Dance and age inclusive practice

National College for Community Dance

DANCE AND AGE INCLUSIVE PRACTICE Pathway to practice for dance leaders bringing different age groups together in their communities

By Ruth Pethybridge

Handbook published by Foundation for Community Dance for people leading dance in community settings and contexts.

!"#$%#$&'' ' Foreword

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About Ruth

3

Acknowledgements

5

Introduction

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1 Age inclusive practice in context

10

2 Current policy and practice

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1 Changing bodies and minds

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2 Case study: Early years by Oksana Tyminska

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3 Touch in age inclusive practice

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4 Health and safety

33

5 Effective practice

34

6 Reflection

36

7 Example case studies

39

8 Evaluating age inclusive practice

40

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Case Studies 1 Rosemary Lee: Common Dance

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2 Cecilia Macfarlane: Age inclusive practice

48

3 Angela Praed: Duets for Unusual Souls

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Article from Animated, FCD’s community dance magazine 4 Marks of Time by Bisakha Sarker

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!"#$%"&'()*+&,%"-./(0&(%"&'"(1'0%20 " 34/0"51"6%"7%/'"89":/$%"&'()*+&,%;<" " Age inclusive practice refers, in this

change, with a diminution of what might be

context, to dance practices that are

seen as control. But this is actually the true gift

open to all, regardless of age. It refers

of diversity. It is not only the variety and range it

to projects and policies that em brace

brings, but the way in which it encourages a

all ages and encourage people to work

transformative process across society, in

across generations.

everybody, in whatever way involved: top to bottom.” (Khan, 2004)

‘Intergenerational’ is a more commonly used term. However, this can be limiting in that it

So where we place ourselves as practitioners in

often refers to interactions between ‘older’ and

our work has implications for how ‘inclusive’ a

‘younger’ people, who are defined in

particular project is. How an organisation is

government policy as over 50 and under 25 –

structured or how participants perceive

as such leaving out a 25 year gap! This span in

themselves is all key in inclusion.

the middle should not be forgotten as it can lead to an invisibility of voices from the middle

A key factor in much intergenerational literature

generation. ‘Age inclusive’ indicates a more

is that any activity must be m utually

fluid approach to how a project is defined in

beneficial to both age groups (note the use of

relation to the ages of those taking part and

both here delineating two!) but this is a very

allows us to define it for ourselves in practice.

important point….the relationship has to be two way and the projects need to be designed to

To work in an inclusive way is fundamental to

cater for, and appeal to, all ages; not just for

the values of community dance, working in the

the benefit of one group. The Centre for

field most practitioners make it their business

Intergenerational Practice also states that:

to be as ‘inclusive’ as possible. However, it is important that we reassess what this means to

“Different generations should be involved in an

us and how it is embodied in the work we do

activity on an equal basis.”

and within individual projects. Naseem Khan

(www.centreforip.org.uk)

points out that: This is not the case for all intergenerational “Inclusion is a challenging business. It involves

activity, in some instances it is one generation

the readiness to enter into a top to bottom

supporting another – particularly in

rethink. It also means the readiness to accept

volunteering or mentoring initiatives; as long as

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!"#$%&'(&'")*+(,-"%&+".(&+-" This section will take you on a whistle-

There isn’t a finite answer to this, but I think as

stop tour of hum an growth and

practitioners, although we know there are

developm ent. This is a huge subject

things we do differently with specific age

area due to the com plex and fascinating

groups, let’s also blur the boundaries and be

thing that is a hum an being and it

flexible in our approach. Whatever the setting,

cannot all be covered here. Instead,

we need to respond to people as individuals.

this section will give you a general view

Particularly when working in an age inclusive

of som e of the im portant factors to take

way you really have to think holistically about

into account when leading dance with

your participants as neither they nor you have

different ages and draw on m y personal

the normal peer group markers

experiences.

