SPRING 2021, ISSUE 16
daCi USA Newsletter Dance and the Child International | USA Chapter INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Teaching Dance in Context: Towards an Antiracist Dance Education............................ 4 Shaping Values: Incorporating the Disability Aesthetic into the Dance Classroom......9 Maxine DeBruyn: A Remembrance............. 12 daCi Day of Dance, Arizona
Lesson Plan "Speed"..... 14 Lesson Plan "Using Prepositions".................. 17 Recommendation Zone ................................... 20 Voices of Young Dancers ............................ 23 News & Events ............... 27
From the Chair Friends often tell me that I was aptly named. I guess I do try to see positives and I would rather celebrate than complain, but this past year has been taxing…on all of us. My heart goes out to those who have been particularly challenged by the pandemic. I am joyful to finally see “a light at the end of the tunnel”! I can honestly say that I appreciate that expression more now than ever before! There are some positive discoveries: I’ve become more patient and less complacent, more connected with family and friends from around the world, and more appreciative of my ‘moving’ body. As dance educators and advocates, we have become even more creative and resourceful and will embrace these new skills, even after we return to face-to-face.
The daCi USA board remains positive, creative, and resourceful, as well. The Youth Leadership Training initiative is bringing young people, from all over the country together to learn and share. The new format for the monthly daCi Delights continues to provide motivating lesson plans and now informs on important advocacy and international initiatives. Our website and social media platforms keep us connected with ways to celebrate the power of dance and each other. Last but not least, because last year’s Day of Dance was so well received, we are excited to announce Be Where Your Feet Are!, a weekend of dancing, creating, and connecting. Details of this national, multigenerational event will be announced soon. It saddens us that ‘uncertainty’ is still preventing us from gathering together physically as a USA family, but we remain committed to eventually dancing together at Hope College in beautiful Holland, Michigan. The light at the end of the tunnel is Hope.
Joy Guarino
Letter from the Editor Greetings from Philadelphia — where birds are chirping, spring flowers are poking up, and vaccinations are proliferating at an increasing daily rate. I continue to cook more, wash my clothes less, and watch an unconscionable amount of Netflix. Things are not perfect (whatever that means!) but I feel hopeful for more dance-filled days as we move forward into the spring and summer. I am finally back in the studio and teaching in-person, masked and distanced. Even with these limitations it still feels like dance and I find it a balm for the roughed-up spirit. I hope you are finding ways to dance and teach that work for you. This issue of the daCi USA newsletter touches on the theoretical and practical realms of dance teaching. Anna Hendricks shares the findings from her recent research project on contextualizing dance forms. Rachel Repinz introduces the notion of a disability aesthetic in dance. Both are timely and thought-provoking pieces. We also have two crowd-sourced sections from our ever-resourceful members in the field. “Voices of Young Dancers” gives a microphone to our students; the “Recommendation Zone” is full of leads that might be useful in classes or for advocacy or simply for your viewing and reading pleasure. Two lesson plans from teaching artists in Washington and Utah round out the offerings: one on the
element of speed for an adaptive dance class, and a dance integration class on using prepositions. Finally, we are honored to share a remembrance of Maxine DeBruyn, one of daCi’s founders. Be sure to check out daCi news. Plans are in the works for “Be Where Your Feet Are,” a National Gathering in the fall. The Youth Leadership Team is hopping with ideas and initiatives. Many thanks to all of the contributors. Special appreciation to design wizard Heather Francis, who is responsible for the snazzy look of the newsletter and Amy Lang-Crow who has joined the design team! Send your ideas for future articles to newsletter@daciusa.org.
Mady Cantor
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TEACHING DANCE IN CONTEXT
TOWARDS AN ANTIRACIST DANCE EDUCATION by Anna Hendricks I am a 38-year-old White dance educator living in rural Massachusetts. For the past 20 years I have taught creative dance to children in my own studio and as a guest artist in public schools. As a person committed to social justice and antiracism, I have long been confused and frustrated by some of the ways my experiences teaching creative dance have not matched up with my social justice values. Over the last four years, as I worked towards completing an undergraduate degree in dance at Mount Holyoke College, I have delved deeply into questions about how to recognize and undo White supremacy in the dance classes I teach. In the summer of 2020 these questions led me to conduct a small research project, facilitating focus groups among 21 dance educators about strategies for undoing racism in children’s dance classes. My research was focused on several areas. One goal was to learn more about the antiracist strategy of contextualizing all dance forms. I was introduced to this idea in an eyeopening article published in 2018 by dance educators Jesse Phillips-Fein and Crystal Davis titled “Tendus and Tenancy: Black Dancers and the White Landscape of Dance Education.” Davis
and Phillips-Fein argue that contextualizing all forms of dance helps counter the racist story that some dance forms (usually those deemed “western”) are “universal” while others are “cultural”. This division, they contend, works to establish the White ownership of dance by, for example, justifying why one must have training in ballet and modern dance technique in order to access American dance institutions,
economic resources and influence in the field. By recognizing and teaching our students that all dance is cultural; particular to the time, place and people who created it, we begin to undo the false racist dichotomies of “high art” and “low art” or “western” and “ethnic” that have kept power (and recognition and money) concentrated in the hands of a largely White dance establishment.
