Better together: toward a joint pedagogy in folk dance and music

It is important for people to structure the space around them and give it meaning, and this is evident in the stories of people involved in dance, not only talking about the process of dancing itself but also about the place and space where they dance. The project “Urban Experiences: Narratives, Memories and Place Heritage” (lzp-2020/1-0096), implemented by researchers from the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art at the University of Latvia and launched in 2021, includes a study in Rīga, Pārdaugava. It involved interviews with representatives of folk dance and stage folk dance groups working in Pārdaugava. In order to deepen the understanding of an important community of practitioners of Latvia’s intangible cultural heritage – dancers and dance teachers – the aim of this article is to find out where folk dance and stage folk dance perform today, which are the places they pay attention to and highlight as important, and how they shape their everyday dance life. Experiencing different places and spaces in the city shapes both the identity of dancers and dance teachers and the perception of a particular place. In other words, there is a two-way interaction: the person shapes the place, and the place shapes the person. Through semi-structured interviews with members of the dance community and subsequent analysis, the place where classes and concerts take place is crucial in sustaining their everyday practices. Rehearsal spaces create an atmosphere for everyday activities and are also important for socialising and maintaining a sense of community. Although most dancing takes place indoors, in recent years, there has been more dancing outdoors. And although this experience has not always been seen as a success, it has provided a different perspective on the space around us, and an opportunity for people who do not dance to be exposed to different dance practices. The article “The importance of place in narratives about dancing in Pārdaugava” analyses the contexts in which places appear in the narratives of people involved in dance, the meanings they attach to them and what they highlight as important characteristics of the dance environment, which in turn constitute this important part of the intangible cultural heritage.

Chinese folk dance is an integral part of the cultural context of the Chinese nation, with distinctive national characteristics and profound cultural connotations. Therefore, the teaching of folk dance in colleges and universities should make the inheritance and practice of folk dance on campus continue to improve on the modern road of advancing with the times, pioneering and innovative, and creating brilliant results. It is necessary to do a good job in the inheritance and practice of folk dance in colleges and universities. This article discusses the inheritance and practice of folk dance in colleges and universities, and contributes to the promotion and inheritance of traditional folk art.

In the past, such as training institutions or kindergartens in dance teaching, most of them only pay attention to the child's accurate grasp of dance, as time passes, children learn to dance become mechanical and rigid. Carry out the children's folk dance education, the key lies in cultivating children's interest in dance dance, feel the fun, according to the characteristics of children's ability of development, starting from the three dimensions of aesthetic perception, aesthetic comprehension, aesthetic creation ability, the children before and after learning the folk dance, carries on the analysis and comparison of detailed changes the aesthetic ability of each, after further on children's folk dance teaching practice, more accurate analysis problems, finally gives the corresponding countermeasures to solve these problems. From the teaching practice of folk dance, we can see clearly how it has important influence on children's aesthetic ability and the positive significance of cultivating aesthetic ability.

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of teaching Ukrainian folk dances to children and youth in Galicia (1919-1939), when it was important to preserve national identity, and the study of folk choreography was one of the means of national-patriotic education and cultural development. The authors argue that the interest in folk dance was revived under the influence of a choreographer Vasyl Avramenko’s performing skills and pedagogical activity. Vasyl Avramenko ystematized the theory and practice of folk dances teaching and opened the first school of Ukrainian national dances. The school functioned in various cities of Galicia. It is emphasized the role of cultural, educational and sports societies and organizations in popularizing the art of folk dance among children and youth. Thus, folk dances were taught at various courses, clubs and societies such as «Prosvita», «Ukrainska Zakhoronka», “Ridna shkola”, gymnastics societies «Sokil», «Luh» etc. It is discovered that at concerts on various holidays children and youth performed Ukrainian folk dances and music performances based on folk motifs interpreted by Vasyl Avramenko, Oksana Sukhoverska, Volodymyr Terletskyi, Yaroslav Bulka, Petro Lazoryshchak and other choreographers. The most popular folk dances were: «Kolomyika», «Arkan», «Kateryna», «Chumak», «Kozachok», «Hopak», «Zhuravel». Dancers performed them solo, in pairs or in groups. Although the methodolody of dance teaching was not systematized and well-developed, students developed a sense of rhythm and harmony, grace, plasticity, artistry. This was confirmed by numerous positive reviews on the performances of young Ukrainian dancers in the press of the time. Keywords: folk dance, folk dance courses, cultural and educational organizations, youth societies.

