Wow - I'm afraid I've been pretty sparse with the posts the last couple of months… I guess my excuse is that teaching two entirely different subjects in two schools does manage to take up a lot of time!
This fall I haven't been able to do nearly as much creative dance with my elementary school kids (officially visual art students) as I did last year, primarily because of the small space for my classes this year — for the bigger kids (4th/5th graders) in larger classes, we just don't have the room to move safely. But I have managed to fit in some brief bits of dance for the kinders and first graders, and it has been a pleasure to see how open these little ones are to trying new things.
A few weeks back we were working on color theory — primaries and secondaries — and I incorporated a little bit of a dance lesson. We started by talking about how the three primaries can create different feelings; then we did a little exploration on energy qualities. I had thought that blue and red would correspond well to the smooth/sharp dichotomy, since blue seems to naturally fit with smooth movements flowing like water, and red with sharp, sudden, anger; so I just picked happy and bouncy for yellow (because of daisies, the sun, etc…). After thoroughly exploring those qualities, I asked the kids to show me "if blue is smooth, red is sharp, and yellow is bouncy, how would green (or purple, or orange) move? I was amazed that nearly every child had a very clear idea for each color would move, and showed it beautifully in movement! It struck me that this is a challenge which may very well have frozen my teenagers (or me, for that matter) — but these first graders, not yet over-thinking their movement, took quite naturally to the synesthesia ad carried it through. It reminded me that, although I love working with the advanced teens who are able to do so much, it is also refreshing to be back working with the little ones who can dive into their creativity with truly wild abandon!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
the Ancestors project
One of the pretty successful projects that I set for my Dance Production classes at EOSA was the year-long dance history project, or the Dance Ancestors project as we called it later. The first time I tried this was in 2006-07, in EOSA's third year. The assignment was to choose a contributor to dance history and research their lives, how they contributed to the history of the form, and their actual dance styles; and the end product of the research would be a research paper (of course), and a final choreography in that choreographer's style. I had to define “contributor to dance history” as someone who had at least been around long enough to have influenced later dancers and choreographers in some way — knocking out a lot of favorite video artists (“Can I do Chris Brown?” “No — he’s not even old enough!”). Along the way, I also added a preliminary paper on the specific points of the research subject’s style, just to be sure the kids were making informed choreographic choices and not just copying steps off a video. I supported the project with a small in-class dance history library (I had spent the summer browsing the used bookstores), my slightly more extensive home dance video library... and lots of individual consultation.
This first year, it had all started as a suggestion from Patricia from Luna to focus the whole school year — the theory was that students would pick their research subjects in the first six weeks, and I could spend the whole Fall semester teaching technique classes in all those different dance styles... Of course, it didn’t quite work out that way — with a few exceptions, getting the kids to settle on a research subject was like pulling teeth, until they absolutely had to because the Spring concert was getting way too close. So the whole focusing-the-year thing didn’t really work out the way I thought…
What did happen, though, was that the project completely jolted the kids out of their ordinary hip hop or Cumbia comfort zones. Suddenly, I was seeing kids who, just the year before, had been doing the old fitting-favorite-steps-to-mixes-of-favorite-songs thing — now really researching new dance styles and coming up with movements I had never seen from them before… In the spring concert, we had dances in the styles of Alvin Ailey, Garth Fagan, Katherine Dunham, Bob Fosse, Josephine Baker, Amalia Hernandez, Jamila Salimpour, Michael Jackson, and Mr. Wiggles (my personal favorite was Josephine Baker) — with differing levels of success, of course, but almost everyone tried something they had never done before.
Three years later (after devoting the intervening years to dance as a response to history and social issues, then dance as a response to words or text) I decided to try it again. This time, I did learn from the first time — instead of waiting for them to choose research subjects, I jump-started the year by teaching them some snippets of classic dance works in the fall semester, when the class usually focused on technique. With each snippet we learned, of course we also learned about the choreographer, their contribution to dance history, and their technical style, through readings as well as video observations.
We focused on modern, but I wanted to start with ballet, so that they could feel in their bodies what modern rebelled against. So we began by learning a tiny bit of Balanchine's Serenade… that fall was also when we did a lot of lecture-dems for 8th-graders at all our feeder middle schools, and we showed what they had learned of Serenade at the first few — seeing my EOSA dancers moving in unison, with that lovely slow beginning, was a moving experience for me!
I felt we needed to start our modern dance history work at the beginning, with Isadora, even though that is one technique I was relatively unfamiliar with. Fortunately, over the summer I had been able to take a workshop on Duncan technique at the NDEO conference, so I was able to share what I learned… Next we moved into Weidman and then Hawkins, both techniques where I felt on very solid ground (Humphrey-Weidman was the technique I first studied in college — had I known how hard it was to come by in the greater dance world, I would have taken more careful notes!— and Hawkins is the technique I have studied for decades with Ruth Botchan). We began by learning both sections of Dramatic Falls from Charles Weidman's Brahms Waltzes. This is a piece I had learned in college, from a teacher who had been a dancer in Weidman's company, so it was truly a thrill to be able to share a couple of sections with my students and see them perform it. We then reconstructed a little bit of Erick Hawkins' Classic Kite Tails, and then finished the fall semester with Alvin Ailey's I Been 'Buked, the opening section of Revelations.