Having learned through existing scholarship why contextualizing dance is important, I turned to my research participants to learn how they were sharing context in dance class settings, especially with elementary-aged dance students. The 21 educators who participated in this study were selected after responding to an email circulated through the National Dance Education Organization as well as through professors and colleagues in Five College Dance in the spring of 2020. Of the 21 educators selected, seven identified as people of color. The majority of participants had studied dance in a university setting with more than half having earned graduate degrees in dance or dance education. Fourteen were from the east coast while seven hailed from other parts of the country. Eight held positions as fulltime dance educators, six in public elementary schools and two in private schools, while four directed their own private studios. All of the 21 participants taught multiple forms of dance, including at least two of the following: contemporary dance, jazz dance, ballet, creative movement, Haitian folkloric, bomba, West African, Afro-Brazilian, hip hop and modern dance. I am honored to share some of their methods for contextualizing dance. One way teachers share context is through storytelling. Some of them use storybooks or folktales to share background material about the source of a dance. Other teachers tell personal
stories, about where and from whom they learned particular movements or practices. They tell new stories that counter myths about their dance forms, for example, telling the Africanist origin story of jazz dance or the stories of black modern dancers who have been largely ignored in dance history books. Teachers also use stories to start difficult conversations about racism. One teacher does so by asking her young students to point to a picture of a tap dancer they want to know more about and then she tells a story about that dancer. “Of course...I’m going to have to do Shirley Temple. But Shirly Temple is a great way to talk about Bill Bojangles Robinson… And Bill Bojangles Robinson was one of the only black performers who didn’t have to wear blackface to dance on a stage. So I can get into the story of Bojangles and some deeper issues of racism and dance by talking about Shirley Temple.” Teachers also contextualize their teaching through the use of music. Many teachers use music from the same culture or time period as the dance they are teaching. For example, they use traditional jazz music to teach jazz dance in order to move the dancing towards its original Africanist cultural context. They provide information about the musicians and instruments they use for accompaniment. For example, when using a djembe drum to beat out a percussive rhythm for her creative dance class, 5
one teacher takes the time to share the history and purpose of the instrument. When teaching creative dance, one teacher carefully chooses rhythmic music from all over the world, naming musical artists and the places and cultures the music comes from. Just as often, she plays music that the children request, honoring their desire to dance to rhythms and tunes that are familiar. This allows the music to communicate that the ways students dance at home are valuable and welcome in the studio. Other teachers choose to teach songs with lyrics that have dances associated with them. The words of the song provide thematic material that helps contextualize the dance. For example, Patting Juba or Hambone, which is taught by several teachers in my study, uses coded language and body rhythms to tell the story of a slave rebellion. After teaching the movement and the song, a teacher can share the stories that are encoded in the lyrics and body rhythms, providing more background for children to understand the meaning of the movement. Teachers use visual aids such as pictures, photographs, objects, word walls and video footage to communicate context. They adorn their studios with pictures of diverse bodies engaged in diverse dance forms, pictures of themselves and their students, and timelines, webs and “trees” all of which communicate information about their own dance
lineage, the dance forms they teach and dance as a whole. One teacher has a big map on her classroom wall with the words, “Where in the world am I dancing?” written underneath. Another teacher travels with an atlas, pointing out where on the map their students are, and where the dance they are learning comes from. One studio director shares the dance lineages of each of the teachers in her school by hanging photos of each teacher dancing both in the present and at earlier points in their lives. Another teacher has created a wall-length dance history timeline that includes performances by her students and popular social dances her students know alongside concert dance forms like ballet and modern dance. Teachers
also use video footage to “go to the source.” They share archival footage to give a historical frame of reference. When teaching forms from cultures that are not their own, they share video footage of their mentors or practitioners who come from that culture.
