Dance and the Child International - USA Chapter
NEWSLETTER
Fall 2020 | Issue 15
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Dance Teaching in the Age of the Pandemic Member Spotlight: Joni Wilson "Heredity" Lesson Plan "Roll, Roll, Roll Your Dance" Lesson Plan daCi Book/Media Club Voices of Young Dancers News & Events
From the Chair I am excited to greet you as the 8th daCi USA chair. Autumn is the season when I reflect and am mindful of the past year and its impact on my life. The extraordinary events of 2020 have given us all much to think about, challenging us to explore new ways for engagement and exchange and asking us to consider our traditions, beliefs, values, and practices. daCi USA, with our international family, exemplifies the universality and power of dance to liberate creativity, embody history, cherish culture, and build harmony. As people who celebrate our diversity and humanity through the power of dance, we are asked to voice solidarity.
I am honored to lead and represent such an amazing group of dedicated dancers, dance educators, and dance advocates! I look forward to when we can gather and dance together in beautiful Holland, Michigan. At our virtual membership meeting on July 31st, we commended the leadership and dedication of outgoing board chair Anna Mansbridge and members Mary Lynn Babcock, Mila Parrish, and Marlene Strang. We acknowledged the ongoing commitment and new responsibilities of ongoing board members Heather Francis, Carol Day, Nicki Flinn, Mady Cantor, and Chris Roberts. And we welcomed and introduced the unique talents of new board members Deborah Lipa-Ciotta, Chara Huckins, Cally Flox, Kathryn Austin, Vincent E. Thomas, Amy Munro Lang-Crow, Sara Malan-McDonald, and Jennifer Florey. I am grateful to share my passion for dance in the daCi Way with each of these remarkable individuals. Please read more about them on the daCi USA website.
Joy Guarino
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Letter from the Editor Greetings from your new newsletter editor. I am taking over this role from the visionary Mila Parrish, who was editor starting in 2013. We know Mila will continue to make vibrant contributions to dance education through her work at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I am grateful to have Heather Francis, digital designer and forward-thinking dynamo, at my side. She, in turn, is assisted by two student interns, Dana Lambert and Camille Winn. Many thanks to all of them. As we all know, this is a year of unprecedented challenges (and opportunities) -- with the pandemic, the movements for social justice and equity for people of color, and a national election like no other. For me it has been a season of video viewing (top picks: 13th; Crip Camp; Ramy), reading (top picks: Warmth of Other Suns; Dance Pedagogy for a Diverse World), some online dance, and efforts at self-reflection and activism. Dance education is included, of course, in this extraordinary “hinge� moment. We are all called to cope with the changes to our teaching caused by the pandemic; to become aware and proactive in relation to
inclusion and diversity and equity in our work; and to take part in our national life as citizens and voters. I don’t have any magic bullets to solve any of these problems, but I appreciate that daCi gives me a connection to creative, resilient, deep-thinking people. My goal is to bring you information and perspectives that are interesting, timely, stimulating, and useful. This issue comes to you with an informal survey of how five daCi members, all active in different corners of the field, are dealing with the changed dance education landscape. We offer two lesson plans from members in Florida and Utah: one an integrated arts lesson plan on dance and biology, and one on developing sequencing skills through chance choreography. Our new Member Liaison Chara Huckins spotlights Utah member Joni Wilson, and we inaugurate our new daCi Book/Media Club. I welcome your suggestions, contributions, and perspectives. I look forward to a better year in 2021, for all of us. Meanwhile here is something to lift you as we move ahead: vimeo.com/437282925.
Mady Cantor
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DANCE TEACHING IN THE AGE OF THE PANDEMIC by Mady Cantor
Creative solutions, Work-arounds, Tips and Unexpected Benefits
Dance education is about developing knowledge about and through the body as it moves through space, time and relationship. With the coronavirus pandemic swirling around the country, it is a safe generalization that all dance educators are finding themselves in vastly changed landscapes and situations. Some of us are teaching remotely; some are teaching in-person but with great limitations. No one is untouched by the health crisis. In response we have become innovative and creative and generous. We have lost the practices of physical touch and weight sharing and breathing together but perhaps we have expanded our sense of empathy. We have lost the excitement of live performance but have learned to find beauty and meaning on the screen. We have lost the easy camaraderie of moving together but are inventing different ways to create community in dance. How are we doing this, how are we managing, what practices have we developed and discovered? Five daCi members across the country in different sectors of the field shared their experiences with teaching dance during this new reality.
