Social, Political, Environmental, and Economic Change Through Contemporary Dance
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Date
2017-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
I have two goals. At the successful completion of this class, students will demonstrate 1) an ability to critically analyze dance companies that use dance as a catalyst for change, and 2) increased understanding of theory, technique, and training practices in contemporary dance.I chose this project to learn how to connect a traditional contemporary dance technique class with social, environment, political, and environmental justice within my teaching practice. I taught a consistent group of 13 students at Fort Hayes High School for a seven week period with three classes a week. To accomplish these teaching goals, I explored with my students dance principles that stay consistent across all contemporary movement forms. These are: a basic understanding of the principles of the pelvis, weight, and shift of weight, efficiently moving in and out of the floor, and developing an increased awareness of the body’s anatomy in relation to movement. I developed lesson plans that taught students to find confidence and agency during improvisation as informed by three dance companies: Dance Exchange, Ananya Dance Theater and Urban Bush Women that use dance for social, political, economic, and environmental change. Through discussions, students built verbal skills to analyze how dance can impact people at a local and global level. Finally, I used compositional prompts that gave students the chance to translate dance theory generated from discussions to their own movement. I have witnessed firsthand the ability art has to increase self-esteem, improve communication skills, and stimulate awareness of local and global issues. Through this research and teaching process, I have concluded that it is deeply important to my personal teaching style to incorporate material that helps my students learn the impact that dance can make to themselves, their community, and in the world.
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Keywords
education, dance, social justice, Urban Bush Women, Ohio Dance Standards