Another way to contextualize dance is to look at dance forms, steps and styles in relation to each other. Many teachers in the study teach the social or vernacular dance roots of concert dance forms. For example, one teacher has developed a 4th grade curriculum called “Black Dance in America: Jazz.” The curriculum traces and teaches the Africanist roots of jazz and includes lessons with titles such as “African Origins,” “Plantation Dance,” “The Great Migration,” “The Charleston” and “Authentic Jazz Dance: The Tranky Doo.” The curriculum makes direct links from these forms to hip hop and jazz dance in the present. Other teachers ask their students to compare different styles within the same form. One tap teacher asks her students, “what is rhythm tap? How is it different from another kind of tap?” At schools where several different forms of dance are offered, teachers ask students to notice similarities and differences between forms. One teacher shares archival footage of Ruth St. Denis dancing “Radha”, a dance that clearly draws on Indian dance aesthetics. She asks her students, “what do you see?” and, starting from her students’ observations, facilitates a conversation about the practice of cultural appropriation as part of the historical context of early modern dance. Teachers are using dance class time to have conversations about racism and other important and relevant subjects with even their youngest students (and their parents too!). They open up conversation by asking questions as a
means to check for understanding or when they disagree with or don’t understand something a student said or did. Some examples of questions teachers shared with me include “Show me the latest dance. Where do you think that comes from?”, “Should I as a White person be teaching you this [Haitian folkloric] dance” and “Why do you think your 4-year-old daughter wants to take ballet?” The names of our classes communicate context. Many teachers spoke of the assumptions that are implicit in generalized names like “creative dance” and “contemporary dance.” While these names imply an openness in terms of style and aesthetic, the reality of systemic racism has allowed Europeanist dance
forms to claim these names as their own. Many teachers pointed out that you can teach creative Irish step dance, creative modern dance, creative West African dance, creative ballet, etc. The ‘creative’ label just means that students create their own dances/ways of dancing based on cultural and aesthetic cues, explicit or 7
not, provided by a teacher. And, likewise, ‘contemporary’ just means it is being done now, in the current moment, as in contemporary flamenco. In an attempt to be explicit and transparent about the cultural and aesthetic traditions in their classes, some teachers are experimenting with specific and unique class titles. One teacher, for example, chose the name, “The Move: experiments from inside the groove,” which she felt conveyed some of her core movement values and interests. And finally, sharing (and digging beneath the surface) of one’s own dance lineage provides context. Especially for those of us teaching dance classes which intentionally push the bounds of any one dance form or tradition, sharing one's multi-faceted yet specific lineage gives students the context they need to understand each dance class as a culturally, historically specific offering. The teachers I spoke to are expanding traditional ideas of lineage by honoring and naming family, neighbors, friends and ancestors alongside formal or famous dance mentors, and sharing all of these influences with their students. This inquiry leads to another major thread of my research project, the complexity of approaching creative dance from an anti-racist perspective. Lots to think about and discover in that large topic. Meanwhile, I welcome your feedback and thoughts about this research and look forward to conversation and resource-sharing in the timely and important area of anti-
racist dance education! And a big thank you to all of the amazing educators who participated in this study! Works cited: Davis C.U., Phillips-Fein J. “Tendus and Tenancy: Black Dancers and the White Landscape of Dance Education.” The Palgrave Handbook of Race and the Arts in Education. edited by Kraehe, Gaztambide-Fernández and Carpenter, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, 571-584. McCarthy-Brown, Nyama. “Owners of Dance: How Dance Is Controlled and Whitewashed in the Teaching of Dance Forms.” The Palgrave Handbook of Race and the Arts in Education, edited by Kraehe, Gaztambide-Fernández and Carpenter, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, 469 - 487.
Anna Hendricks is a dance educator, multi-disciplinary artist and justice-seeker living in Franklin County, MA. She is the founder of Great Falls Creative Movement, a dance education organization offering creative, inclusive and community-based dance programming in studios, schools and community organizations throughout Western Massachusetts since 2009. Anna holds a BA in dance with a focus on interdisciplinary arts and education from Mount Holyoke College where she graduated in 2020 as a Frances Perkins Scholar. Her most recent research, supported by Professor Barbie Diewald, has focused on anti-racist dance teaching practices.
SHAPING VALUES INCORPORATING THE DISABILITY AESTHETIC INTO THE DANCE CLASSROOM by Rachel DeForrest Repinz Close your eyes and recall some of your favorite dances. What do they look like? Who are the dancers? How do they move? Why is this your favorite? These preferences are a reflection of your personal set of aesthetic values. They are what make your favorite dance your favorite. The ways in which you interact with the world around you inform and shape these values, which are constantly shifting and changing. Your unique aesthetic values are molded by your experiences with culture, relationships, and the world at large. As dance educators, these values directly translate into our teaching styles and philosophies. These values spotlight what we assign worth to, and what we find unsatisfying in our dance experiences. The “disability aesthetic” seeks to examine and expand these traditional ideas of beauty. Tobin Siebers, a pioneer in disability studies and author of many books on the topic, defined the disability aesthetic as “a concept that seeks to emphasize the presence of disability in the tradition of aesthetic representation.” According to Siebers, disability aesthetics refuses to “recognize the
representation of the healthy body — and its definition of harmony, integrity, and beauty — as the sole determination of the aesthetic. Rather, disability aesthetics embraces beauty that seems by traditional standards to be broken, and yet it is not less beautiful, but more so, as a result.” As a disabled dancer, choreographer, and educator, I’ve given myself the task of incorporating the disability aesthetic into my work. I see it as both a welcome challenge and a clear artistic choice. Developed from my experiences as both a teacher and student, I have created a working catalog of ways in which the disability aesthetic can be utilized in dance education. This list is by no means complete, and I invite you to consider these ideas in your own dance practice.