Anne Green Gilbert is the founder of the Creative Dance Center and Kaleidoscope Dance Company in Seattle and the creator of the nationally and internationally recognized teaching methodology called Brain-Compatible Dance Education. This spring she was teaching a popular and longstanding (15 years!) class called Keep Dancing/Modern for 40+ when she had to pivot to online teaching. She maintained the structure of her class and adapted it for distance learning and small spaces, and in the process learned a lot of digital skills. She introduced a movement concept for the day and then started with the BrainDance flavored by that concept. The movement exploration portion of the class, which typically involves a lot of interrelating, had to be adjusted for solo exploration. Anne enhanced it by sometimes using chairs or other furniture or simple props such as a scarf, pool noodles, and elastic. She mentioned the props in the Zoom invitation so they would be on hand. She often includes a folk dance in her classes and for this she asked students to use ‘gallery view’ so that they could feel a sense of community when the dance had steps that approached and retreated from the camera.
Her classes always have a dancemaking component which was challenging to adapt online. She ended up using breakout rooms, dividing the class into groups of four or five. She gave them a prompt – a haiku, nature photos, list of motivating movement words. Then they went to work. She used the ‘broadcast’ function to give them a two minute warning before they all reconvened. Anne found that the students became very inventive with making work for the camera. They played with single body parts, entrances and exits, and distance from the camera as compositional devices. Without her usual live accompanist providing music Anne became her own deejay, quickly choosing music appropriate for the creative work and fading it out for an elegant finish.
To show the works, only the group that created the short piece stayed on the screen. The others temporarily stopped their video and Anne changed the settings to hide non-video participants. The tiles of the performing group then filled the screen. The rest of the class was then brought back to offer their reflections. The class included a piece of choreography by Anne, taught in the last 10 minutes of each class over the course of the session. At the end she recorded it on Zoom and created a private YouTube video so the students could watch themselves perform. She says she is getting better at choreographing for the camera, inspired by the ideas her students brought to their dancemaking. Like all of us, Anne deeply missed seeing her students and witnessing their individuality and spontaneity in person but the dancing and creativity have fundamentally survived and even thrived. She is adding another adult class called Creative Modern Dance this fall.
Judith Nelson teaches dance to children with special needs at the school of the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn. Going online in April led to some changes to her teaching. Under normal circumstances she is very physically present in her classes, standing close
to students, guiding them with gentle contact. In the online teaching she had to find alternative ways to connect. She frequently got close to the camera; the students responded by doing the same and the result was a new kind of intimacy. She feels she has gotten to know them sooner than in the past. Other changes: Judith used more visual props like word cards and a checklist of the class sections, as well as a visual version of the movement concept which was her “word of the day.” This was particularly helpful for students on the spectrum who benefit from understanding the structure of the class. She spotlighted the students in the “hello and “goodbye” dances and they loved having those moments to shine. Judith found that the students’ energy was sapped by the pandemic and she needed to build in more rest time, including a section with peaceful music when they were on their backs and she guided them through a visualization experience. Space is limited but she did modified obstacle courses with objects like favorite stuffed animals and rolled up towels. She missed doing skips and leaps and circle dances. The school has a policy of providing a technical/dance assistant for all Zoom classes. The assistant sent the Zoom invitations, changed the settings to spotlight Judith when needed, and balanced the voice level and music.
Sometimes when Judith taught a combination the assistant led it on camera so Judith could just watch. Very helpful! Judith says that normally her class contained the students, their parents, two assistants, and a musician. It was quite a crowd, which required a lot of her energy and attention. Now the online classes are in comfortable and familiar locations and consist of just her and the students with an occasional cameo appearance by her cat and a phantom water bottle being passed to a student. The students may have someone helping them get online but those helpers generally stay offcamera. It’s calm and productive.
She taught the parent/toddler/baby classes synchronously. In advance, she asked the adults to gather some simple props such as wooden spoons, rattles, and other sound makers they might have. When teaching live she uses large therapy balls, especially with the babies, and suggested that families buy one for their use during the remote classes. She was surprised when most of them managed to get one. Dionne discovered that the maximum number of dancing duos was six, in order to be able to see and respond to the action fully. At the end of the class many parents stayed on the screen for a conversation with Dionne. There was always a bit of informal conversation after live classes but this was more organized and allowed for more interaction among the parents.
