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…

In this article, the author shares her experiences of the universality of art making and artistic experience of being a dancer and teaching artist. She describes her performance at Kohler, a worldwide leader in plumbing products in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where she had an epiphany dancing in a toilet factory--a sudden, intuitive moment of…

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…

Beginning with the theory of cultural embodiment, this paper suggests that the work of some contemporary choreographers, because of the use they make of their cultural backgrounds, inhabits "in-between" spaces. Cultural embodiment, it is suggested, leads to the choreographer's absorption of movement as a source of historical information…

This article discusses the use of hand-clapping games and dances in the music classroom. In addition to their use for teaching music skills and concepts, these games can be quite useful for making cross-disciplinary connections to reinforce the eighth and ninth National Standards for Music Education (Standard 8: understanding relationships between…

This article presents a historical, ethnographic and practice-based study of dance education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The concepts of dance learning, hegemony and counter-hegemony are analysed in the context of cross-cultural interventions in politically marginalized communities, and the theoretical concept of anti-hegemony is…

This paper examines how the historical punishment of the dancing body in (post)colonial contexts has been a measure for controlling the mind and undertaking effective cultural imperialism. I bring to focus the striking global dance movement to revitalise oppressed dance forms, in an effort to do what Tuhiwai Smith calls "the recovery of…

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…

In recent years there has been a remarkable proliferation of ballet competitions. This prompts a number of questions, in particular how much are they affecting current training and performance practice and, more fundamentally, whether the notion of competition may be antithetical to dance as art. Underlying these questions is the issue of…

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…

The post-apartheid Dance Studies curriculum in South Africa is attempting to offer school learners both an education and training in dance as an art form. The outcomes-based syllabi are intended to ensure that learners come to respect the diversity of South African society, and therefore a range of dance styles and genres are offered in order to…

As artists seek new ways to reflect an increasingly digital and global culture, theatrical dance in the UK and Europe has seen a growing collaboration and cross-fertilisation between forms of dance, theatre, visual art, film and technology. As the boundaries between artistic disciplines continue to blur, it seems clear that dance audiences need to…

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.…

Nowadays, children do not have enough time in physical activity at schools. Educators and parents should be aware of this need that creative dance is the key that provides children an appropriate way to exercise. On the other hand, children can express themselves freely and naturally through creative dance, which also improves children's health…

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…