Classical ballet technique is commonly taught through the use of authoritarian practices and normalizing aesthetic values, but the construction of the ballet dancer as a docile subject in opposition to an all-knowing instructor might impede ballet's progression. In this article I explore my development of a feminist or democratic ballet…

This article proposes a model for introducing biological perspectives into teaching dance as a means to encourage students toward deeper, healthier, and more personal relationships with their art form as well as appreciation for their physical and cognitive abilities, both inside and outside of the dance studio. It recommends that dance teachers…

Drawn from current research on web-based learning, this practical article presents applied research and informed applications for online dance educators engaged in undergraduate and graduate dance education course work. With a focus on written assessment feedback, the author provides a review of recent literature, an overview of written feedback…

This study reflects on a research and development project between two dance practitioners, one of them a wheelchair user, working together to develop pedagogical design within teacher education at a university in Norway. The aim of the authors is to encourage student teachers toward becoming inclusive and brave teachers who define diversity among…

Most dance departments in the United States require rigorous study of traditional Western dance forms. This is common; many developed countries cultivate the art forms that reflect the aesthetics and philosophies of the majority culture in that nation. However, demographics in the United States have changed greatly over the past 50 years, with…

Today's dance educators enter classrooms populated by increasingly diverse students in which teachers' pedagogical knowledge necessitates heightened understandings of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and sexuality. Uncovering taken-for-granted assumptions, dominant stereotypes, and educational structures that reproduce social…

This article explores ways of learning experienced by university dance students participating in a community dance project. The students were unfamiliar with community-based practices and found themselves needing to remediate held attitudes about dance. How the students came to approach their learning within the dance-making process drew on…

The purpose of this study was to investigate "fat talk" conversations about weight and body dissatisfaction within college dancers. Participants were 116 female undergraduates who were dancers/dance majors ("n"?=?20), dancers/nondance majors ("n"?=?32), and nondancers ("n"?=?63). Participants responded to…

This article describes Communication by Design, a year-long project developed to foster an important dialogue between emerging student costume designers and student choreographers. Two university professors, one teaching costume design and one teaching dance, collaborated to help their students gain an understanding of how these two disciplines…

In this article the author, Rachel Rimmer, explores how improvisation can facilitate skills that are transferable to other areas of dance practice, enabling different areas of study to complement each other. The experimental forum of improvisation as an alternative method of learning technique is considered, contemplating the value of this…

The philosophical framework known as the Five Commitments was recently approved by the Governing Board of the Brigham Young University-Public School Partnership. The Five Commitments consist of: Civic Preparation and Engagement; Engaged Learning Through Nurturing Pedagogy; Equitable Access to Academic Knowledge and Achievement; Stewardship in…

Dance programs in higher education offering both professional degrees (BFA) and liberal arts degrees (BA, BS) often focus most of their energy, attention, and resources to ever-increasing BFA programs. At the same time, liberal arts programs in dance often provide the real bread and butter of program headcounts, credit hours generated, and degrees…

In her experience teaching modern dance at a range of institutions, the author has noticed that even as many students exhibit superior physical skill in technique class, most are lacking when it comes to expression. From large university BFA to smaller liberal arts programs, she finds that her students often fall into a land of physical imitation,…

Dance faculty members come from a variety of backgrounds, which lead to varied knowledge bases and varied teaching practices. More information is needed about the current pedagogical practices of higher education dance faculty. This study sought to provide a description of four faculty members' pedagogical approaches to a dance technique class in…

The field of dance education is not immune to conflicted discourses about race in the United States. This article investigates the subject of race, education, and dance, and problematizes current postracial discourses in postsecondary education. It examines the implications of race and ethnicity in a number of critical areas, such as faculty and…