When it came time for the class to begin their own choreography finals, this time the students were a little more prepared to pick a choreographer to study and get started. Again we had a wide range of styles — from classic modern dance (Graham, Hawkins, Weidman) to traditional and classic jazz (Josephine Baker, Frankie Manning, Bob Fosse), to choreographers of traditional cultural forms (Katherine Dunham, Madeline Mou'a), to seminal street-dance forms (Tommy the Clown).The two students who chose Hawkins and Weidman began with tiny snippets of the movement we had learned and created their own variations on them, then worried about their dances being "too much copying" — I had to remind them that "Variations on a Theme by…" is a venerable dance and music form! My favorite statement of the project was from I____, one of the two boys in the class — he chose Martha Graham as his subject; and when I asked him why he chose her in particular (since her style was extremely different from his own accustomed style), he said "I researched a lot of choreographers and she seemed to be really important, so I wanted to learn about her." His choreography turned out to be one of the highlights of the final concert.
This first year, it had all started as a suggestion from Patricia from Luna to focus the whole school year — the theory was that students would pick their research subjects in the first six weeks, and I could spend the whole Fall semester teaching technique classes in all those different dance styles... Of course, it didn’t quite work out that way — with a few exceptions, getting the kids to settle on a research subject was like pulling teeth, until they absolutely had to because the Spring concert was getting way too close. So the whole focusing-the-year thing didn’t really work out the way I thought…
What did happen, though, was that the project completely jolted the kids out of their ordinary hip hop or Cumbia comfort zones. Suddenly, I was seeing kids who, just the year before, had been doing the old fitting-favorite-steps-to-mixes-of-favorite-songs thing — now really researching new dance styles and coming up with movements I had never seen from them before… In the spring concert, we had dances in the styles of Alvin Ailey, Garth Fagan, Katherine Dunham, Bob Fosse, Josephine Baker, Amalia Hernandez, Jamila Salimpour, Michael Jackson, and Mr. Wiggles (my personal favorite was Josephine Baker) — with differing levels of success, of course, but almost everyone tried something they had never done before.
Three years later (after devoting the intervening years to dance as a response to history and social issues, then dance as a response to words or text) I decided to try it again. This time, I did learn from the first time — instead of waiting for them to choose research subjects, I jump-started the year by teaching them some snippets of classic dance works in the fall semester, when the class usually focused on technique. With each snippet we learned, of course we also learned about the choreographer, their contribution to dance history, and their technical style, through readings as well as video observations.
We focused on modern, but I wanted to start with ballet, so that they could feel in their bodies what modern rebelled against. So we began by learning a tiny bit of Balanchine's Serenade… that fall was also when we did a lot of lecture-dems for 8th-graders at all our feeder middle schools, and we showed what they had learned of Serenade at the first few — seeing my EOSA dancers moving in unison, with that lovely slow beginning, was a moving experience for me!
I felt we needed to start our modern dance history work at the beginning, with Isadora, even though that is one technique I was relatively unfamiliar with. Fortunately, over the summer I had been able to take a workshop on Duncan technique at the NDEO conference, so I was able to share what I learned… Next we moved into Weidman and then Hawkins, both techniques where I felt on very solid ground (Humphrey-Weidman was the technique I first studied in college — had I known how hard it was to come by in the greater dance world, I would have taken more careful notes!— and Hawkins is the technique I have studied for decades with Ruth Botchan). We began by learning both sections of Dramatic Falls from Charles Weidman's Brahms Waltzes. This is a piece I had learned in college, from a teacher who had been a dancer in Weidman's company, so it was truly a thrill to be able to share a couple of sections with my students and see them perform it. We then reconstructed a little bit of Erick Hawkins' Classic Kite Tails, and then finished the fall semester with Alvin Ailey's I Been 'Buked, the opening section of Revelations.
When it came time for the class to begin their own choreography finals, this time the students were a little more prepared to pick a choreographer to study and get started. Again we had a wide range of styles — from classic modern dance (Graham, Hawkins, Weidman) to traditional and classic jazz (Josephine Baker, Frankie Manning, Bob Fosse), to choreographers of traditional cultural forms (Katherine Dunham, Madeline Mou'a), to seminal street-dance forms (Tommy the Clown).The two students who chose Hawkins and Weidman began with tiny snippets of the movement we had learned and created their own variations on them, then worried about their dances being "too much copying" — I had to remind them that "Variations on a Theme by…" is a venerable dance and music form! My favorite statement of the project was from I____, one of the two boys in the class — he chose Martha Graham as his subject; and when I asked him why he chose her in particular (since her style was extremely different from his own accustomed style), he said "I researched a lot of choreographers and she seemed to be really important, so I wanted to learn about her." His choreography turned out to be one of the highlights of the final concert.