Consider alternative ways of teaching Analyze how you are teaching codified technical skills. For example, instead of demonstrating a pliè as a bending motion of the legs, describe the skill to students as a “bend” without demonstration. Allow your students to explore what it means to bend their bodies in a variety of ways. For more advanced students, consider verbally describing full movement phrases without demonstrations, and allow students to generate the movement in response, in whatever way feels best in their bodies. To encourage a more collaborative approach, ask students to perform a 9
similar exercise with one another, this time without the use of the spoken cues. For example, ask students to write the description of a movement phrase on a piece of paper, and exchange their papers with another student. Students then will be asked to decode the written phrase, and generate the movement in response to it.
Seek out resources. Find resources on the disability aesthetic, inter-abled performance groups, and audiences that will be helpful to your students in their creative process. Show videos in class that feature artists and companies that are working in the realm of disability aesthetics. Seek out the extraordinary work of people such as Alice Sheppard of AXIS Dance Company and the physically integrated company Heidi Latsky Dance. Check out the March 2021 issue of Dance Magazine which has a cover story on dancer Jerron Herman. Expand the notion of what is considered beautiful.
Connect and collaborate. If you have artistic work that you want to share, contact local disability organizations, educational centers, and community groups to find sites that are open to hosting your performing group. Investigate disability practices that are commonly underused in main-
stream performances, which your dancers and collaborators may have experience with, including American Sign Language interpreters and storytellers, Braille and large print materials, and accessible technologies.
Share your work with everyone. Deaf dance-maker and disability advocate Antoine Hunter believes that by incorporating a variety of regionspecific sign language, deaf-blind ProTactile sign language and common gestures into artistic work, audiences can engage more deeply in the subtext of the artist’s work. These modes of communication can be simple, like the wave of the hand to indicate a “hello,” or more complex gestures associated with specific rituals, regional practices, and social settings. The inclusion of a variety of gestural signs invites an emphasis on communication, shared experience, and community, into your classroom and performance spaces. Students and educators alike can benefit from incorporating elements of the disability aesthetic into the classroom and their choreographic works. Not only does it provide a unique experience that integrates dance and kinesthetic-tactile methods into disability education, but can also serve as a catalyst to exploring new creative processes. Implementation of these tools can be distinctive to each individual’s own work and can be incorpor-
ated into nearly all dance genres. As a choreographer and dance film director, implementation of the disability aesthetic in my work manifests in a multitude of ways. In the creation of my dance film, ALL YOU CAN EAT!, an inter-abled cast of dancers collaborated on movement through the use of common gestures and American Sign Language in choreography, generation of improvisational scores through oral and written cues without demonstration, and an overarching commitment to accessible audience spaces and experiences. By incorporating the disability aesthetic, I have been able to expand both the subject matter and reach of my work. Resources: Siebers, Tobin. Disability Aesthetics. University of Michigan Press, 2010. Herman, Jerron. Choreographing Disability Justice. 23 Sept. 2020, www.danceusa.org/ejournal/2020/09/17/chore ographing-disability-justice.
Rachel DeForrest Repinz is a Philadelphia and New York-based artist-scholar. She received a BA in Dance from SUNY Buffalo State College and an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Temple University. Rachel has presented and performed in work nationally and internationally, including at daCi’s 2017 National Gathering in Salt Lake City. She is looking forward to attending future gatherings and maintaining a strong relationship with the daCi community. To see Rachel’s recent work, ALL YOU CAN EAT! visit http://allyoucaneat.online
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Maxine DeBruyn A REMEMBRANCE by Nicki Flinn, Associate Professor of Dance, Strike Time Dance Theatre Director, Hope College “If you love to dance, there is a place for you here.” Maxine DeBruyn Maxine DeBruyn, one of daCi’s founders, and mother, wife, dancer, choreographer, educator, designer, department chair, historian, artistic director, strategic planner, presenter, adjudicator, parliamentarian, curriculum developer, consultant, fundraising coordinator, policymaker, administrator along with many more roles, passed away December 9, 2020 in Holland, Michigan. Maxine was a visionary. She loved anything that had to do with dance. She accomplished her vision of building an accredited dance program at Hope College, a significant life
achievement. She chaired the college’s dance program from its beginning in 1974 to 2004. In addition to being active as a teacher and choreographer, among other service, she was head cheerleading coach from 1968 to 1996; founded and directed the Strike Time Dance Company, an affiliate company of the Department of Dance that brings dance to children in grades K6; and founded and advised the student Sacred Dance Group. Hope College established the first endowed chair for dance in the U.S. and chose Maxine to be the first to hold the position.