Dionne Kamara lives in Queens and has a busy dance practice, mostly in Manhattan where she teaches classes for parents/caregivers with toddlers and babies in a studio focused on early childhood. She also teaches as an artist-in-residence in public elementary schools. She quickly switched to on-line teaching and outfitted her living room with charts, props and books for classes. Her teaching process, online or not, continues to draw from the work of Anne Green Gilbert, focusing on the elements of dance threaded through a five-part lesson format and the BrainDance.
In the parent/toddler class Dionne made a change to the format. Instead of a rest time she read a book, close to the camera. She found that the toddlers
respond particularly well to books with photos. She tied it into the movement element of the day. Another change was that there are more fathers involved in the class, since more are working from home. Sometimes they all joined in for the culminating folk dance! Dionne had the good fortune to have a technical assistant who took care of spotlighting her and handled tech problems. This allowed Dionne and the adults to be fully present in the experience with the children, without having to keep adjusting their computers.
many classes sequentially. Without the stress of traveling to classes she feels more rested, and likes the feeling. She knows she will make less money but is getting practice in dealing with that now. She says her apartment is more organized, she is cooking more, her plants are happy, and so is she.
Her classes included reflection questions or a reflection drawing activity. The children shared these with their classroom teachers who passed them to Dionne, sometimes even including videos of the children taking the class.
For the past 15 years, Amy Lang-Crow has been a full-time dance teacher at Valley Vista High School in Surprise, Arizona. Since early August she has been in the unusual position of teaching both online and in-person. Amy is teaching her 9th–12th grades classes synchronously, amplified by a robust digital presence. In synchronous technique classes, she connects her laptop to a projector and beams the students onto a large wall. In addition to making them larger (about 12” square) and easier to see, it lessens the time she spends looking at a screen. She instructs the students to pin her to help them focus. To get her students moving through space she suggests moving bedroom furniture or, weather permitting, going to hallways, garages and driveways.
The slowdown has given Dionne some time to reassess her teaching practice. She was teaching five classes per day, complete with time-consuming and stressful travel. She says that when this crisis is over she will cut back on classes and will no longer teach that
She goes through material more slowly than before and then watches four or five students at a time. The students indicate their understanding with a “thumb-o-meter.” They sometimes send her a video of the phrasework and reflect on their progress.
For the classes at the elementary school Dionne was asked to record classes asynchronously. She decided to make the classes shorter, from 45 to 30 minutes because it takes a lot of energy for the children to focus on a screen.
Her choreography classes include projects like creating a “square dance,” responding to the question “what does it feel like to move small?” She developed a project in which the students created a rubric about what makes a successful TikTok dance (they came up with criteria like upbeat song, simple movement of the upper body, performance charisma). Next, they found a video that met their criteria and taught it to their family. At the end they had to make their own TikTok-style video.
address these problems through having an interactive web presence. Amy uses Bitmoji Virtual Classroom, a class management app on Google Classroom. She posts a weekly agenda of the class content including videos of skills and combinations to use as references. She even designed an avatar that looks like her. This fall she is using a half hour at the end of each day to create these videos, using the head mic and mixer provided by the school, rather than using a lot of weekend time. Amy’s in-person classes are with the dance team. They rehearse with masks and find the paper surgical kind most useful. She has had to rethink the rigor of the rehearsals. Because they get more winded they take breaks, do fewer repetitions, and watch and give feedback.
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During the remote teaching in the spring Amy discovered that about 40% of the students didn’t log on regularly to take part in class. She isn’t sure why, but thinks that some may not have had a quiet place to learn or had to babysit. Others had problems with internet speed and freezing. She is trying to
In remote teaching Amy misses the boost she was used to getting from seeing the students grow and watching ‘lightbulb’ moments in real time and space. And she knows that the students are yearning for a direct connection with their teachers. But she says that that this challenging experience has made her more empathetic and generous and given her an increased appreciation of process over product. The students are still learning, though differently.