Monday, November 12, 2012
NDEO 2012
Well, now that I've been back for a couple of weeks it is high time to write about the NDEO conference, my first in three years. I was especially excited to attend this conference because the theme this year was "Collaborations: Many Cultures — Strength Through Diversity," so it promised many sessions on the intersection of traditional cultural dance forms, creative work, and dance education.
I spent most of a day in transit, since I took the train down to LA — I never fly at all unless it's a true emergency (something that hasn't happened yet, and I don't anticipate), since it's one of the most environmentally destructive things an individual can do… and the bonus is that the train is sooo nice and relaxing! No hassles with security, just hop on at the station and then sit down and read a book for the next 8 hours or so… a lovely way to prepare for a full weekend.
The first full day, I started out taking a workshop on "Jean Erdman and Hula". After a lifetime of modern dance, I knew very little about Jean Erdman -- I learned that she was born in Honolulu and grew up dancing traditional hula, but then took up modern dance and became a principal dancer for Martha Graham before breaking away to form her own company. She was also married to Joseph Campbell and had an intense interest in mythology, which infused her choreography. The workshop was given by a longtime member of Erdman's dance company, and it was fascinating to me as someone who has also tried to successfully fuse traditional forms with modern dance technique. We learned one traditional hula, then she talked about layering — traditional hula uses three layers of movement: the lele or weight-shifting pattern; the core isolations (mostly hips, in hula); and the hand and arm gestures. She then asked us to create our own short dance phrase, using those layers — beginning with the weight-shifting / stepping pattern, adding hip, shoulder, and torso articulations, and then adding arms and hand gestures. When we were finished, our phrases were based in modern technique, but had a little of the spirit of hula within them… This one was a very good start to the weekend!
My next session was with Mme. Wakana Hamayagi, a master of Japanese classical dance, or nihon buyo — a priceless presentation from a true master artist. Later that afternoon, I attended a workshop on "Exploring the Arab World through Dance and Music." This was an excellent historical presentation, with lots of information on the real history of Middle Eastern dance… how raqs sharki, the traditional women's dance form, was brought to the west, fed through circus and stage elements, and turned into what is now thought of as "belly dance"… fascinating and very complete for one hour!
I also attended a session on "Why Are There So Many White Women Here? Addressing Whiteness in Dance Education," which as you might imagine led to some rich conversations among the participants. The "aha" for me in this one had to do with that question I wrote about not long ago, on how much of an expert do you need to be to teach any particular form… One of the the teachers in my discussion group said that with each new dance form she teaches, she tells her students that "I am not an expert in this, I did not grow up with this dance form, but I learned some of it and would like to share it with you." That seemed like a good message, and I hope I remember it next time I teach a form that I am not as confident with as I would like to be.
The second day, I started with a session called "Ordinary Objects" taught by Maya and Ruth, a couple of participants from Luna's Summer Institute. What a great lesson! It was all about recycling — we used recycled objects (mostly colorful butcher paper left over from an elementary classroom) to create imaginative duets. This one included a big "aha!" moment — the workshop began with a discussion of recycling, how we take one object and turn it into something else useful… then as we explored movements, we were reminded to "feel free to be inspired by any movement you see around you, recycle it into your own…" and I realized that recycling is a wonderful way to approach the perennial complaint of "she's copying me!" I have always tried to stress that no movement is truly unique, we all take movement we learn or see and create our own movement from it… but the idea of taking movement and "recycling" it into your own, new movement seems like a great angle into that conversation.
Next I took a workshop on Balkan folk dance rhythms from Elissaveta Iordanova, a folk and modern dancer originally from Bulgaria. We learned (or re-learned, for an old folk dancer like me) some traditional dances in meters ranging from 2/4 to 7/8 and 11/16, then improvised on those rhythms… For me, it was a rare treat just to be able to do a Paidushko, Rachenitsa, and Kopanitsa at an NDEO conference! I then got to another great workshop on traditional jazz dance from Karen Hubbard, a mentee of one of the original Savoy Ballroom dancers — this one was so timely for me, as I was in the middle of the Big Apple historical dance unit with my Aspire class…
On Saturday I got to take a workshop from Anne Green Gilbert. She is one of the founding mothers of creative dance education, and an endless source of ideas for explorations — her books are among those I most depend on when planning my creative-work classes. This one was on "Folk Dancing in Brain-Based Dance Classes," and used some simple folk dance structures as frames for elements in a creative dance class. It was a thrill to finally take a workshop from Anne — and folk-dance oriented, to boot!
