The concept of the "hidden curriculum" can reveal complex issues of gender in dance education, ones which often reinforce gender stereotypes in the larger culture. The hidden curriculum, referring to everything students are learning besides what teachers are explicitly teaching, is generated through the taken for granted structures and practices…

Recent research about sexuality and dance has begun to address the needs of gay male dancers, yet the needs of lesbian dancers have remained mostly absent from scholarly discourse. Exploring the lesbian lacunae, or invisible spaces of dance education, reveals the personal, political, and pedagogical implications of their existence within the dance…

To resist and transform gendered and hypersexualized assumptions and attitudes that cloud interpretations and devalue readings of black and brown bodies, dance educators cannot only facilitate agency for their students, but also help demonstrate an overarching concern for social justice and equality. Dance has the power to transform and redirect…

A pilot research project was conducted to address issues related to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in dance in higher education. The primary goals were to summarize the impact of HIV/AIDS on dance and dance education, to document the profession's response (research, curricula, programs,…

Those who have advocated for dance in public education have also found their discipline to be easily malleable to fit whatever goals and values seem in style. In different times, dance education has been marketed as a way for students to become healthier, better adjusted, better problem solvers, better critical thinkers, better team players, more…

In 2001, North Carolina Dance Theatre, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system joined forces to create a multidimensional, professional development program for dance professionals (teachers and artists) in the public schools called, The Dance Educator Enrichment Program (DEEP). DEEP was designed…

````````Incorporation of an experiential anatomy component into the modern technique class educates students about the body in a way that permanently and positively impacts how they move. It is our responsibility as dance educators, whether at the elementary, secondary, or college level, to teach students how to care for their bodies and make…

Based on the author's experience as a teacher in a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program, the author offers some ideas to ease the transition from the private studio to a BFA professional preparatory program. As a teacher in the Ailey School and Fordham University BFA program, the author has seen many students work their way through this challenging…

The author has spent six years teaching dance and movement to grades pre-kindergarten through fourth at an independent school in New York City. For five of those years, the author has had the privilege of hosting student teachers from New York University's Dance Education Program. Although the author has reflected on what the student teachers may…

This is a report on teaching the first semester of college-level choreography with an emphasis on elements of craft. The philosophical and aesthetic issues that lie behind this choice are described and an attempt is made to explain the sequence of coursework and the way choreographic skills are approached. Student comments are included to show the…

This qualitative study describes the experience of professional contemporary dancers studying and applying the Alexander Technique to their dancing. This study was motivated by: 1. years of teaching both dance and somatics, 2. a strong desire to better understand how the Alexander Technique can be applied by dancers, and 3. a gap that the…

In the past three years, the author has taught yoga classes to students at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, in addition to her job as Dance Director. This school already is an open environment; the students are generally interested in the arts and the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts is known for its…

Good teaching, at its core, is an intuitive practice. It is an art and craft in which, through vision, objectives, and planning, a teacher prepares for the teaching moment. Experienced teachers know that lesson plans and pre-planning though, no matter how finely crafted, only point the teacher and the student in a direction. As artist-educators…

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive discussion of sexuality and dance education from multiple perspectives including public schools (K-12), private studios, conservatories, and higher education. Among innumerable potential topics emanating from this review of sexuality and dance education in the 21st century, this article focuses on today's…

The intersections of dance and sexuality and sexual identity are part of the critical discourse important to teaching dance appreciation and dance history. This essay presents aspects of my teaching practice, informed by current writings in queer studies, dance studies, education, and sociology. Awareness of potential classroom diversity helps…