Unfortunately, many students with limited dance experience are afraid to venture into exploration for fear they will "do it wrong." Others fear negative criticism. For these, and a myriad of other reasons, many dancers (not to mention physical education students) avoid improvisation and choreography when, in fact, they should embrace such…

The interdisciplinary collaboration is a type of subversive activity that helps the students and teachers to see beyond the traditional subject boundaries. A high school teacher's collaboration with the dance instructor helped students to understand and see Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal Dreams" in a new way.

While much has been written about dance, its role in education has been elusive. One thing is clear, though. What distinguishes dance from other forms of movement, action, and activity is the context in which dance or "aesthetic movement" is performed and appreciated by others. This includes both the way dance is thought about and evaluated by…

To resist and transform gendered and hypersexualized assumptions and attitudes that cloud interpretations and devalue readings of black and brown bodies, dance educators cannot only facilitate agency for their students, but also help demonstrate an overarching concern for social justice and equality. Dance has the power to transform and redirect…

Dance education in the USA has a new window of opportunity to reach every child in academic schools. The National Education Goals now recognize dance as a core subject, such as, e.g. language. To take advantage of this development, the "Intelligent Moves--Partnering Dance & Education K-12" workshop for teachers was held as part of the Vail Valley…

The "Critical Thinking Belief Appraisal" was administered to practicing dance teachers (n = 52) in the USA to investigate their beliefs (and use of) critical-thinking activities with high-advantage and low-advantage learners. Results point to an "advantage effect" in dance teachers' beliefs about critical thinking: the higher…

The purpose of this research is to instigate a debate about the way in which professional ballet dancers are trained and the content of that training. The literature on the teaching of ballet has always focused on two areas: ballet vocabulary and training. The former is treated as both a fixed and autonomous form, and, for the latter, methods of…

During spring, 2005 The University of Montana, Department of Drama/Dance successfully piloted a small ArtsBridge Program through a new service-learning course for advanced dance and drama students. This article describes the process of setting up the university-public school partnership; describes challenges to faculty, staff, scholars and host…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics of resilience among Australian adolescents, the extent to which resilience might be strengthened through participation in a dance/drama competition, the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (REC), and the impact participation may have on health related behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: …

In England the government's specialist schools initiative is transforming the nature of secondary education. A three-year longitudinal case study tracked the effects of specialist performing arts college status on two schools. The sites were a mainstream school drawing pupils from an area of high social deprivation and disadvantage, and a special…

This edition of the dance directory contains updated information on colleges and institutions which offer dance education. It lists the following information: (1) name of college or university and whether it is a state or private institution; (2) name of department; (3) mailing address and telephone number; (4) degrees and/or certification…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of Rudolf Laban's theories of movement to the teaching of choreography and improvisation. The paper presents learning activities appropriate for early encounters in the development of artistic process skills. It is predicated on the theory that the choreographic process is a heuristic process…

A literature and research review regarding the participation of boys in elementary school dance programs suggests that negative attitudes held in the early part of this century about the value of dancing for boys may still influence the nonparticipation of boys in dance programs of the 1980s. (CB)

The article describes the development, organization, goals, and activities of a course designed to trace the evolution of jazz dance and tie this dynamic dance form to the cultural experiences of African-Americans. (CB)

This article describes four years of experience the Pittsburgh High School of the Creative and Performing Arts has had with a dance program. Problems and virtues of the program are highlighted, and suggestions for improvement are offered. (MT)