janet rothwell

Dance and Literacy

January 6, 2019 by 4dancers

by Janet (Neidhardt) Rothwell

For the past three years I have served on the Literacy Committee at my high school. Being a member of this committee has opened my eyes to not only how important literacy is in students’ education but also the various ways in which I can use literacy as a teaching tool for dance. Each year, I work with a Literacy Coach to create various instructional tools to embed literacy within my dance instruction.

I have used a variety of graphic organizers to guide students’ thought process during formative assessments on movement sequences, feedback on choreography studies, and self-assessment/reflection. One organizer that I really enjoy using is the Frayer Model. It is a model with four squares all connected with a rectangle in the middle. (See image below) I am able to change the language of each square to adjust how I direct my students’ thought process on different topics.

Was the use of this tool effective? Why?

In this example, I placed a choreography tool in the center (this example was for Levels) and scaffolded questions in the boxes.

Box 1: Definition of the tool

Box 2: Where was this tool included in the choreography?

Box 3: What variations of the tool were used?

Box 4: Where/How else could it have been used?

While students watch their peers perform their group dances they fill out this form to provide feedback. This process helps students to formulate their ideas and train their eyes to watch for these tools when watching a dance. At first, I thought this process might take too much time but once we got started it was very quick and I saw greater comprehension and clearer feedback from my students as a result of using it. Having students fill this out allows me to know if they understand the choreography tools being taught in class.

After completing this process of using the Frayer model, I observed more fully developed choreography works and deeper conversation from my students about choreography tools. This heightened knowledge for students allowed them to become “dance insiders” in that they could now use terms and concepts that translate to improved performance.

Adding dance literacy to the dance classroom can deepen student understanding of dance concepts. If we want to create artistically literate students we need to take the time to teach them our vocabulary and engage them in our language of the arts. This is just one simple strategy to add literacy components to a dance class. I have come to appreciate experimenting with other methods of literacy embedded instruction.

I always tell my students to be “thinking dancers” and not just “imitators of movers.” I think that teaching dance language in greater detail and putting dance vocabulary into context provides them with the knowledge they need to be a successful thinking dancer. Being thoughtful about how we introduce our dance terminology and concepts also allows this information to be approachable and applicable. Watching the light bulbs go off in my students’ heads is always a great moment, and I have found that using some specific and purposeful literacy strategies in my dance instruction has created more of these moments.

dancer posing upside down — Janet (Neidhardt) Rothwell

Contributor Janet (Neidhardt) Rothwell has been a dance educator for over 15 years. She has taught modern, ballet, and jazz at various studios and schools on Chicago’s North Shore. She received her Principal License from National Louis University, her MA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and her BA in Communications with a Dance Minor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout her time in graduate school, Janet performed with Sidelong Dance Company based in Winston-Salem, NC.

Currently, Janet teaches dance at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. She is the Director of the Mélange Dance Company and assists in the production of the Winter and Spring Dance Concerts at Stevenson High School. Janet has also presented multiple times at the National Dance Educators Organization Conference. She regularly seeks out professional development opportunities to continue her own artistic growth.

When she isn’t dancing, Janet enjoys practicing pilates, yoga, and playing with her children.

Advancing Students With Special Needs Through Movement

March 9, 2016 by 4dancers

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by Janet Rothwell

This past semester I had the opportunity to teach a high school dance class to students with special needs. From this experience, I have learned the value of movement to all bodies and seen the positive changes that can occur for students because of the opportunity to move. Dance educators need to be empowered to teach all kinds of minds and bodies that we might come across, and all too often this population can easily be left out of the dance field.

Working alongside special needs teachers, I created a structure that supports multiple behavior issues, adheres to NCAS, and offers students opportunities to practice social and emotional skill-building, such as staying on task, showing respect and care for peers, and more. Creative problem solving activities that foster accomplishments and growth in confidence and competency help to create an environment of respect and student engagement.

My personal creativity has been challenged and fulfilled through working with these students. My students have a wide range of physical disabilities from wheelchair-bound, to walking with assistance, to slight physical limitations. They also have a wide range of intellectual disabilities, ranging from low functioning autism to slight cognitive impairments. Their unique needs push my skills in new and enlightening ways. I learned how to craft an effect movement lesson so that each student is engaged the whole time and few behaviors arise. I kept activities short and varied to maintain student focus in the class. Freeze dance with creative shapes in the body was a great way to introduce levels while transitioning to a new activity. Lessons included the use of Laban efforts, creative choreography projects and props. Some examples of props used are spots on the floor so students know where their place is in the space, and creating an obstacle course with hula-hoops, ribbon sticks, and plastic cones.

whiteboard-accessories-69155_640 Every day I wrote the order of class on the whiteboard so students would know what to expect next. A consistent warm up helped my students get focused at the start of class each day. I used basic isolations throughout the body, followed by improvisation traveling across the floor. For example, “hop like a frog,” “travel low on the floor like a crab,” and “walk, kick legs across the floor,” etc. Constant positive encouragement made a big difference for my students. They really grew and took chances following my supportive feedback.

