dance education

Fresh Choreography Every Time

June 15, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Untitled photo by "snickclunk". Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. — Untitled photo by “snickclunk“. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.

by Janet Rothwell

As a high school dance educator I am responsible for choreographing four or five dances each year for various performances. Although choreography is my favorite aspect of dance, it can be challenging to come up with new ideas, movement, spatial designs, beginnings, endings, and themes each year. As someone who values originality and the creative process, I have realized there are certain things I do to help me stay organized and creative in my work.

Over the years I have adjusted my process to include some staple methods so as to not get burnt out with repeating the same movement or spatial pattern every time I choreograph a piece. I thought I would share these specific parts of my choreographic process that seem to aid me each year as I strive to maintain newness in my artistry.

1. Maintain a choreography journal

My choreography journal is my best friend in my creative process. Not only do I use it daily while choreographing works, but I use it year round to write down ideas that pop up at random times for future works too. I write down music I like or ideas I have for themes so that when I have to create a new dance and I feel uninspired or stuck trying to think of something, I can go to my journal and look at the running list of things I have written.

I find that my choreography journal is extremely helpful for me to remember what is happening in the dances I create with my students. When I’m juggling three or more pieces at once it’s difficult to remember what choreographic elements I have already used with other dances, and since I value being original and unique with my choreography I write everything down in my journal. I make drawings of spatial designs, describe movement ideas, brainstorm titles, take notes on my music, and write down costume ideas. I also make notes on what I want to do for the next day so that when I return to my students I can take a look at my journal and know where we are in the work and in the music.

A choreography journal does not have to be pen and paper either, although I find that’s what works for me. You could use a tablet, your phone, or whatever tool you like to work best in your process. However, I would say that staying consistent is best to keep organized. There is nothing worse than having written down great notes only to have misplaced loose papers or random receipts you wrote them on. I keep an actual journal so that all of my ideas are in one place and easy to find.

2. Pick clear themes and diverse music for each dance [Read more…]

PS DANCE! Documentary

May 13, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

by Rachel Hellwig

“Dance is only taught in a fraction of schools nationally. But here in New York City, a growing number of schools are offering dance as a distinct course of study,” says Paula Zahn, host of PS DANCE!, a new film that explores and celebrates dance education in New York City public schools.

At P.S. 89 Liberty School in Manhattan, dance teacher Catherine Gallant guides her elementary students through an exercise set to Saint-Saens’ music “Aquarium”. They improvise aquatic life forms in swimming, swishing, watery gestures as she calls out ideas to inspire them. Gallant says that “all children have a large appetite for movement”. She also employs dance to help students remember history. When her class studies Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, they use motion to imitate the experiences of escaping slaves–running through fields, crossing bridges, and hiding behind trees.

[Read more…]

Teaching Students to Teach Dance

March 9, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

By Janet Rothwell

"IMG_8440" by Jo. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic. — “IMG_8440” by Jo. Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.

We all know the saying “if you can teach it then you know you know it.” I often have my students teach or help each other with movement they are learning in class to empower them and allow them time to know they know the material without constantly watching me demonstrate. One of my favorite assignments is when I have my students create and teach and full lesson plan to the whole class.

I put my students into pairs and they pick a theme for their lesson. Some theme examples are: movement initiated from certain body parts, extremes in timing or playing with rhythms, and moving into and out of the floor with smooth transitions. Once my students pick their theme they start to create a movement phrase that demonstrates their theme. They also have to create movement that travels across the floor and a warm up, all of which must be centered on their chosen theme. [Read more…]

NDEO Offers “Mosaic Of Possibilities” In Chicago

November 28, 2014 by 4dancers

Overview

The National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) held its yearly conference in Chicago earlier this month (November 5-9) and 4dancers attended for the first time. We wanted to learn more about the offerings this organization extends to the community of dance educators, connect with other dance writers and bloggers from across the country, and share our conference experience with readers here on the site.

The theme for 2014 was “Collaborations–A Mosaic of Possibilities” and the first thing you noticed when browsing all of the sessions available is that there were a staggering variety of them to choose from. Here is just a brief sampling of some of the titles:

Collaborating Between Dance and Illustration Students
Deep Core Stabilizer Muscles and Global Movers; Finding Collaboration in Movement
Technique Class for the Mature Mover
Common Core & Dance: Let’s put it together!
Mambo to Hip-Hop
Preserving dance in collaboration with photographers and filmmakers, past and present
Moon Phases: A Collaboration Between Dance and Science Education
Dance, Pilates and PT: A Collaboration for Dancer Health
Community Collaborations: How to Create and Fund Partnerships with Performing Arts Organizations

And that’s just a small taste of all that was offered.

