Dance Education - Fundamentally!

Dance Education is a series of articles that will focus on various aspects of the teaching-learning environment, methodology, practice and more. Bringing together varied perspectives from across regions, ideologies and styles, we hope to encourage an active dialogue about what one might consider to be one of the most significant links between the performing arts and the world at large - the teacher and the taught.

Children and adults arrive at the doors of a dance class for multiple reasons. Some children have been fascinated by a performance they watched and want to perform 'just as they saw'. Some walk in to a dance class because their parents see reason to learn and hope that their wards will cultivate interest. Some adults join because it has been an unfulfilled dream or one they let go off. Reasons are of course not limited to these. While the earnest need to learn brings a smile instantly, it is worthwhile to look at what follows this grand entry to dance. What constitutes the fundamentals of dance education? Is it an overview of DANCE as it is understood across cultures? Or is it the specific codified grammar of one structured form? Even as these sentences fall in place, I wonder if a worldview is viewed as antagonistic to sanctioned grammar while they should in fact stand beside each other.  

With more and more dancers today becoming aware of the scope of their learnt form in the larger perspective on dance, one would think that a world overview is fundamental to the learning years and should be learnt beside technique. The norm today indicates otherwise. Most teachers are qualified to teach in one structured form or sometimes two; very rarely more than 2 forms- idealistically speaking! (That some people pass off as teachers with very little training themselves is a matter of concern and requires elaboration in another article.) Amongst the majority of these teachers, their own training has been limited to the codified grammar. To expect them to bring in an informed worldview into their classes is like expecting someone to converse in a language they have never heard. And therefore the norm remains - that in most 'dance classes' teaching fundamentals refers to bodily technique. There is no doubt that this itself takes several years but what if one could augment these learning years with complementary learning that would broaden the horizons of the mind- that is what the worldview would bring. How does one bring in an organic change to the classroom to allow for this complemented growth? 

But before we ask 'how', we must first define the 'what'. What constitutes a worldview of dance? 'Dance through time, geography and socio-political landscapes - in technique, transference and engagement with society' can be a simplistic definition. The sheer magnitude of content that would come up with a definition like this will definitely be overwhelming. To tackle this and to curate content that is meaningful, comprehensive and objective, the need is for scholars to guide teachers- but they are few and far. Can content curation be done by the teachers themselves- possibly, but the tremendous time and energy required towards this can be demotivating to many, not to mention that an objective eye sans prejudice and presumption would be rarer to find. Additionally, in many cultures, textual articulation of the arts was and is not commonplace - so references would be far too small to do justice to the rich diversity of form. So one circles back to the need for scholars to guide the curation of content. 

Let us assume for an instance that content is available, what would be the most ideal method of teaching it? An academic review would be comprehensive but would be lost on a child. As creative individuals, how can one bring this worldview to the classroom in a way that is interesting, intriguing and enriching? And it is here, that I travel back in time to stories from the masters - 50 or 60 years ago, it was commonplace for a Bharatanatyam class in southern India to teach a Chinese Fan song or a Russian gymnast's routine. Such ingenious methods of introducing a child to the 'world' of dance have disappeared over the decades in favour of focus on a single discipline of grammar. The reasons for this evolution are far too complex to be mentioned here concisely. Nevertheless, can these ingenious methods of knowledge transfer be adapted into today's classroom? 

By bringing a worldview into a classroom of codified grammar, a young dance student gains the ability to see the large spectrum of narratives that accompany dance. This then feeds into the choices they make as young adults about the art form that they practice. In what capacity would they pursue the said art form or grammar. What other forms could possibly feed in or off the grammar they have imbibed? What is their engagement with other disciplines or professions? These are just a few of the many possibilities that open up for the student who has a more wholesome understanding of form, body, technique and socio-cultural complexities. 

Published as a series on Dance education in Ananya Kalasinchana. Do not reprint or republish in part or full without permission from the Editor.