Creative Dance Project example: I will use the example of a scary Halloween dance that I did with my class to demonstrate what worked well for them. First, the students learned scary movements like spider fingers (wiggling fingers creepy), Frankenstein arms (walk like a Zombie), skeleton knees (knees shaking in and out), and ghost arms (arms floating at side). I wrote the names of the movements and the order we did them on the whiteboard. When the time came for them to create their own pattern, we had visual images of each movement on paper for students to use to assist in this process.

Students got a paper timeline and cut and pasted the movement images onto the timeline in the order in which they wanted to do them. Students practiced their sequence, some added a change of facing (walls had colored paper on them to help with this), then one by one each student performed their solo for the group. We talked about being a good audience member (watching, listening, applauding). Students also made scary paper masks that they could wear while they danced if they wanted to. This activity was great for students of all ranges of abilities. There were many ways to differentiate instruction and challenge those more advanced students like changing facings with movements. I also kept it easier for students with more severe disabilities by holding their timeline in front of them while they performed for the group.

After teaching this class I still have these lingering questions which I will continuously try to answer: How can we maintain a dance classroom of respect and safety with students with special needs? How can we utilize student aides in the most effective way? What is appropriate movement to expect from students within a large spectrum? How can we challenge creativity and performance with this group of students?

Have you taught this population before? Do you have any thoughts you’d like to share regarding your experience? We’d love to hear any comments you may have…

Contributor Janet (Neidhardt) Rothwell has been a dance educator for 10 years. She has taught modern, ballet, and jazz at various studios and schools on Chicago’s North Shore. She received her MA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and her BA in Communications with a Dance Minor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout her time in graduate school, Janet performed with Sidelong Dance Company based in Winston-Salem, NC.

Currently, Janet teaches dance at Adlai E. Stevenson H.S. in IL. She regularly seeks out professional development opportunities to continue her own artistic growth. Recently, Janet performed with Keigwin and Company in the Chicago Dancing Festival 2012 and attended the Bates Dance Festival.

When she isn’t dancing, Janet enjoys teaching Pilates, practicing yoga, and running races around the city of Chicago.

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…]

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…]

Process Focused Thinking In The Dance Classroom

November 10, 2014 by 4dancers

by Janet Rothwell

As a choreographer and dance educator, process is very important to me. It is through my creative process that I problem solve and create various products. My process can vary depending on the task at hand or even on how I feel in the moment. Any changes in my process are usually reflected in the product outcome as well. One example of how changing my process can be helpful is when I am choreographing a work and I do not want it to look or feel like the last piece I created. Changing my process can help me to create new movement and fresh ideas.

In order to teach my students about the value of process I give them many assignments where they have built in time to explore and play. I also have them reflect on their process answering questions like: How did you go about learning a movement sequence? How did you work within your group on a project? How did you approach the creation of your movement?

I often have students work in small groups on various choreography assignments. The most recent project I gave them was to create a short choreographic study based on initiating movement from certain bones in their body. The main goals were for students to learn the names of the bones, where they were located, and how it feels to move from those bones in their body.

The assignment included a rubric which required students to use specific choreography tools and a required length of counts for the whole dance. Often time when I give an assignment like this with a clear rubric of expectations, students look at the list of what the dance must include and work towards this end goal first instead of taking the time to experiment and play with movement ideas. I have to remind them that I’m giving them many days to work on the project to include the process of discovering the movement they want to use and they have time to change their minds and let the dance evolve. I use many analogies like when you create movement and choreography with your group you are writing in pencil not pen so as you go on if you don’t like something simply erase it and make a change.

The majority of the classes that my high school students take are very product focused and students can either be right or wrong with their product. It can be very challenging for students to shift their perspective in my class and linger in the process focused perspective as a means to create and problem solve. In dance class with a creative assignment there is not one way to do anything right so there are many right answers and what I try to teach my students is that I want them to discover what they feel is the best and right answer for them. They discover this through their process.

Having an emphasis on the process rather than the product does not mean that I do not care about the end product. On the contrary, I think that when the process is more fulfilled the end product is also more likely to be fulfilled and realized in a deeper way. The way we go about getting to an end product is through various paths and that we honor the paths we try out and discover what each one has to offer. Students edit and revise more while focusing on process in order to create the product.

As students embrace this mind set I see a shift in the quality of their work and their work ethic. In a world of instant gratification and product focused thinking it is becoming more and more important that we teach young people to value the process, the how we get to an end goal. Teaching students to be process focused can have great implications in many areas of their lives and help them to problem solve in creative ways. I hope to help my students become creative problem solvers and leaders in the world they live in.

Contributor Janet Rothwell has been a dance educator for 10 years. She has taught modern, ballet, and jazz at various studios and schools on Chicago’s North Shore. She received her MA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and her BA in Communications with a Dance Minor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout her time in graduate school, Janet performed with Sidelong Dance Company based in Winston-Salem, NC.

Currently, Janet teaches dance at Loyola Academy High School in Wilmette, IL. She is the Director of Loyola Academy Dance Company B and the Brother Small Arts Guild, and choreographs for the Spring Dance Concert and school musical each year. Janet is very active within the Loyola Academy community leading student retreats and summer service trips. She regularly seeks out professional development opportunities to continue her own artistic growth. Recently, Janet performed with Keigwin and Company in the Chicago Dancing Festival 2012 and attended the Bates Dance Festival.

When she isn’t dancing, Janet enjoys teaching Pilates, practicing yoga, and running races around the city of Chicago.

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