Both a hard copy of the schedule and an app were available to help conference attendees navigate their choices. We used both to fine-tune what we were going to see/experience. The sessions that we attended were well thought out and informative, and Q&A time brought some great perspectives to light as well.

In addition to our “learning time” we also browsed the tables that were set up for sponsors, exhibitors and advertisers and talked with people in the halls about their conference experience along the way. The overwhelming majority were excited and energized–thankful for this “time-out” to talk with other educators and people in their field. Many remarked on how busy they are and how this type of event allows them some much-needed time to re-fuel and remember why they went down this path in the first place.

We met up with other writers and bloggers and had some time to talk about everything from what they were getting out of the conference to how we were all connected on the web, and how exciting the possibilities are for extending education in various forms online through blogs and other platforms. We bonded. Big time.

Sometimes there is just no substitute for face-to-face communication. As a dance writer on the web, all too often I am alone. I have this in common with many dance educators in classrooms everywhere. It’s easy to lose perspective. It’s hard to stay connected to others who can help inspire you, guide you–and sometimes–just walk beside you along the way.

But don’t just take my word for it. Below you’ll find some thoughts from two other “first timers” at the NDEO Conference this year. And you can read more thoughts from dance educators about their experience over on Dance Advantage as well.

Lucy Vurusic-Riner

I was a “first timer” at the 2014 NDEO Conference in Chicago this past weekend.

I was happy to be involved in the Conference in a number of ways. Thursday morning, my New Trier MENZ dance students performed a work I choreographed for them at a two-hour session led by my colleague Christopher Rutt. I started Friday morning by presenting at my own paper session with my artistic partner, Michael Estanich. Our session, Long Distance Collaboration: Thriving Artistically Across State Lines was well attended and well received. Michael and I look forward to returning to future NDEO Conferences to present on other topics that are pertinent to our classrooms and our artistic work.

I had the opportunity to take a great movement class with good friend Rebecca Bryant. Her session on using the Number Score to assist in Embodied Collaboration was creative and got a lot of laughs. Other notable sessions I attended were Elizabeth Lentz’s paper, Beyond Dancer and Actor and the awesome trio of artists known as AGA Collaborative whose panel on The Collaborative Voice was the perfect way to end the Conference.

The main reason I’ll be back though is for the invaluable amount of networking that took place for me. I had lunch with dance bloggers from across the country and saw some face-to-face for the first time. I spoke on behalf of RE|Dance Group and got us some future performance opportunities. And most importantly, I connected with a lot of teachers from across the globe who share a collective desire to bring dance to our students’ lives.

Cassandra Dara-Abrams

This was the first NDEO Conference I attended and I am already writing my proposal for a movement workshop for the 2015 Conference.

Arriving on the first day of the conference in my “proper” Pendleton blazer and stretchy red velvet leggings, I felt too formally dressed. What? Me–too formally dressed in a blazer and leggings? The following days I came more suitably dressed in my teaching clothes—yoga leggings and layers of shirt and sweater to take off as I warmed up.

Being surrounded by women and men as passionate as I am about dance, the wisdom of the body, and the art and craft of the teaching of both, was an honor. I engaged in dialogue with many professors, teachers, and emerging artists who are creating and honing genuine, authentic, and educationally sound methods of dance education.

One such dialogue was with California State University Professor Rebecca Bryant who led a movement workshop that inspired creative collaboration through a structure that lessens the “preciousness” of being on stage. Her workshop was centered on the Number Score from Ensemble Thinking. I brought the Score to Brave and Barefoot Dance Troupe’s practice session with great success just a day after Professor Bryant’s workshop.

Thanks for an inspiring conference, NDEO!

NDEO Conference 2015

NDEO’s next conference will be in Phoenix, AZ in 2015 and it will run from October 7-11. They will be accepting proposals until February 1, 2015, and the theme will be: “Engaging in the Artistic Processes: Creating, Performing, Responding, Connecting“.

4dancers received free admission to the NDEO annual conference for review and promotional services.

Overview

Lucy Vurusic-Riner

Cassandra Dara-Abrams

NDEO Conference 2015

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