In general, the conference was wonderful for me because I had the chance to work on adding to my dance teaching skills and curriculum, while thoroughly indulging my love for folk and traditional dance forms… My one regret was that I brought along my camera, but never actually found the time to get it out and take pictures! I highly recommend Jakey Toor's blog, as she took lots of pictures as well as lots of notes, and also wrote about many of the workshops I didn't get a chance to attend.
I spent most of a day in transit, since I took the train down to LA — I never fly at all unless it's a true emergency (something that hasn't happened yet, and I don't anticipate), since it's one of the most environmentally destructive things an individual can do… and the bonus is that the train is sooo nice and relaxing! No hassles with security, just hop on at the station and then sit down and read a book for the next 8 hours or so… a lovely way to prepare for a full weekend.
The first full day, I started out taking a workshop on "Jean Erdman and Hula". After a lifetime of modern dance, I knew very little about Jean Erdman -- I learned that she was born in Honolulu and grew up dancing traditional hula, but then took up modern dance and became a principal dancer for Martha Graham before breaking away to form her own company. She was also married to Joseph Campbell and had an intense interest in mythology, which infused her choreography. The workshop was given by a longtime member of Erdman's dance company, and it was fascinating to me as someone who has also tried to successfully fuse traditional forms with modern dance technique. We learned one traditional hula, then she talked about layering — traditional hula uses three layers of movement: the lele or weight-shifting pattern; the core isolations (mostly hips, in hula); and the hand and arm gestures. She then asked us to create our own short dance phrase, using those layers — beginning with the weight-shifting / stepping pattern, adding hip, shoulder, and torso articulations, and then adding arms and hand gestures. When we were finished, our phrases were based in modern technique, but had a little of the spirit of hula within them… This one was a very good start to the weekend!
My next session was with Mme. Wakana Hamayagi, a master of Japanese classical dance, or nihon buyo — a priceless presentation from a true master artist. Later that afternoon, I attended a workshop on "Exploring the Arab World through Dance and Music." This was an excellent historical presentation, with lots of information on the real history of Middle Eastern dance… how raqs sharki, the traditional women's dance form, was brought to the west, fed through circus and stage elements, and turned into what is now thought of as "belly dance"… fascinating and very complete for one hour!
I also attended a session on "Why Are There So Many White Women Here? Addressing Whiteness in Dance Education," which as you might imagine led to some rich conversations among the participants. The "aha" for me in this one had to do with that question I wrote about not long ago, on how much of an expert do you need to be to teach any particular form… One of the the teachers in my discussion group said that with each new dance form she teaches, she tells her students that "I am not an expert in this, I did not grow up with this dance form, but I learned some of it and would like to share it with you." That seemed like a good message, and I hope I remember it next time I teach a form that I am not as confident with as I would like to be.
The second day, I started with a session called "Ordinary Objects" taught by Maya and Ruth, a couple of participants from Luna's Summer Institute. What a great lesson! It was all about recycling — we used recycled objects (mostly colorful butcher paper left over from an elementary classroom) to create imaginative duets. This one included a big "aha!" moment — the workshop began with a discussion of recycling, how we take one object and turn it into something else useful… then as we explored movements, we were reminded to "feel free to be inspired by any movement you see around you, recycle it into your own…" and I realized that recycling is a wonderful way to approach the perennial complaint of "she's copying me!" I have always tried to stress that no movement is truly unique, we all take movement we learn or see and create our own movement from it… but the idea of taking movement and "recycling" it into your own, new movement seems like a great angle into that conversation.
Next I took a workshop on Balkan folk dance rhythms from Elissaveta Iordanova, a folk and modern dancer originally from Bulgaria. We learned (or re-learned, for an old folk dancer like me) some traditional dances in meters ranging from 2/4 to 7/8 and 11/16, then improvised on those rhythms… For me, it was a rare treat just to be able to do a Paidushko, Rachenitsa, and Kopanitsa at an NDEO conference! I then got to another great workshop on traditional jazz dance from Karen Hubbard, a mentee of one of the original Savoy Ballroom dancers — this one was so timely for me, as I was in the middle of the Big Apple historical dance unit with my Aspire class…
On Saturday I got to take a workshop from Anne Green Gilbert. She is one of the founding mothers of creative dance education, and an endless source of ideas for explorations — her books are among those I most depend on when planning my creative-work classes. This one was on "Folk Dancing in Brain-Based Dance Classes," and used some simple folk dance structures as frames for elements in a creative dance class. It was a thrill to finally take a workshop from Anne — and folk-dance oriented, to boot!
In general, the conference was wonderful for me because I had the chance to work on adding to my dance teaching skills and curriculum, while thoroughly indulging my love for folk and traditional dance forms… My one regret was that I brought along my camera, but never actually found the time to get it out and take pictures! I highly recommend Jakey Toor's blog, as she took lots of pictures as well as lots of notes, and also wrote about many of the workshops I didn't get a chance to attend.
