Methods of contemporary dance training practised in tertiary institutions have evolved over the last seven decades. They are in urgent need of rethinking in order to use the diminished time and resources available to effectively train dancers for current employment conditions. A relatively small number of tertiary dance graduates become professional dancers. A part of the problem is that few jobs are available each year. Other issues are that many students do not reach the technical and artistic standard required, and/or they may fall victim to injury (in dance the level of acute and chronic injury suffered by students and professional dancers is unacceptably high).
Dance education has not kept pace with advances in other forms of movement training because of the practice of handing on information from one generation of dancers and teachers to the next. Somatic methods of movement training, include such techniques as the Alexander Technique, the Feldenkrais Method, Ideokinesis, Body-Mind Centering, Release Work, have existed for some time. These approaches to movement have proven ability to improve fundamental movement skill at all levels and to foster artistic expression in the performing arts, including dance. Founded upon extensive research into human movement and functional anatomy, they have been used extensively by therapists and body workers in injury prevention and rehabilitation. To date their potential as an integral part of dance training has not been fully explored, in part because an insufficient number of dance teachers have undertaken somatic training and applied it to dance training.
The aim of this project is to explore and define innovative approaches to learning contemporary dance that formally integrate established methods of contemporary dance training with somatic information.
The project involves transferring existing somatic methods to the dance environment and developing new approaches for the dance environment by experimenting with strategies utilised by somatic practitioners.
Specifically enabling students to:
* apply somatic movement facilitating skills to the process of learning contemporary dance
* apply a high level of functional anatomy to their dance technique
* incorporate injury prevention strategies within their dance technique
* get the most out of class time by applying personal somatic strategies within a large class context
* extend learning into effective and safe personal practise regimes
The broader aims of the project are to enable students to:
* realise artistry and freedom of expression at all levels of technical ability
* understand technical skill development as an ongoing process
* apply somatic reference material, including project outputs, to their ongoing development as dancers
The project is a partnership between the dance staff at NSW's two universities offering programs in dance (UWS Nepean and UNSW), and experts in the Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais Method from the dance profession. Students in the two dance programs will actively participate in the project and provide feedback.
The central focus of this project is the examination, over some 17 months, of relationships between contemporary dance training and somatic information that will enable students to realise artistic and technical excellence in dance. The content and structure of a contemporary dance class will be explored, leading to the development of a range of appropriate models that fulfil the requirements of a dance class and offer structured somatic learning.
Team members will plan then deliver classes that have a specific somatic experience at their core, to which all other components of the class are linked.
Within short term blocks (several weeks), somatic experiences will be integrated into a content that also addresses anatomical information applied to efficient alignment and movement; students ongoing development of strength, flexibility and endurance; students skill in learning, recalling and refining movement combinations; and improvisation.
Over the course of a year the focus of classes will shift to support students performance activity and long term development as dancers. Somatic material will be scrutinised in the context of artistry and freedom of expression as well as students demonstrated commitment to training.
Teaching strategies to be explored include the use of imagery (promoting total engagement of the mind in the activity being executed) and hands-on work (teacher to student, or student to student use of touch to enhance awareness of a specific body part or to impart information via tactile stimulation). The use of language for somatic purposes will also be studied.
Some class time will also be used to identify, explore and implement processes to be used by students in their self-directed practice.
Evaluation will form a vital part of the cycle of planning and delivering classes. Evaluation will be of individual classes, blocks of work and semester programs. Concerns raised by students that relate to aspects of their education and their development as dance artists will be addressed. The cause and rehabilitation of injury will also be examined.
The project will be supported by a project reference group (PRG) consisting of national and international colleagues with expertise in various somatic fields and dance.
This project will produce a new approach to learning contemporary dance that integrates somatic processes with technical and artistic achievement.
The primary product of the project will be a "Manual for Contemporary Dance Teachers". While a number of applicable texts on somatics are available, very few relate specifically to learning dance. The manual is the tool through which the approach developed in this project can be adopted by others. It will describe:
* a program of learning for tertiary level contemporary dance students that integrates contemporary dance training with somatic methods and strategies
* learning strategies and practical procedures for students applying to both formal class contexts and personal practise. These will be products of the development process including: "somatic" warm-ups, body-awareness skills, mental rehearsal processes, movement acquisition skills
* teaching strategies and class content developed during the project, including use of imagery, hands-on work, functional anatomy, alignment and mechanical efficiency, and the use of language for somatic purposes. This will include a guide to dance class development
* suggested somatic reference experiences for dance teachers and students
* resource and reference materials.
Other project outputs include:
* material for the in servicing of dance teachers
* assessment and program evaluation procedures
* video of selected examples of teaching/learning processes for use by students and teachers
* academic articles discussing the project and outcomes to be submitted to relevant journals
* summaries of such articles on the Internet.
Those students participating in the project will directly benefit through contact with somatic disciplines and the products of project development.