Kathryn Austin runs the Centre for Dance & Performing Arts, a private dance school in Winter Garden, Florida. She has been back in the studio teaching in-person classes since June. She reviews the safety measures at the start of every class and weaves them into the structure of the class. Her findings so far: Young children tolerate masks better than older students but all were fully compliant within a week. The masks made by Athleta seem to be the best. Kathryn came up with a "ponytail hack" that keeps the mask secure and relieves the pull on the ears. It is essential that adults model mask-wearing and not whine about them and refrain from dramatically ripping them off. She installed special spaced-out hooks for holding masks during organized water breaks, avoiding the ‘Covid earring’ (mask swinging from one ear). Using the infrared thermometer becomes “checking your unicorn powers.” The challenge of this moment, Kathryn says, is to find ways to be expressive and creative despite the limitations. “Before the pandemic I had been getting weary of seeing dancing loaded with athletic tricks. Maybe this is a chance to reconnect with the ground, to really use our eyes sensitively, to find ways of being together even at a distance.” Back to masks: Kathryn recently taught class, loaded her car, drove home, unloaded, and started cooking dinner
before she noticed that she was still wearing her mask. So apparently it is possible to get used to them!
Maybe this is a chance to reconnect with the ground, to really use our eyes sensitively, to find ways of being together even at a distance. If these dance educators are representative of the field, the pandemic is leading to much innovation, creativity, resilience, and self-reflection. We invite daCi members to send their creative solutions, tips and hacks, and insights on teaching in the age of the pandemic to newsletter@daCiusa.org.
Joni Urry Wilson is the rock behind the scenes at the Tanner Dance Program in Salt Lake City, Utah where she is a Dance Specialist and the Studio Director. The acclaimed program was started in 1949 by children’s dance pioneer, Virginia Tanner who developed a dance teaching philosophy centered on the child as an artist. In addition to strong technical training, the approach honors and fosters children’s expression through movement. Virginia Tanner’s methods and life example inspire and inform Joni’s teaching.
Joni Wilson MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Chara Huckins One of the founding daCi USA board members, Joni Urry Wilson, talks about her career as a teaching artist and the joy she finds in teaching.
Joni started dancing at three years old with Virginia Tanner. As a senior in high school Joni auditioned for a dance scholarship to the University of Utah and received the prestigious four-year Elizabeth R. Hayes scholarship. She decided that a career in dance was the path for her and went on to Mills College for an MFA. A typical day for Joni includes teaching dance to young children in the morning, then sitting down to do administrative work for the studio program. Her afternoons are filled with teaching elementary students and then she moves into teaching teenagers. Overall, she states, “they are long hard days that are fettered with fun.”
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The best part of her day is her reflection time. She recalls what happened in each class and delights with the joy that it brings. Joni reminds herself that she tries to make a difference for the children every day. “I say I ‘try’, because I don’t want to pretend that every moment of every class is successful. I know that is not realistic.” If, at the end of the day, “I can identify even one thing, that is what means the most to me -- for children to know that they are important, that they are seen and that I am listening to them.” The ability to feel joy is a pivotal piece in the development of every child. They need to know where they can find joy and develop their own voice. She feels this is a crucial part of the dance teacher’s role. Joni teaches a class called Dancers with Disabilities and feels that she benefits from their perseverance and the excitement the students show when she walks through the door. To have someone so excited to see her fills her heart and enriches her life. She finds true joy in teaching these classes. The coronavirus pandemic has brought new challenges to teaching. The switch to online or virtual learning pushed the studio teachers to use technologies that initially posed steep learning curves. She had to adjust and
reorganize her own teaching practice. In the course of this, Joni strives to find new ways to make sure the integrity of her classes are maintained in online learning. Outside of the dance studio Joni is a person of many interests and talents. She plays the violin. She has always been interested in math and logical thinking and finds the challenge of solving a complicated math equation very satisfying. She enjoys crocheting and reading historical fiction, action, mysteries, and thrillers. Joni likes to travel and hopes to go to China and Bhutan. She also enjoys spending time with her daughter Alyssa who she says is her crowning achievement
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LESSON PLAN Heredity
Author: Jana Shumway, BTSArts Dance Educator in Herriman, Utah Age range: 5th grade Lesson summary: A dance-integrated science lesson to help students identify how various organisms adapt in different environments and explore traits and characteristics of different organisms through dance.
Experience/Identify Define organisms as any living thing that carries out life activities on its own. Define traits as characteristics that determine how an organism looks, acts, or functions. The following activities give students a chance to move like different organisms based on their traits.
TRAIT
DANCE/MOVEMENT
Human
Stands on two legs
Tiptoe, walk backward, skip, jump, run, leap, spin.