Friday, October 19, 2012
NDEO conference… and EOSA dancers
I'll be leaving for the NDEO (National Dance Education Organization) conference in Los Angeles next week, and it has put me in mind of the last couple conferences I attended… It's been a few years since I made it (I won't fly anymore because of the environmental destructiveness of air travel); and it's been even longer since I went on my own — my last two conferences I was able to bring students along, which was quite an experience (for me, and I hope for them as well!)
Four years ago (that same year that I wrote about back in August, in All Arms Open…) I was to present a workshop at the conference on my Dance Production class' choreography projects. By happy circumstance, that was the the year that schools in California received a pretty substantial block grant for arts and PE, so I ended up with a windfall of funds for equipment or professional development… After the work that class had done, creating art out of the most difficult circumstances of their lives, I jumped at the chance to take a few students along to help with my workshop and to experience the conference. I asked three students, true class leaders, to make the trip to Maryland. One was disallowed by the district at the last minute (a long story), so two made it — one junior and one senior.
We spent most of the conference taking workshops and technique classes. The first day, both kids were kind of shy and kept fading to the back in the technique classes, worried about missing steps — I had to keep reminding them that they were taking class next to a bunch of dance teachers and they were definitely the youngest folks there! But confidence came a long way in three days — by the last day, A_____ jumped right out into the front line in the West African class.
The last day, the kids helped with my presentation, and made a huge hit with the teachers who came to our session. We told some stories about life in East Oakland, the choreography finals on history, and the Dance IS piece on youth killings in Oakland. T_____ taught a little of her own choreography final (on prisoners), they both taught some of the movement from the Dance IS piece, and we showed video clips of both dances. We left time for a Q&A, and all of the questions were for the students. The best part of the conference for me was the validation the kids received, especially T_____ — I had asked her to teach a part of her own choreography final for our workshop, and she worried to me that "I don't know how to teach"… then she got to see all the teachers learning her movement from her and loving it (some of them were pulling out some of her "moves" at the post-banquet dance party!)
The next year, A_____ had applied for NDEO's national student award (the Artistic Merit, Leadership, and Academic Achievement Award), and been awarded an honorable mention; so we fundraised for her to be able to attend the conference again. I think it was more difficult for her this time, as she was the only teenager there among so many adults — less camaraderie, more weird grown-up food… But she was able to experience New York, the dance capital of the US; and she was able to participate in Bill Evans' "Passing on the Legacy" site-specific choreography for high school and college students (or, herself and about twenty college students), performed beautifully in the lobby of LaGuardia Arts High School on the last day of the conference.
So, this week I will be at the conference on my own for the first time in years… I guess I will have a little more freedom to run around to all of the workshops without the responsibility of looking after a teenager or two — but also without the richness of being able to share the experience with budding young dance artists. Attending a dance teachers' conference has always been a rejuvenating experience... but sharing it with students was truly unforgettable.
Four years ago (that same year that I wrote about back in August, in All Arms Open…) I was to present a workshop at the conference on my Dance Production class' choreography projects. By happy circumstance, that was the the year that schools in California received a pretty substantial block grant for arts and PE, so I ended up with a windfall of funds for equipment or professional development… After the work that class had done, creating art out of the most difficult circumstances of their lives, I jumped at the chance to take a few students along to help with my workshop and to experience the conference. I asked three students, true class leaders, to make the trip to Maryland. One was disallowed by the district at the last minute (a long story), so two made it — one junior and one senior.
We spent most of the conference taking workshops and technique classes. The first day, both kids were kind of shy and kept fading to the back in the technique classes, worried about missing steps — I had to keep reminding them that they were taking class next to a bunch of dance teachers and they were definitely the youngest folks there! But confidence came a long way in three days — by the last day, A_____ jumped right out into the front line in the West African class.
The last day, the kids helped with my presentation, and made a huge hit with the teachers who came to our session. We told some stories about life in East Oakland, the choreography finals on history, and the Dance IS piece on youth killings in Oakland. T_____ taught a little of her own choreography final (on prisoners), they both taught some of the movement from the Dance IS piece, and we showed video clips of both dances. We left time for a Q&A, and all of the questions were for the students. The best part of the conference for me was the validation the kids received, especially T_____ — I had asked her to teach a part of her own choreography final for our workshop, and she worried to me that "I don't know how to teach"… then she got to see all the teachers learning her movement from her and loving it (some of them were pulling out some of her "moves" at the post-banquet dance party!)
The next year, A_____ had applied for NDEO's national student award (the Artistic Merit, Leadership, and Academic Achievement Award), and been awarded an honorable mention; so we fundraised for her to be able to attend the conference again. I think it was more difficult for her this time, as she was the only teenager there among so many adults — less camaraderie, more weird grown-up food… But she was able to experience New York, the dance capital of the US; and she was able to participate in Bill Evans' "Passing on the Legacy" site-specific choreography for high school and college students (or, herself and about twenty college students), performed beautifully in the lobby of LaGuardia Arts High School on the last day of the conference.