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While building the dance department, Maxine was instrumental in the development of Michigan, national and international organizations for dance. She was involved in the establishment of daCi, at the international level and at the first meeting in 1979, and went on to hold many board positions. Her belief in the power of dance extended to NDEO, Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, Alliance for Arts in Education, and many more organizations. She was an active member in the Friends of the Arts for the Kennedy Center. Her work with policy makers and the legislature was recognized when she
received a US Congressional Record Award for work in the Arts and Arts Education. Maxine was a key leader in assessment for the arts initiatives.....and the list goes on. She was a dynamo and a strong advocate. As we celebrate her life, we know that she pushed boundaries to give many of us a chance and place to dance. Maxine lived a life of dedication, persistence, and passion for bringing dance and arts learning to all. We hope you are continuing -as you used to say in class -– to zoom, skitter, boing and perch every day, Max!
Hope College Dance Department Archives
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LESSON PLAN SPEED Author: Elizabeth Sugawara, Creative Dance Center, Seattle Lesson Summary: Brain-compatible dance class on the element of speed for high school-age adaptive dance students participating in a virtual learning experience. Note: Adaptive Dance is a creative dance class that is attuned to students with disabilities, specifically individuals who are a part of the neurodiverse community. I have been working with this group of students for a little over two years. I developed this lesson for these students who, as a group, are very musical and respond positively to the exploration of concepts related to time. We had explored rhythm in a prior class. Our class was able to create meaningful dialogue about our physical experiences with the concept of speed. In our Adaptive Dance classes, there are various ways students communicate and reflect. Many dancers who are a part of Adaptive Dance are non-speaking or minimally speaking and use methods of spelling and typing to communicate. For some of them, reflecting in our dance class might include spelling their thoughts out to their caregiver on a letterboard who then relays this information to the class by either unmuting themselves to talk or by typing in chat.
WARMING UP A. Word Improvisation: Begin the class by improvising to vocabulary that we will use later in the class: Float, Flick, Shake, Slither, Punch, Release, Melt. Invite suggestions for other words to explore. B. Braindance, with attention to speed: Starting Body Shape: Crowns of the head towards the sky, activate core, tall spine, vertebrae stacked like bricks of a house, bottoms of the feet finding groundedness, like roots of a tree in the earth. Our bodies are alive, already with an internal dance occurring -- diaphragm expanding, skeletons structuring, muscles supporting, fascia holding, heart and blood pulsing. Breath
Slow deep breaths, absorbing, expanding
Tactile
Fast percussive taps on the body, like a drum or rain falling from the sky
Core/Distal
Start by stretching like elastic and activating a multi-focus listing of everything you see in your room. Melt to a small shape finding single focus, curving the spine and finding body parts connecting and compacting. Try this sequence fast and slow.
Head/Tail
Draw a circle on the ceiling with your head. Now draw a circle on the ground with your tail. Find a slow speed for this shape sketch. Can you draw both at the same time?
Upper/Lower
Quick chopping, slashing, punching in the upper body with stillness in the legs. Find stillness in your upper body and find quick kicks, stretches and swings and flicks.
Body Side
Make one side firm and float the other arm and leg up off the ground at the same time. Can you do it slowly and quickly? How does speed affect your balance?
Cross-Lateral
Cross the midline by tossing, splattering, flicking in your arms and legs… try quick quick, slowwwww, quick, quick, slowwwww
Vestibular
Bouncing, swinging, turning, spiraling, releasing, shaking
Find a big reach up the stars, then curve the spine and find your body hanging like a bat (fingertips towards toes). Find a big reach tracing your kinesphere, using your eyes to trace the movement sphere. Repeat 3x and end the Braindance with your favorite shape you made during this dance.
EXPLORING THE CONCEPT Every movement you do takes time. We can think about speed as slow, medium, and fast. There are speeds in between but these are great landmarks for our bodies to recognize. Speed might be internalized and externalized differently on every body in our class. (CDAA, ch. 12) Layering Concepts: In this exploration we think about self space and general space and move in different speeds. Guide the dancers through investigating movements, referring back to the list in our word warm up (Slither in general space, float in self space, release in general space, etc.) (CDAA, p. 195) Suggested Music: “Fast and Slow” by Kerri Lynn Nichols Reflection: What directions was your body moving in self space when your movement was fast versus slow? What pathways did you find in general space when your body was moving fast versus slow?
DEVELOPING SKILLS A. Devise simple plie, tendu, and swings combinations. B. Acceleration vs. Deceleration (CDAA, p. 197) Work as a class to make five (or more) gestures. For example, my class decided on: Waving (waving hello with right hand) Thinking (stroking chin with left hand) Reading (both hands in front of your chest like you are holding a book) Listening to music (use both index fingers to connect to ears and tap 3 times) Swimming (using arms to push like a breaststroke)
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Go through these simple movements moving very slowly to very quickly and then reverse. Reflection: Did the movement change as you accelerated? What was the most challenging shape to repeat slowly? What was the most challenging shape to repeat fast? What speed felt most supportive to your body?
