communism and the rise of neoliberalism. Academic capitalism is based…

This dissertation examines the academic status of dance as a discipline of higher education through the lens of the Western mind-body problem. Such an examination is pursued based on arguments suggesting dualism obscures the significance of the body, art, and aesthetics for educational ends. The primary interpretative lens used to explore the…

This qualitative descriptive study explored how undergraduate dance students describe somatic experiences in dance technique classes and their influence on their critical thinking, feelings of empowerment, and dance technique at a private southwest university. The theoretical foundation for the study was critical pedagogy. Using critical pedagogy,…

Three key constructs--the self, the body, and the dance classroom--help define how community college dance students develop their artistic voice. I identify the educational context of a community college dance class as a significant space where dance students can engage in artistic practices that lead to transformative and empowering experiences.…

Dance is a language with a variety of structures communicating unique messages. The elements of dance are used to communicate these messages. The products are lived experiences. Using the phenomenological theories of Husserl, the connections to dance of Sheets-Johnstone, and the cognitive studies of Piaget, the purpose of this study was to examine…

This study aims to understand teacher experiences during the 2020-2021 school year and the impacts of COVID-19 protocols, which forced dance educators to use virtual platforms to teach a movement-dominated art form changing the dance education landscape. The study follows six educators' experiences through phenomenological research describing key…

Dance as an academic endeavor has held a place in higher education since 1926. From its beginnings as a major of study under a department of physical education, dance in academia moved into departments of fine arts and flourished as an expressive art form in the mid to late 20th century. In the 1990s, dance in K12 education similarly moved from…