So, this week I will be at the conference on my own for the first time in years… I guess I will have a little more freedom to run around to all of the workshops without the responsibility of looking after a teenager or two — but also without the richness of being able to share the experience with budding young dance artists. Attending a dance teachers' conference has always been a rejuvenating experience... but sharing it with students was truly unforgettable.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
the importance and scarcity of dance education (revisited)
a few quotes:
“[Students] should be able to communicate at a basic level in the four arts disciplines-- dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. This includes knowledge and skills in the use of the basic vocabularies, materials, tools, techniques, and intellectual methods of each arts discipline. They should be able to communicate proficiently in at least one art form, including the ability to define and solve artistic problems with insight, reason, and technical proficiency. ”
-- National Standards for Arts Education: What every young American should know and be able to do in the arts
“The direct physical experience of dancing transforms the dancer into a powerful and expressive being... Choreographing and performing his or her dance requires the student dancer to go beyond known experience to create new forms...”
— California Visual and Performing Arts Framework, p.32
"This study [of English learners in California] confirmed previous research findings... that students generally preferred to learn through a kinesthetic mode."
- Clara C. Park, Crosscultural Differences in Learning Styles of Secondary English Learners
"The evidence shows that… the prime processing mode for Black [students] is kinesthetic."
- Stephen Earl White, Factors That Contribute to Learning Difference among African American and Caucasian Students
a few statistics:
• 89% of California K-12 schools fail to offer a standards-based course of study in all four [arts]
disciplines—music, visual arts, theatre, and dance—and thus fall short of state goals for arts education.
• More than four in five [of California’s elementary students] are not receiving any standards-aligned instruction in theatre and dance.
• Only 9% of middle school students and only 4% of high school students in California participate in standards-based dance programs in any given year.
• Only 13% of San Francisco Bay Area schools offered a standards-based course of study in dance.
- all statistics from An unfinished canvas. Arts education in California: Taking stock of policies and practices — Summary Report and Bay Area Report
“[Students] should be able to communicate at a basic level in the four arts disciplines-- dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. This includes knowledge and skills in the use of the basic vocabularies, materials, tools, techniques, and intellectual methods of each arts discipline. They should be able to communicate proficiently in at least one art form, including the ability to define and solve artistic problems with insight, reason, and technical proficiency. ”
-- National Standards for Arts Education: What every young American should know and be able to do in the arts
“The direct physical experience of dancing transforms the dancer into a powerful and expressive being... Choreographing and performing his or her dance requires the student dancer to go beyond known experience to create new forms...”
— California Visual and Performing Arts Framework, p.32
"This study [of English learners in California] confirmed previous research findings... that students generally preferred to learn through a kinesthetic mode."
- Clara C. Park, Crosscultural Differences in Learning Styles of Secondary English Learners
"The evidence shows that… the prime processing mode for Black [students] is kinesthetic."
- Stephen Earl White, Factors That Contribute to Learning Difference among African American and Caucasian Students
a few statistics:
• 89% of California K-12 schools fail to offer a standards-based course of study in all four [arts]
disciplines—music, visual arts, theatre, and dance—and thus fall short of state goals for arts education.
• More than four in five [of California’s elementary students] are not receiving any standards-aligned instruction in theatre and dance.
• Only 9% of middle school students and only 4% of high school students in California participate in standards-based dance programs in any given year.
• Only 13% of San Francisco Bay Area schools offered a standards-based course of study in dance.
- all statistics from An unfinished canvas. Arts education in California: Taking stock of policies and practices — Summary Report and Bay Area Report
Saturday, September 29, 2012
teaching "cultural" dance forms (part 2)
Another BIG question in this for me, of course, is that label itself: "cultural dance," "ethnic dance," "world dance," "folk dance"… If hula, Haitian, Kathak, and kolos are defined as "cultural" dance, then does that leave ballet and modern dance, the western "concert dance" forms, as the norm? Do we look upon ballet and modern as "high art" and relegate "ethnic dance" to lesser performance status because of the label? What criteria do we use to define ethnic or cultural dance?
I might start with one distinction within what we usually think of as ethnic dance — folk versus classical. On the one hand are the true folk dances: dances that do not demand a lifetime of study, but were traditionally performed by anyone in the community, or the community as a whole — like those Bulgarian dances I am so fond of, and including social dances from many cultures.