CREATING Make a Speed Dance: Create a structured group improvisation using the following parameters as a score: Dancers can be still. Dancers can copy another dancer’s movement. Dancers can travel in any pathway at any level. Dancers can enter and exit the screens. I had three pieces of music ready with different tempos. The dancers chose the order, which I played without any breaks. Suggested Music, all by Kerri Lynn Nichols: Slow “Adagio” Medium “Baby Steps” Fast “Percussion Soup” Reflection: Did you find that you repeated anything throughout the score? Did you favor slow or fast? When you chose medium speed was it because you were recuperating from moving fast or getting ready to move fast?
COOL DOWN Simple yoga shapes / Closing circle/ Reflecting. Discuss speed, and find quick external and internal exploration. End class activating breath together, thinking about one good thing that happened in our dance community today. Let out a big breath. Thank dancers for trusting the process of the class. References: Creative Dance for All Ages (CDAA) 2nd Edition. Anne Green Gilbert. Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics, 2015. Music for Dancers 3. Kerri Lynn Nichols, 2020. Music and Music for Munchkins. Kerri Lynn Nichols, 2008.
Elizabeth Sugawara is a dance educator who supports creative spaces that celebrate and value inclusion, specifically with the neurodiverse community. She has taught Adaptive Dance through Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Parks and Recreation and is currently a faculty member at Creative Dance Center. In fall 2021, she will attend The Ohio State University to pursue an MFA in Dance, along with studies in Neuroscience and Disability Studies.
LESSON PLAN USING PREPOSITIONS Author: Chara Huckins; Dance Educator, Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, Salt Lake City, UT Lesson Summary: Students will understand that prepositions are words that describe relationships with objects, people, and space. I use picture vocabulary to support English Language Learners. This lesson is specifically designed for an online class, using the zoom camera frame as the space but it can be easily adapted to an in-person experience. This lesson plan can be used for three or four lessons. Age Range: K-6th grade Music Suggestion: Tristan Moore “Scentia” Prop: Kitchen chair Supplies, Equipment and Resources: Drum, Preposition picture vocabulary (can be purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers).
CLASS 1
Introduction - Gather the students close to the zoom camera. Roll a virtual die. The resulting number leads to a preposition and a shape related to the chair. Explore prepositional phrases 1 = On - make a shape on the chair 2 = Under - make a shape under the chair 3 = Next to/Beside - make a shape next to/beside the chair 4 = In front of - make a shape in front of the chair 5 = Behind - make a shape behind the chair 6 = Around - sliding around the chair Link these six movements together by using different or the same action word/words.
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Movement Pattern example: Hold shape 1= On the chair for 8 counts Move in a turning way for 8 counts and make shape 2 Hold shape 2 = Under the chair for 8 counts Move in a reaching way for 8 counts and make shape 3 Hold shape 3 = Next to/Beside the chair for 8 counts Move in a carving way for 8 counts and make shape 4 Hold shape 4 = In front of the chair for 8 counts Move in a swinging way for 8 counts and make shape 5 Hold shape 5 = Behind the chair for 8 counts Move in a sliding way around the chair for 8 counts to start the pattern again. Repeat
CLASS 2
Focus on using the zoom screen as a virtual stage and use four prepositions to create a movement pattern as a class. Create: Gather the students and show picture vocabulary for each preposition again. Explore four prepositions (into, across, around, below), this time using the zoom screen as a virtual stage to create a movement pattern in class. 1. Into the screen — (move from off-camera and move into the center of the screen). Explore...bursting into the screen...galloping into the screen. 2. Across the screen — (move from off-camera and go across the screen to the other side). Explore...carving across the screen...skipping across the screen. 3. Around an obstacle within the screen — (move in a circular direction around an obstacle within the camera). Explore...twisting around the chair...sliding around the chair. 4. Below the screen — (movement that leaves the screen and goes to a lower level). Explore...melting out of the screen...jumping and hiding below the screen. Link these four prepositions together and add a beginning and ending to the pattern. Perform: Perform both patterns as a class on the zoom screen. Preposition Movement Pattern, example 1, all segments 8 counts: Beginning off-camera Bursting into the screen Carving across the screen Twisting around within the screen Melting below the screen Ending off-camera
Preposition Movement Pattern, example 2, all segments 8 counts: Beginning off-camera Galloping into the zoom screen Skipping across the zoom screen Sliding around within the Zoom screen Jumping below the Zoom screen Ending off-camera
CLASS 3 Review preposition movement patterns, examples 1 and 2, above, which move in and out of the zoom screen virtual stage. Work Time: Have the students create their own preposition movement pattern in small groups using breakout rooms. They can choose from the list below. Everyone must have a beginning and ending shape or place off-camera. Also, everyone in the group must give input to create the pattern. (all 8 counts) Bursting into the screen Carving across the screen Twisting around within the screen Melting below the screen Galloping into the screen Skipping across the screen Sliding around within the screen Jumping below the screen Perform: After creating and practicing their small group patterns, the students return to the main room and share their work through the zoom screen stage. While each group performs, have the audience notice the various solutions for the prepositions and how the sequence was put together. Reflect: As a class, reflect about the group that performed. Which prepositions got your attention? How did the dancers transition from one part to another?