Also useful to bear in mind is the idea of Conceptually, what this does is start us thinking

translation. Think about how participants

about the requirements of different age groups

are doing something, not what they are doing.

and we begin again with age-based

This philosophy is central to Cecilia’s practice

classifications. This can be problematic in age

and means that any of the ideas you work with

inclusive work because, as Jabadao puts it:

are translatable to any age and any body, although you may have to frame them

“Human development is a discontinuous, self-

differently or use different language.

organising, transactional process between the task, the individual, and the environment

There is a responsibility on the dance leader to

throughout a person’s life.” (www.jabadao.org)

create an environment where this is allowed and also to nurture and inform what the

This is a problem that my colleague, Cecilia

possibilities are for that translation. This

Macfarlane, and I came across when

philosophy provides ownership of the

researching the book Any Age, Any Body, Any

choreography and empowers participants to

Dance (1) too – how do we acknowledge the

make choices…something that all community

different needs of different groups without

dance seeks to do, to a greater or lesser extent.

limiting them, (doing exactly what we set out not to) and boxing them in?

(1) This was a document produced as part of a research period supported by Coventry University and is not yet published. $%&&'()*+,-($./%01/'23(-*)%(-4$%44.1.#

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)'*%'+, on your own experiences as you read these.

Some of this won’t be new to you and some of it will – maybe it will remind you of skills you have or activities you have tried.

The boxes include specific questions to ask yourself.

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In the 0-6 m onths of infancy sm all

providing clear ‘rules’ or end points in an

children are in what M acgregor refers to

activity for example. They also respond well to

as the “rhythm ic stereotype”

‘framing’ – providing a physical structure for

(M acgregor, 2000) – they like to bang

them to explore. The important thing to

things, kick things and love repetition…I

remember here though is to also reverse this so

think it is im portant as practitioners

that the child can also be the structure that is

that we are not to be afraid of

explored. One of my favourite exercises is the

repetition, there can be a tendency to

bridge, where I watch parents squeezing

think we m ust entertain with new ideas

underneath their two year old’s tiny bridge

but actually repetition provides safety

much to the delight of the latter (how many

and a sense of growing confidence.

different bridges can you make?). Similarly,

Drum s and basic instrum ental

creating a ‘sculpture’ or climbing frame to be

accom panim ent is a wonderful resource

explored works well.

with young babies.

I work a lot with stories and imagery with the One of the main things I found interesting with

under 5s who are so wonderful at using their

toddlers’ physicality is the relatively large size of

imaginations and doing what leading child

their heads, two times that of us as adults –

development theorist Piaget calls “magical

imagine that! A toddler’s gait, often associated

thinking”. (Boden, 1994)

with nappies, is actually to support the weight of the head. Early years children can be very

I always start and end the story the same way,

goal orientated so you might want to design

providing a structure….the children curl up and

activities that capitalise on this, by

fall fast asleep and at the end they always find their way back to where they started.

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!"#$%&'%()*+"%+,")*-&'.)$,"/0%-()-," “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted, counts.” (from a sign in Albert Einstein’s Princeton office)

Evaluation doesn’t have to be facts and figures! The evidence collected is often qualitative rather than quantitative, although a good evaluation will probably include both. With a qualitative approach, make sure the language being used is properly documenting and representing participants’ experiences, and look at how you use language when engaging in evaluation, i.e. bearing in mind who it is for. In order to evaluate effectiveness it is also important that you have criteria in the first place with which to place results against: your aims and objectives. It is also important that the evaluation process is active and begins from the beginning of your project (by finding out what participants want and by ‘checking in’ throughout the process). Below is a selection of tips for evaluation that I have gathered from various sources including the Arts Council and the Centre for Intergenerational Practice.

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To understand how our work develops and changes before, during and after a project

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To critically reflect on our artistic process and practice

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To help participants reflect on their experiences and feel empowered to have their say

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To help us identify gaps and future directions

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To demonstrate accountability and transparency

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To make the impact of work or ‘what happened’ known to a wider audience

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To help us secure funding

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To influence and respond to policy and practice.

“Evaluation is a valuable tool for learning and involves critical analysis of your activities. Artists all make evaluative judgements about their work and evaluation makes the ‘reflective practice of creative work explicit and conscious’. (Moriarty, 2002).” (Arts Council, 2005)

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A Foundation for Community Dance Publication

The Foundation for Community Dance is the professional organisation for anyone involved in creating opportunities for people to experience and participate in dance.

The National College for Community Dance is FCDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home for professional development pathways for people delivering dance in community settings and contexts. It delivers courses, seminars, flexible online learning opportunities and advocates for professional development opportunities UK wide and internationally for dance leadership in the community.

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