On the other hand, among the forms commonly labeled and presented as world or ethnic dance are classical, studied traditions such as the classical dance forms of India (among them Kathak, Bharata Natyam, and Odissi) and the court dances of Java and Cambodia — all of which demand many years of rigorous training to learn and perfect. Likewise, though not often spoken of as a "classical" form, Hawai'ian hula is a dance tradition handed down over the centuries from kumu to haumana, with a gestural language recognizable to all students of the form — much as any ballet dancer would recognize a frappé or grand battement. Many of these forms developed in royal courts, just as ballet originated in the royal courts of France… so why is ballet not usually considered to be a "cultural" dance form? (In my own teaching, I do treat it that way — I first introduce ballet to my beginning dance classes in the Spring semester, when we explore forms from various cultures). It is not presented in "world dance" venues like San Francisco's Ethnic Dance Festival or Cal Performances' "world stage' series — is that simply because ballet companies already have copious opportunities for performance, or does it have to do with its culture being European and not "other"?
As we talked about this, I realized that there may be another distinction I had not thought of: between dance forms that originated from certain cultures (whether classical forms such as Kathak, ballet, or hula, or folk dances such as Balkan kolos or Appalachian clogging), and dance techniques that were developed by one person, often as a means of personal expression. This may be the distinction between what we call cultural forms and modern dance techniques, as most (all?) of those were the vision of one person — often as a reaction against previous dance forms, or at least breaking away from a mentor to begin a new style. What we call cultural forms are generally a result of years or decades of tradition — whether formally taught (as in classical forms) or passed along informally (as in folk dances). There are social dances — such as Charleston or Lindy hop — that seem to be a radical departure from what came before… but even those, if viewed in the context of dances of the African diaspora rather than American social dance, fit into a tradition.
There are so many issues tangled up in this — I pull one strand, and so many more questions come tumbling out! I will have to stop, but I would love to know what any of you out there think...
I might start with one distinction within what we usually think of as ethnic dance — folk versus classical. On the one hand are the true folk dances: dances that do not demand a lifetime of study, but were traditionally performed by anyone in the community, or the community as a whole — like those Bulgarian dances I am so fond of, and including social dances from many cultures.
On the other hand, among the forms commonly labeled and presented as world or ethnic dance are classical, studied traditions such as the classical dance forms of India (among them Kathak, Bharata Natyam, and Odissi) and the court dances of Java and Cambodia — all of which demand many years of rigorous training to learn and perfect. Likewise, though not often spoken of as a "classical" form, Hawai'ian hula is a dance tradition handed down over the centuries from kumu to haumana, with a gestural language recognizable to all students of the form — much as any ballet dancer would recognize a frappé or grand battement. Many of these forms developed in royal courts, just as ballet originated in the royal courts of France… so why is ballet not usually considered to be a "cultural" dance form? (In my own teaching, I do treat it that way — I first introduce ballet to my beginning dance classes in the Spring semester, when we explore forms from various cultures). It is not presented in "world dance" venues like San Francisco's Ethnic Dance Festival or Cal Performances' "world stage' series — is that simply because ballet companies already have copious opportunities for performance, or does it have to do with its culture being European and not "other"?
As we talked about this, I realized that there may be another distinction I had not thought of: between dance forms that originated from certain cultures (whether classical forms such as Kathak, ballet, or hula, or folk dances such as Balkan kolos or Appalachian clogging), and dance techniques that were developed by one person, often as a means of personal expression. This may be the distinction between what we call cultural forms and modern dance techniques, as most (all?) of those were the vision of one person — often as a reaction against previous dance forms, or at least breaking away from a mentor to begin a new style. What we call cultural forms are generally a result of years or decades of tradition — whether formally taught (as in classical forms) or passed along informally (as in folk dances). There are social dances — such as Charleston or Lindy hop — that seem to be a radical departure from what came before… but even those, if viewed in the context of dances of the African diaspora rather than American social dance, fit into a tradition.
There are so many issues tangled up in this — I pull one strand, and so many more questions come tumbling out! I will have to stop, but I would love to know what any of you out there think...
Monday, September 24, 2012
teaching cultural dance forms (part 1)
Another subject we explored in some depth during Luna's Advanced Summer Institute was teaching cultural dance forms in schools. This is a topic which poses a lot of dilemmas for me... but also about which I am fairly passionate, since much of my performance experience has been in forms that tend to be labeled "cultural" or "world" or "ethnic" dance. My longest-running performing experience was 20 years with Westwind International Folk Ensemble, which focused on Eastern European, Central Asian, and historical American dance forms; I also had the chance to dance with a local Polynesian halau for a couple of years, before my teaching schedule got too hectic.
One of the big issues for me is teaching with authenticity. Perhaps this comes from my performance background — Westwind's focus was always on the "preservation of folk traditions" — presenting dances as they would have been done in real life (as much as possible, when adapted for stage) rather than in flashy theatrical presentations. And the kumu of the hula halau I studied in just happened to be a cultural anthropologist, very concerned with the true origins of the dances in that ancient form. So…
The California state content standards, within the "historical and cultural content" strand, strongly suggest learning "folk/traditional" and social dances from the US and other countries (starting right from kindergarten). And, at least in my work with teens, I have found students to be very interested in learning various cultural forms — whenever beginning a new class, I always get the questions: Can we learn belly dance? Can we learn salsa? Bollywood? Merengue? Charleston…? This goes right along with teens' predilection for learning steps and styles, of course (although beginners can tend to get pretty impatient with learning about the cultural backgrounds in depth).