Land Animal
Stands on four legs
Move high, low, and sideways with small and large steps.
Bird
Flies through the air
Flap around the classroom by diving and swooping low and high.
Insect
Moves on six legs
Crawl on hands and feet slowly.
Plant
Grows from the ground
Bacterium
Is extremely small
ORGANISM
Twist, straight, wide, symmetrical, low to high, and side to side. Be small and move in small ways, like barely move one finger, slowly move the head, or wiggle a shoulder up and down
Explore/Investigate Divide the class into two groups: parents and offspring. Have each parent pick one offspring to be his or her partner. Place a card with the definition of each of these words on the board. Heredity: The passing of traits from parents to their offspring
Inherited traits: Characteristics passed from parents to their offspring. Examples are eye color (humans), color of fur (dogs), shape of a leaf (tree). Learned traits: Characteristics or behaviors that are learned by following the examples of the parents.Examples are language (humans); learning to fish or find berries (bears). In pairs, have the offspring copy the movement of their parent. Model with a student how this could look. Teacher: If I were doing human movements on two legs, I would show my offspring how to _________ (tiptoe, walk backward, skip, jump in circles, and so on), and he or she will have to copy as close as he or she can and thus inherit or learn my traits. After modeling an example, allow the students to dance their assigned part, either as leader (parent) or follower (offspring). Use the drum for accompaniment. With each activity, switch roles and have the offspring copy the varied movement of the parent.
ORGANISM
TRAIT
DANCE/MOVEMENT
Human
Stands on two legs
Tiptoe, walk backward, skip, jump, run, leap, spin.
Land Animal
Stands on four legs
Move high, low, and sideways with small and large steps.
Bird
Flies through the air
Flap around the classroom by diving and swooping low and high.
Moves on six legs
Crawl on hands and feet slowly.
Insect Plant Bacterium
Grows from the ground Is extremely small
Twist, straight, wide, symmetrical, low to high, and side to side. Be small and move in small ways, like barely move one finger, slowly move the head, or wiggle a shoulder up and down
Create/Perform: Discuss the concept of species and specialized structures. Put a card on the board with the definitions on it.
Species: Groups of plants or animals that can only reproduce among themselves Specialized structures: Body parts unique to a certain organism (examples listed below) Environment: The surrounding in which an organism lives. Snowshoe rabbit: Lives in a cold environment, has small ears to keep in the heat, and has broad feet to travel on the snow. Jackrabbit: Lives in hot, dry areas; has long ears to release heat; and has powerful hind legs to outrun predators. Woodpecker: Has a climbing foot. Duck: Has a swimming foot. Emu: Has a running foot. Hawk: Has a grasping foot. Suggested music: “Sun of Jamaica” by Cusco. Now have the students get into groups of 4 or 5. Assign each group an environment (swamp, forest, ocean, Arctic, desert, savanna, etc.). Have the students create an animal (one that does NOT really exist!) by giving it traits that it would need in order to survive in their environment. Have them create the shape of that made-up animal as a group, so that each child will basically represent one trait. For example, one student could make a tail that could whip its prey; or two students could create wings – one on each side of its body to help it fly; or one student could make a tongue that rolls out to snap up its food. You can also have them invent a name for their newly invented animals. The group states the environment this animal lives in. Have all the students who are observing make shapes that might be found in that environment. (For example, they might make cacti and sand for a desert.) The group performing states the animal’s name, and then moves like their imaginary animal through the student-created environment.
Connect/Analyze Discuss the special structures that each group chose for their animal to adapt to fit into their environment. Discuss the effectiveness of having these traits as opposed to others. See the full lesson plan at https://education.byu.edu/arts/lessons/heredity
LESSON PLAN Roll, Roll, Roll Your Dance! Author: Kathryn Austin, Osceola County School for the Arts, Dance Faculty; Centre for Dance & the Performing Arts, Director
Lesson Summary: A Lesson in Chance Choreography and Sequencing Age range: ages 5 - 15 You will need: One die per student. A paper and a writing utensil. (or use a dice roll app and notes app)
Say to the students: I will be putting on some music and I will ask you to move as the music inspires you! We call this improvisation! You can move any way you like! Play :30 to 1 minute of music. Now say: Great! We are going to do this again. However, this time I want you to be aware of the movements you are doing and remember one or two movements that you do that you really like or feel really good to do and give those movements a name! Play the same music.