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RECOMMENDATION ZONE daCi members share what they are reading, viewing and listening to, related to dance and dance learning.
"Asian American Perspectives: From Microaggressions to Microprogressions, How Small Choices Can Make a Big Difference in the Dance Classroom" https://www.tandfonline.com/do i/abs/10.1080/15290824.2020.1789 148 Dana Lambert, Provo, UT
Send your favorite picks to newsletter@daciusa.org
Podcast: Movement and Me
Article on Social-Emotional Learning A good succinct article on the value of arts learning for social and emotional learning, from the Michigan Arts Education Instruction & Assessment. https://maeiaartsednetwork.org/articles/embo diment-the-depth-of-sel-in-andthrough-the-arts/ Jason Shumacher, Lansing, MI
Hosted by Naatya Mandalam this podcast features a number of dancers from India, the United Kingdom, and the USA. https://www.youtube.com/cha nnel/UCRZ2q1czsLeZI60ZBTpieA Heather Francis, Salt Lake City, UT
How Do You Dance? by Thyra Heder This book asks: What’s the best way to dance? The answer is: Exactly how you want to. People dance across the pages of this book inspiring the reader’s imagination with images of dancing “after dinner, at the market, at the bus stop or on a break. Good days, rainy days, sad days, even.” After all, everybody dances! This book is a great springboard for elementary-aged children and their families to inspire them to move! The illustrations are expressive and fun with a few surprises! Joyful to read for all ages. Cally Flox, Salt Lake City, UT
I Can Make a Water Dance by Karen Diaz Ensanian I recently bought the book, I Can Make a Water Dance by Karen Diaz Ensanian. It isn't exactly a water cycle book but instead it covers all the types of bodies of water starting with mist and going through twelve more and ending with the ocean. The thing that is unique about this book is that it includes children in different dance positions for each type of water. The end of the book shows 36 children in different "water shapes": drip, shower, splatter, flow, splash, steam, swell, pour and more. It also has ideas for parents and teachers on guiding children in creating a water dance. Chris Roberts, Springville, UT
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Podcast: Working On the podcast titled Working from Slate, choreographer/director Annie-B Parson talks about making dances, her approach to music, and more. The discussion is partly about her project with David Byrne but the content is interesting even if you don’t know that particular work.
Wawa Snipes, the performer of the national anthem in ASL at the Super Bowl (no surprise to learn he has dance training):
Her insights are fresh and thoughtprovoking and her language is vivid and distinctive. Good thing to share with emerging dancemakers.
Check out this energetic hiphop-influenced dance. Watch the tall guy in the back for a lesson in maintaining individuality in a group.
https://slate.com/culture/2021/02/a merican-utopia-choreographerannie-b-parson.html
https://youtu.be/jYMK7Ia7xrY
https://youtu.be/HRtDjTQHG-g Anne Green Gilbert, Seattle, WA
Mady Cantor, Philadelphia, PA
Mady Cantor, Philadelphia, PA Here is a really fun and creative way to explore new movement! Watch the viral sensation of the ballerina with Alzheimers: https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=OT8AdwV0Vkw Angela Giles, Meridian, ID
Cory Lingner performs in tandem with great tap dancers from the past. instagram.com/corylingner Judith Nelson, Rhinebeck, NY
https://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=U0Blqvxjqh8 Ashley McCullough and Amber Gardner, Ash & Elm Dance Co, VA
VOICES OF YOUNG DANCERS
Philadelphia High School for Girls
CELEBRATING THE YOUNG ARTIST Send submissions to newsletter@daCiUSA.org
Towson University Men's Repertory
Reflections, drawings, poems, essays, and perspectives from young dancers around the country.
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Dear Body, I would like to thank you for always holding me up, even in the hardest times. Thank you for quickly healing my injuries as well as staying healthy. You are the reason I am walking and talking today, and wouldn't be able to do any of it without you. My favorite part about you is my dimples. You help to provide a sense of care and happiness, in the most simple of ways.
