It is my belief that a prevailing colonial mentality in higher education dance spaces, as it relates to jazz dance, is responsible for the lack of serious engagement and appropriate regard. This article makes the argument for the decolonization of higher education spaces, advocating for fuller engagement with the jazz genre and positioning it to…

Dance Education and Music Education are not the same, but are often considered together as Arts Education along with Theatre Education and Art Education. The history of Dance Education as a discipline is much shorter than Music Education, so Dance Education often looks to music education for leadership as well as scholarship. Remixing the…

This paper argues that Liz Lerman's and Larry Lavender's approaches to mentoring student choreographers denote a shift in the philosophy of choreographic mentorship in higher education, because they reflect current concerns in critical pedagogy. My particular interest is in the relationship established between student artist and educator when a…

In this article, I argue for an acknowledgement of the significance of the dancer's role in the creation of independent contemporary dance. I propose the term "moving identity" to outline the independent contemporary dancer's "way of moving" which could be perceived as the accumulation of various factors including training approaches,…

This article revisits ideas put forward at the beginning of an academic career and discusses the ways in which time and experience within academe has shifted the author's perspective. Specifically, focusing on the balance of artistic thinking with the widely perceived need to justify the arts in higher education, the author explores questions…

The necessity for engaging the body in learning, the need for students to move throughout the school day, and the positive effects that dance has on students' development are all good reasons for dance to be included in the elementary curriculum. There are many ways for teachers to integrate movement into the school day, using math, science,…

This is a viewpoint that discusses the criteria applied for an objective, academic assessment of dance education and comments upon the status of dance education both in secondary education schools and professional dance schools in Greece today. The viewpoint concludes by proposing the need for an independent undergraduate dance degree to be…

This paper offers a way of rethinking Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. The bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is used as the point of critique. The author provides a detailed discussion of the act of dancing as counterpoint to Gardner's understanding of the intelligence. The author critiques Gardner's exemplar and evolutionary…

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…

This article presents ideas and views of educators regarding the role of dance in the secondary physical education program. One educator believes that dance education is an excellent complement to the traditional physical education program at the secondary level. Another educator defines physical education as the "art and science of human…

Photography should be regarded as an art rather than as passive documentation. Those interested in photographing dance can best think of it as an opportunity not just to record what the dancer is doing, but also to explore the dancer's personality and to stimulate the invention of movement. This exploratory approach will not only benefit the…

Since 1977-78, The USA National Dance Association (NDA) has selected one individual each year to receive an award as NDA Scholar and/or Artist and make a presentation at the association's annual meeting. The following essay was originally presented as the 1994 NDA Scholar's Lecture; a manuscript version has been published by that organization. The…

Separating theoretical knowledge from practical knowledge and from direct engagement with dance is limiting and distorts nature of dance. The challenge is to demonstrate how rationality of subject works, show progress from intention to action in creating and performing dances, articulate purposes of making and performing a work, identify…

Recent research about sexuality and dance has begun to address the needs of gay male dancers, yet the needs of lesbian dancers have remained mostly absent from scholarly discourse. Exploring the lesbian lacunae, or invisible spaces of dance education, reveals the personal, political, and pedagogical implications of their existence within the dance…

Dance as an art form is transformational to body, mind, and spirit. The author opines that public education would do just fine if dance was the "only" subject taught. This article presents the author's reflection on progress of dance in K-12 education. The author contends that progress in dance in K-12 education can perhaps be judged by the fact…