Divide into groups of two to four students. Draw pictures of the six sides of the die on the board and let the students fill in the content for their group: Let each child choose which number they want their movement to correspond to. (For older students you might talk about probability here.) This becomes a “movement key.� For example:
= swirling eagle
= infinity swoosh
Now, have the students roll their die 7 times: Students write down their number sequence on their paper. For example, 2 4 2 5 6 1 3 Have the students repeat their number sequence aloud 7 to 10 times!! (it makes them laugh) Create: Students then have time to develop their individual phrases using the movement key and their sequence created by chance. Remind students to give their phrase a clear beginning and ending! Ask students to do an informal showing after a short while and instruct them to think about their transitions! Give examples of transitions and suggest they explore best ways to connect or link movements. Allow them to continue practicing their phrase. Perform: Share individual phrases with the large group. Choose random pairings for subsequent showings. Use random music selections of instrumental music to accompany their showings.
Reflect: What challenges did you face in making your transitions smooth?What similarities did you observe in the random pairings?Are there any movements that stand out to you? Optional Follow Up Assignment: Divide into small groups and have students teach each other their phrases, sequence them together and make them into a group dance!
DACI BOOK/MEDIA CLUB Featuring all kinds of media, books, articles, shows, and social accounts
SHARE WHAT YOU'VE FOUND WITH THE DACI BOOK CLUB!
We encourage you to send us even more books and media to pass on to the daCi membership. Submit your videos, articles, books, movies, websites, songs, newspapers, and other media to be featured in future newsletters through this Google Form.
COMPILED BY DANA LAMBERT This August, we extended an invitation to each of you to join the new daCi Book and Media club! As we have had more time this year to consume a variety of media, we asked you to submit what, related to the field of dance or dance education, you had recently read, watched, or consumed that inspired you? intrigued you? puzzled you? From printed resources to digital materials and everything in between, we want to hear what has been on your mind and why it has been relevant to you so we could share your perspective with the entire daCi USA community! For our first time collecting, we have received some wonderful new sources from you, and we look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Timely and beautiful books for children and their adults! Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice by Ann Hazzard, Marianne Celano, and Marietta Collins The Undefeated, a poetry picture book by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. It won the Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor for 2020.
BOOKS
Anne Green Gilbert, Seattle WA
The Embodied Teen by Susan Bauer “Jookin’: The Rise of Social Dance “This book provides a unique approach to somatic practice as it’s focused on helping secondary students practice body awareness and mindfulness through movement. There are interesting thoughts about warming-up in dance class, the use of touch in the classroom, and the application of anatomy and somatics in technique class. There are fifty exercises in the book that, while focused on adolescents, could be adapted for all ages.” Heather Francis, Salt Lake City, UT
Formations in African-American Culture by Katrina Hazzard-Gordon “The author is a dance anthropologist, and in her book, she analyzes the jook and other traditional and social dances that have their roots in Africa. She takes a holistic perspective on how dance supported the African-American psyche during horrific times, how social dancing 'links black Americans to their African past more strongly than any other aspect of their culture,' and how black dance influences white culture." Mady Cantor, Philadelphia, PA
Making Connections: Total Body Integration Through Bartenieff Fundamentals by Peggy Hackney "This excellent book takes you through the principles of Bartenieff Fundamentals, focusing on six developmental movement patterns: Breath, Core-Distal, Head-Tail, UpperLower, Body-Side and Cross-Lateral. Each chapter for the six patterns begins with a beautiful poem that captures the essence of each pattern. I often use them in class for improvisation with teens and adults. Lots of movement explorations are given in clear and concise language that are satisfying to integrate into your own movement practice or explore with students. I have learnt in detail how focusing on different areas of the body leads to greater understanding and awareness of the infinite possibilities of these parts moving in isolation, and a greater appreciation for the richness of movement when they dance together to form an expressive whole. You don’t need to have studied Bartenieff Fundamentals to benefit from the fascinating knowledge in this book." Anna Mansbridge, Seattle, WA
"PRESERVATION OF ONE'S OWN CULTURE DOES NOT REQUIRE CONTEMPT OR DISRESPECT FOR OTHER CULTURES." - CESAR CHAVEZ
"Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, begins chapter two of her book with this quote. Anyone teaching at any level, at this time in our history, would benefit from the concepts taught in this book. Zaretta dives deep into brain research that helps teachers "promote authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students." She goes into detail on the four areas of CRT (Culturally Responsive Teaching): 1. Awareness, 2. Learning Partnerships, 3. Information Processing, and 4. Community Building. She gives us a great visual depiction of a tree that represents the three levels of culture: 1. Surface Culture -- food, dress, music, holidays; 2. Shallow Culture -- unspoken rules, courtesy, attitudes toward elders, nature of friendship, concepts of time; and 3. Deep Culture -- tacit knowledge AND unconscious assumptions that govern our worldview. While not directly focused on dance this book will help you reach all your students in your class." Chris Roberts, Springville, UT
WEBSITES Parent Resources on American Psychological Association Website “I was impressed by the variety and accessibility of the articles/resources on this page...As individuals across the nation grapple with questions of equality and strive to overcome injustice, resources highlighting such subjects in relation to children and the field of education are even more imperative. All children deserve to not only be treated as equals, but seen as equals as well, despite race or culture. The resources found on this page alone helped me realize the increased importance of awareness and acceptance of all while teaching.”
