DOES TECHNOLOGY HURT OR AID EDUCATION?

I have always believed that dance education and dance as an interdiscplinary subject is undervalued and neglected in our society.  Recent readings not only support this belief further, but lay a case for the importance of movement and dance in education. 

IT'S A CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Chinese New Year offers a wonderful opportunity to incorporate some form of dance education into almost every socio-cultural school subject and creative dance class.  As I prepare for tomorrow's kindergarten creative dance class, I realize just how many areas of discovery this topic can cover.

USING IPOD APPS IN CLASS

I have been mourning the loss of my classic ipod for several months now.  I was in denial for a while and even went to the extreme lengths of watching and performing youtube 'surgery' to try and fix it.  But alas, it had flatlined!!  So a few weeks ago I bought an ipod touch to use in dance and movement classes.  I have been excited about the potential use of apps in class, and today I finally got the opportunity to use one very successfully in class.

MY TOES ARE OUT TO GET ME

Poetry in ballet class?  How does that work?  Well, applying dance to other areas of a student's life (cross-curricular teaching) is a wonderful way to help improve movement skills and enrich other areas of his/her life. 

THE IKEA BATHMAT THAT SAVES DANCE CLASS

One of the biggest time consumers in teaching young children is allocating and maintaining space.  SPACE in dance class is essential for safety and organization.  When I came across these affordable round, flat, washable, orange bath mats at Ikea I knew I had found 'gold' for my toddler and preschool classes.

DANCE AND LEARN

In this age of digital entertainment children choose television or video games over physical activity.  Plenty of publicity informs us that their inactivity and poor eating habits will affect their health and well-being as they grow.  But it is also becoming increasingly clear that there is a direct connection between physical and academic development.

EXPLORING COLOR THROUGH MOVEMENT

Picasso's 'The Dream'

I am always trying to add depth and value to my classes.  Perhaps then one day while sitting in science class one of my dance students will be able to recall data from dance class!!  Yesterday's post got me thinking about how effectively the color spectrum can be explored through movement.  Different colors vibrate at different speeds and travel at different wavelengths.  Tempo can be used to illustrate the different velocities of each color.  Blue vibrates faster than yellow which moves at a faster speed than red.  Wavelengths can be explored through short and long non-locomotor and locomotor movements and/or movement sequences.  Any other ideas on how to represent color in movement and dance?

TEACHING ART AND ARTISTS THROUGH CREATIVE MOVEMENT

I become very excited when I find books that I can use to add value to my dance classes.  "Pablo Picasso - Art for Children" by Ernest Raboff (1982) not only includes vivid pictures of the artists work by also interpretations of each piece.  I cannot wait to use them, especially this one on "The Rooster".  Here are some ideas I have...First explore movement dynamics using concrete images, such as the strong rooster vs a bird that conjures images of grace and gentleness like a swan perhaps.  Select music that reflects these movements and aids the students to use different space, rhythm and energy.  Secondly the shape and forms in the drawing can be interpreted through dance.  The zig-zag and sharp lines of the roosters crown and beak can be shaped in the body as well as in locomotor movements (skips or running and stopping abruptly).  The rounded belly and soft curves of the tail also allows for contrast between linear and round, sharp and soft.  Thirdly there is opportunity to explore dance through color.  How would you move if you were the red crown as opposed to the blue body or the yellow tail? 

This kind of lesson is both fun and educational.  Dancers end up interpreting and internalising Picasso's work kinesthetically. Have you used this type of teaching in your dance classes?  Do you have any other ideas on incorporating this into your teaching?