This project will result in improved student learning by:
* enhancing their level of artistry and technical skill while minimising risk of injury. By using somatic skills in their technique classes and personal practice, they will be able to:
* recognise and change established harmful movement habits, including previously poorly trained patterns
* release unnecessary muscle tension during both dance and non dance activity, allowing for freedom of movement and expression
* use functional anatomical information to initiate movement safely and efficiently
* learn new movement phrases accurately and efficiently
* perform with a strong focus and "presence". This flows from the ability to maintain conscious awareness of the whole body in movement while attending to artistic qualities
* enabling them to recognise the relationship between technique and self expression - that technique is not an end in itself but the vehicle for communication
* equipping students with problem solving techniques, allowing them to work independently of specific teacher correction
* encouraging them to implement of processes of self-directed practise during class, personal practise, rehearsal and performance including somatic processes in warming-up
* exposing them to somatic reference material, encouraging ongoing personal research and development.
Draft evaluation criteria will be set up at the commencement of the project and are timetabled to be trialed, reviewed and appropriately adjusted within the first six months.
The project addresses three areas in dance training:
* technical skill development;
* performance quality development;
* safe dance training practices.
The efficacy of somatic strategies in relation to students progress in these three areas will be evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively.
A standard method of monitoring student progress and rating change across the three stated areas is currently not available. The project will address this by:
* developing standardised project specific evaluation tools that are independent of assessment criteria used in specific dance genres and by individual lecturers in dance technique;
* researching the availability of existing analytical tools, evaluating their effectiveness and specifically adapting them for project use. For example, Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) is an analytical tool currently used in dance research contexts. LMA has the capacity to systematically measure and rate qualitative and quantitative changes in students movement. Used appropriately this analytical tool can rate change in dancing style and performance quality.
It is anticipated that evaluation methods developed in this project:
* will provide a useful tool in related areas of dance research;
* can be adapted for use by other dance educators.
Four different sets of criteria will be developed that address the objectives of the project from the point of view of:
* Project Team members and members of the Project Reference Group (PRG) - evaluating project methodologies;
* students self-evaluating their own abilities in dance;
* observers independent of the project - evaluating students' dancing abilities;
* dance technique lecturers - evaluating the "useability" and effectiveness of new teaching strategies.
These evaluation criterion will be applied in the following contexts:
* irregular subject based assessment of students as defined by the subject outlines;
* ongoing evaluation of project by the Project Team members in consultation with participating dance lecturers and students;
* regular evaluation by members of the PRG.
BA (Dance), MA (Dance Research and Reconstruction)
Rebecca has taught contemporary dance technique over the past 12 years at the Universities of NSW and Western Sydney, Nepean, and at the City University of New York. She is dedicated to fostering the role of dance in education - both at the tertiary and secondary school levels. She was responsible for the Dance Method component of the Grad Dip Ed at UWS Nepean from 1984-1986 and currently lectures full time at UNSW on their BApp Arts (Dance) / BEd degree. Rebecca has recently been commissioned by Les Humphrey to transcribe (from movement into word) the sixth level of the late Margaret Chappleís Contemporary Dance Syllabus for publication later this year.
m.AUSTAT, Dip PA(Dance)
Greg is a professional dancer, dance teacher and certified Alexander teacher. Over the past 6 years he has specialised in the training of Alexander teachers and in the professional training of performing artists, particularly dancers, using the Alexander technique. He has written VETAB accredited curricula for Alexander teachers and performing artists. Greg recently served as chair of the professional society of Alexander teachers (AUSTAT). In this project Greg is a primary provider of somatic expertise.
Link to Greg's Alexander Technique Site
MSc.(Cog. Sci) BA (Soc.Sc.) BA(Dance)
Zoran has been actively investigating and working with movement systems for over 25 years, through extensive training in the martial arts, professional dance and as a Feldenkrais Method and Somatics teacher. He is experienced in applying somatic knowledge to dance and movement training, incorporating the Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Technique, Body-Mind Centering, Kinetic Awareness, Skinner Release Technique and Trager Mentastics. He has been teaching in tertiary dance programs since 1990, weaving together the theory and practice of academic and experimental knowledge of dance through courses in Somatics, Embodied Anatomy, Kinesiology and Movement Analysis.
BA (Dance), MFA (Dance), senior Lecturer in Dance at UWS Nepean.
Jacqui was responsible for establishing the BA Dance course in 1987 and was Head of Dance for seven years. Her areas of teaching include contemporary dance technique, dance improvisation and composition, and dance teaching methodology. She has been involved in numerous revisions of curricula and writing of new courses. Between 1995 and '97 she collaborated on the development of the Community Dance Chart, a tool with which to describe the elements of community dance/arts projects, and co-edited the book Dancers and Communities. These two projects combined attracted UWS Nepean and Australia Council funding. She has recently spent 6 months working with Eva Karczag in The Netherlands.
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