ARTICLES "Let Them Be Barefoot: The Importance of Kids Going Shoe-Less"
Camille Winn, Provo, UT Visit site by clicking here. Instagram Account @the.dancing.room
“I loved reading this article because it justified my barefoot sole from a scientific and neurological perspective, not just my personal and anecdotal ‘I want to push my toes into the grass’ perspective. It explains why it is developmentally necessary to be barefoot, which makes so much sense from a dance perspective as well.”
"Honestly the best dance thing that fed my soul this summer was Elizabeth's online classes at The Dancing Room. She Dana Lambert, Provo, UT led inspiring creative dance classes I enjoyed with my children." Read article by clicking here. Micah Taylor, California Visit site by clicking here.
"Hamilton moves me‌I did not get to see Hamilton on Broadway or even during the national touring in my local city, so when Disney+ announced the performance over the summer, I was beyond excited. I had heard so much about the show. My anticipation made me sit anxiously on the edge of the couch with a forward lean towards the tv screen, eyes wide open, fingers playing a frenzied composition on the tops of my thighs, and feet tapping my imaginary drum set. Then it started‌ So much to talk about, so many layers to the content, the history (known and unknown), the theatrical production, the music, text/dialogue, and the movement. The movement and the dance in Hamilton were exquisite. I found that every single movement, gesture, and shape was filled and motivated by clear intentions. The details and nuances were magnified and potent. The movement vocabulary was quite unpredictable even though it was steeped in a contemporary voice to mirror, support and transcend the story. I was in a trance for the entire two and a half hours, which seemed only like moments. Yes, indeed‌I was moved emotionally, intellectually, and physically."
"Often we talk about collaboration and especially the ways in which the arts collaborate with one another in the context of stage and film productions, but how often do we witness examples so integrated that we truly see the production as a whole and not the sum of its parts? Enter Hamilton! What I love about the dance in this production is that it is in full view, and yet so organic that it does not stop and show itself. Can you name a movement from the show? Are you able to replicate a phrase from the show without seeing it again? As for me, I cannot and as a dance educator I would submit that this is the moment when dance has done its job on the stage. The collaboration of direction, music and movement as well as technical theater is seamless, allowing the audience to become fully transported into the time and space without distraction from the characters and the storyline. The dances of Hamilton are not memorable in and of themselves but rather offer the perfect enhancement to the storyline, both holding and advancing the storyline where appropriate while showing mastery of styles and technique of the contemporary training of our emerging dancers. From strong, hard-hitting isolations to stunning extensions and bound movement energy that honors the aesthetic of classical training and the dynamic of contemporary fusion -absolute perfection!"
Vincent E. Thomas, Towson, MD
Kathryn Austin, Winter Garden, FL
FILMS Two views on the filmed version of Hamilton.
VOICES OF YOUNG DANCERS
CELEBRATING THE YOUNG ARTIST Send submissions to newsletter@daCiUSA.org
Seeking reflections, drawings, poems, essays, quotes, and more Calling for submissions to Voices of Young Dancers! We want to hear from your students! Share with us your young dancers' creations, poems, quotes, illustrations, experiences, and anything that showcases their individuality and perspective.