"The pandemic has just made me lazier in general. For some reason, I just don't have as much motivation to do things. But I'm still excited about dance, and I look forward to doing it, and I'm looking forward to when it (the pandemic) is over, and we can hit the ground running." Reina, age 16, Vancouver, WA, member of MOTUS Dance Company
I am so appreciative that you are there to help me learn and grow throughout my years, and as I grow old. My body helps provide a sense of love and care to me that no one, or anything could do. My body is the main importance of my life. It is my job to take care, and love you no matter what. I would like to always give thanks to my body, even with the toughest of situations. I could not thank you more. I am so grateful for all that I have gone through, especially when it comes to my body. There may be days where I don't feel the greatest, or am insecure about my body and how I look. In the end, the only person my body matters to is myself. No one else should influence an opinion on my own body. Thank you, Body. With love, Zoe Zoe, age 13, Idaho Fine Arts Academy
A mobile made by Brooklyn, Ellie, Amelia and Naomi (ages 7-8), young dancers in Vancouver, WA, students at Liz Borromeo Dance.
Dancing Pathways, by a kindergarten class at Tapestry Charter School, Buffalo, NY
Dance, to everyone, is different. To me, dance is a way to express myself in a way that words can’t describe. I was asked to write about how dance has impacted me, but it truly goes beyond description. I’ve always had dance in my life; from grooving in my room to Ariana Grande, to dancing my heart out in a piece from the Nutcracker. When my body begins to move to the music, I feel more comfortable than I ever would in my normal, everyday life. I can flow through my emotions, and experience them all in creative ways. When I’m in a fast-paced routine, where I’m smiling and sharp, I feel more joyous than I had been before, and I’m able to wash away any sadness or pain that was wearing me down. Through the pandemic, dance was the one constant that has kept me going. Every day, without fail, you could find me in my living room with the couch pushed away from the center of my floor, and music blasting out of my speaker. I was always conditioning myself, pushing my technique, and doing my best to perform small pieces I’d make. The pandemic has been an awful, lonely time, but dance has never failed to keep me company. Music is rhythmic, and always follows a steady tempo, allowing me to connect with all different songs in all different ways. I would never trade it for anything. I truly love it! Kennedy, age 16, Valley Vista High School, Arizona
“I keep moving because… It is my safe space. Even though most of us aren’t able to dance in a studio right now, being able to move through tough times such as these is something I am very grateful for. Instead of looking at this quarantine as something that has stopped me from improving, I have used this time to expand beyond my comfort zone and learn more about myself as an artist.” Kennedy, age 16, New Orleans Ballet Association Pre-Professional Program, Louisiana "I’m involved in a club at my high school called Voices of Excellence, which plans a showcase every year to display our talents, creativity, and individuality. At my dance studio I was in a trio performed to a poem we wrote about growing up black, and how we slowly realize as we grow older how racism is affecting our lives and our future. Since the showcase is virtual, this year I had to turn it into a solo. For a month, I spent part of my class time working on the dance and adapting the choreography to fit properly for one person. I am very proud of this piece and can’t wait to create another one next year!" Maya, age 15, Movement Culture, Oreland, Pennsylvania
NEWS & EVENTS
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
daCi USA National Gathering Be Where Your Feet Are! A weekend of dancing, creating and connecting — September 17-19, 2021 Join daCi USA for an exciting and innovative National Gathering in September. Coinciding with National Dance Day, "Be Where Your Feet Are!" will offer two kinds of experiences: local/regional days where you can dance in-person plus sessions that connect you virtually and nationally with dancers across the country. There will be cultural and creative sessions led by prominent dance artists and teachers. Grab your calendar and Save the Date! Stay tuned as details will be shared in monthly daCi Delights, on social media, and on the daCi USA website.
Youth Leadership Training Workshops The Youth Leadership Training initiative is an emerging program of the daCi Board, driven by a belief in the importance of involving young dancers in all aspects of lifelong learning and leadership in the field of dance and, specifically, in daCi USA. In the first two sessions, participants brainstormed ideas on what makes a good leader, how to use leadership skills in dance, and the role and potential of the youth voice in dance. On April 17th the groups will meet for a third session to focus on goalsetting, time management, planning and participation in future daCi gatherings. If interested in taking part, register on Eventbrite or contact Kathryn Austin at kwadance@gmail.com.
Liz Borromeo Dance, Vancouver, WA
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daCi Day of Dance, Arizona
INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES DACI CONNECT Use this link to get member access to the international website. https://daciusa.org/enjoy-the-daci-connectarea-of-the-daci-international-site/
CALL FOR ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS daCi Int'l has been invited to edit a special issue of International Journal of Education & the Arts on the converging issues of racial justice and the global pandemic. For info on submitting an article, contact Susan Koff at sk120@nyu.edu.
UPCOMING EVENTS Be Where Your Feet Are! VIRTUAL NATIONAL GATHERING Sept 17 -19, 2021 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE July 10 - 15, 2022 — Toronto Link for info and the call for proposals. www.daciconference2022.yorku.ca/
NATIONAL GATHERING Summer 2023 — Hope College, Michigan
DACI USA 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 MalanMcDonald (Arizona), Jennifer Florey (Arizona), Vincent E. Thomas (Maryland)
VISIT US AT DACIUSA.ORG