At the same time, it is important to teach what you are expert in — so the question is, how much of an expert do you need to be? For example, I personally would feel very comfortable teaching various Bulgarian dances, or a Charleston, or certain kahiko or 'auana hulas, as they are among dances that I performed for years, and the preparation for performing included becoming well-steeped in their backgrounds and histories… However, although I have studied forms such as Dunahm African-Haitian technique or Middle Eastern beledi, I don't feel I know nearly enough about those forms and their backgrounds to do justice to the cultures behind them. At EOSA, we were fortunate to have had a free residency from a local company specializing in African and African-diaspora dance forms for a few years, so my students were able to learn Congolese and African-Haitian from true experts; but that is (obviously) not always possible… so what to do???
In my own teaching, I compromise, of course… I would love to be able to teach only those forms that I am most expert at — but I'm afraid most teenagers don't exactly share my passion for Bulgarian or Croatian dance (what a surprise!), and to some extent I feel I need to at least give them some exposure to the forms of their own cultural backgrounds. So over the years I have revisited (with my beginning classes only) a few of the Congolese dances that were brought to EOSA by our Congolese expert in the years we had her residency, as well as a couple of dances from Michoacan that were taught in EOSA's first year, when we also had a residency in Baile Folklorico. I always try to focus on the cultural backgrounds that I absorbed from the experts; and I also stress to my students that I am not an expert in these forms, that this is just a tiny taste of the breadth and depth of these dance traditions, and that they should seek out further training from real experts. Even at that, I still feel a little out of my depth when teaching those dances… fortunately, my students have usually been pretty receptive to some of the forms that I do feel pretty confident in, such as Hawai'ian or Charleston — although I haven't tried teaching much in the way of Bulgarian to teens yet!
Well, there's a lot more to this — but this is getting kind of long already, so I think I'll leave the rest for another post soon.
One of the big issues for me is teaching with authenticity. Perhaps this comes from my performance background — Westwind's focus was always on the "preservation of folk traditions" — presenting dances as they would have been done in real life (as much as possible, when adapted for stage) rather than in flashy theatrical presentations. And the kumu of the hula halau I studied in just happened to be a cultural anthropologist, very concerned with the true origins of the dances in that ancient form. So…
The California state content standards, within the "historical and cultural content" strand, strongly suggest learning "folk/traditional" and social dances from the US and other countries (starting right from kindergarten). And, at least in my work with teens, I have found students to be very interested in learning various cultural forms — whenever beginning a new class, I always get the questions: Can we learn belly dance? Can we learn salsa? Bollywood? Merengue? Charleston…? This goes right along with teens' predilection for learning steps and styles, of course (although beginners can tend to get pretty impatient with learning about the cultural backgrounds in depth).
At the same time, it is important to teach what you are expert in — so the question is, how much of an expert do you need to be? For example, I personally would feel very comfortable teaching various Bulgarian dances, or a Charleston, or certain kahiko or 'auana hulas, as they are among dances that I performed for years, and the preparation for performing included becoming well-steeped in their backgrounds and histories… However, although I have studied forms such as Dunahm African-Haitian technique or Middle Eastern beledi, I don't feel I know nearly enough about those forms and their backgrounds to do justice to the cultures behind them. At EOSA, we were fortunate to have had a free residency from a local company specializing in African and African-diaspora dance forms for a few years, so my students were able to learn Congolese and African-Haitian from true experts; but that is (obviously) not always possible… so what to do???
In my own teaching, I compromise, of course… I would love to be able to teach only those forms that I am most expert at — but I'm afraid most teenagers don't exactly share my passion for Bulgarian or Croatian dance (what a surprise!), and to some extent I feel I need to at least give them some exposure to the forms of their own cultural backgrounds. So over the years I have revisited (with my beginning classes only) a few of the Congolese dances that were brought to EOSA by our Congolese expert in the years we had her residency, as well as a couple of dances from Michoacan that were taught in EOSA's first year, when we also had a residency in Baile Folklorico. I always try to focus on the cultural backgrounds that I absorbed from the experts; and I also stress to my students that I am not an expert in these forms, that this is just a tiny taste of the breadth and depth of these dance traditions, and that they should seek out further training from real experts. Even at that, I still feel a little out of my depth when teaching those dances… fortunately, my students have usually been pretty receptive to some of the forms that I do feel pretty confident in, such as Hawai'ian or Charleston — although I haven't tried teaching much in the way of Bulgarian to teens yet!
Well, there's a lot more to this — but this is getting kind of long already, so I think I'll leave the rest for another post soon.
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