NEWS & EVENTS NATIONAL DACI DAY OF DANCE We added zip and pizzaz to zoom conferencing during our virtual daCi USA Day of Dance, held on September 19 in honor of the National Dance Day. We were excited to have 172 participants registered to take part in our first-ever virtual event. The energy between the participants came through the screen and opened my heart as we danced. We did sessions in various age levels and Bolivian and Scottish dance as a multi-age group. Four performances from dance groups in New York, Maryland, Arizona and Utah were shared on the screen, featuring very young dancers through young men in college. For the culminating activity Chara Huckins led participants in a dance inspired by nature which weaved our individual movement into groups. We took turns as audience and performer. Participants included both members and nonmembers of daCi USA. Dancers experiencing their first daCi event expressed their excitement to join our community. The world would indeed be a better place if we all spent more time dancing! Cally Flox
ARIZONA DAY OF DANCE It has always been important to me to bring dance to all people who desire to move and make art, and in 2020, the year of a global pandemic, this mission felt even more imperative. My small organization, C3 Dance, started planning our Arizona Day of Dance in collaboration with daCi USA in March but by July all the teachers and the venue had dropped out. So, with little know-how, but a lot of sheer will, we started to plan a virtual Day of Dance. We decided to use both Zoom and YouTube Live, so we would have a back-up if one program didn’t work. On the day of the event, this choice seemed a little like overkill until we
UPCOMING DACI EVENTS 7th NATIONAL GATHERING Summer 2021 Watch for details!
15th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE July 10-15, 2022 – Toronto
received participant feedback. On the whole, attendees (including teachers) preferred the Zoom platform because it was more interactive but offering both platforms benefitted a handful of participants who likely would not have attended without the YouTube option. For example, one parent shared that her child has severe social anxiety and was able to take the YouTube class without worrying about being watched. Another attendee appreciated it because her work schedule prevented her from going to the synchronous event. The event began with a warm-up, followed by a musical theatre-style jazz class and dancemaking. Dance performances, some submitted prior to the event and some performed live, were featured between classes. In the dancemaking class, participants were guided through the process of collaboratively creating dance moments through word prompts inspired by the seasons. The class facilitator used these words and movements to create a dance. Participants enjoyed the opportunity to make both written and physical contributions to the dance. We estimate that the event drew 75100 participants. This is almost double the number we had at inperson AZ Day of Dance events in the past. Our festival was not limited to participants in the Phoenix, Arizona
area but included people in Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Arkansas and Kentucky. One of the most exciting groups of participants were 25 children, ages 6-15, and five adults who joined the event from an orphanage in Mexico. Their participation was a reminder that the language of movement is universal and can be shared across borders. We very much look forward to the day – hopefully soon – when were are able to dance and make art, in person, closer than six feet apart and without the challenges of mask wearing. However, hosting the 2020 AZ Day of Dance was a testament to the beautiful connective power of dancing together, regardless of the barriers that appear to keep us apart. Sara Malan-McDonald
Organize a daCi Day of Dance in your area! Financial support from daCi USA is available. Check the website at daciusa.org for more details by clicking here.
NEWS & EVENTS INTERNATIONAL
15TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Toronto, Canada July 10 - 15, 2022 For more information contact: Kathy Bond (k.bond@shaw.ca) Mary-Elizabeth Manley (memanley@yorku.ca) Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt (normasue@yorku.ca)
INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES - daCi Connect Visit daCiUSA.org/news for a video tutorial explaining how to access daCi Connect resources! Email questions to marketing@daCiUSA.org.
- COVID Experiences Join discussions relating to dancing amidst the pandemic!
- BLM Resources "daCi is a global organisation which aims to celebrate, inspire and move EVERY child regardless of colour." -daCi International
VISIT DACI.INTERNATIONAL
BOARD
Joy Guarino (New York) Chair Heather Francis (Utah) Chair-Elect Carol Day (Utah) Treasurer Deborah Lipa-Ciotta (New York) Secretary Nicki Flinn (Michigan) National Representative Chris Roberts (Utah) Past National Representative Madeline Cantor (Pennsylvania) Newsletter Editor Chara Huckins (Utah) Membership Liaison Members-at-Large Kathryn Austin (Florida) Cally Flox (Utah) Amy Munro Lang-Crow (Arizona) Sara Malan-McDonald (Arizona) Jennifer Florey (Arizona) Vincent E. Thomas (Maryland)