In order to further promote the modern transformation of ethnic and folk dance and meet the contemporary artistic needs of a broad audience, it is essential to emphasize the transformation paths of folk dance in higher education, and to fully understand the characteristics and modern transformation value of different ethnic folk dances. This paper, based on the analysis of the types and characteristics of Han and ethnic minority folk dances, reveals the significance of cultural inheritance. It also analyzes the value of modernity in folk dance on university stages and proposes paths for the modern transformation of Chinese ethnic and folk dance in higher education settings, thereby providing reliable support for the innovative development of ethnic folk dance in universities.

The physical, social, and music attributes inherent to folk dancing make it an ideal component of music education curricula. The communal experience of folk dancing is unprecedented for many adults and children. These experiences are unique because folk dancing can foster individual and group learning through music, and noncompetitive play. There is, however, currently a lack of assessment tools available to music educators for evaluating student folk dancing quality. In this discussion, the author examines the genre through the eyes of dance and physical educators, and the extant recreational folk dancing community. This exploration leads to the identification of observable skills and aesthetic features of good-quality folk dancing. This information culminates in the Folk Dancing Proficiency Rubric, created by the author, for use in educational settings.

he article analyses the Lithuanian folk dance as a means of national identity fostering in Lithuanian diaspora in North America. National identity maintenance especially in emigration is topical problem which started with the first wave of emigrants into US after the First World War. The evolution of Lithuanian folk dance in North America can be divided into two parts. The first period involves Lithuanian dance origins in North America, where in 1925 the first Lithuanian dances were captured in Lithuanian operas and choral performances. The first and second waves of emigrants didn't have chance to experience folk dance revival period in Lithuania, so they tried to dance dances which they knew from their parents and grandparents. Therefore dance repertoire was not abundant. During this period national dance activities were enlivened and enriched only by M. Baronaitės arrival from Lithuania seeking to maintain national identity and to expand dance repertoire.The second Lithuanian folk dance development period in North America covers the period from 1944, when the third wave of emigrants, who has experienced national revival in Lithuania, joined the Saturday schools and established Lithuanian dance ensembles which expanded Lithuanian folk dance repertoire in North America. Most of the national dance up holders were teachers, who acquired dance knowledge in primary school physical education teacher courses or by teaching children dance at Lithuanian schools.Lithuanian Folk Dance Institute (LFDI) is an important cultural institution, which aims to explore and spread Lithuanian folk dances, to promote the related customs, games, folklore, folkmusic and costumes hereby encouraging Lithuanian national identity. The focus of LFDI is appointed to organization of folk dance festivals, selection of artistic director and program approval. One of the major challenges of LFDI is to hold annual dance teacher seminars, which seek to improve folk dance teachers’ competences.

Romanian folk dances are a wealth of generations that we owe to preserve, protect and leave our inheritance to our descendants as a proof of our identity and history. By practicing dance, the customs and traditions of the people are learned; young people develop harmoniously due to the various movements in which the dances are composed. Romania has a wide range of games, dances and costumes inherited from tradition, perpetuated through repertoire and ethnography, which convinced us to address and highlight the important role of the traditions, folk dances in Bihor County, the beneficial effect that they have in the personal development of the dancers. The proposed research methodology for the study addresses methods such as the survey method by applying a questionnaire and the statistical-mathematical method. The results highlight the importance of folk dances first present in the family and the fact that passion is the main motivation of dancers that drives them to practice folk dance. It is necessary to give children the opportunity to make direct contact with the sources of popular creation such as dance, music, customs and folk costume, to create optimal conditions for learning our folk dances, the priceless treasure of our people.

Since being listed as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010, Kalbeliya dance from Rajasthan is now generally conceptualized as an ancient tradition from India. However, this same dance practice, also known as a form of “Indian Gypsy” or “snake charmers’” folk dance, appears to have originated as recently as the 1980s. This article gives an account of the swift development of Kalbeliya dance from its first appearance on stage in 1981 to the present. Ethnographic research with Kalbeliya dancers’ families has elucidated how this inventive dance practice was formed to fit into national and transnational narratives with the aim of commercializing it globally and of generating a new, lucrative livelihood for these Kalbeliya families. As a new cultural product of Rajasthani fusion, the dance finds itself at the crossroads of commercial tourism and political folklorism and is grounded in neo-orientalist discourses (romanticism and exoticism).

Different dance forms attract different people. Dancers involved in folk dance, ballroom dance, ballet, and modern dance differ in both their background and participation profiles (Nieminen 1997) and in their reasons for participating in dance (Nieminen 1998). In Finland, the 1980s can be considered a golden age in the field of dance education. It was the decade that at long last saw the start of university-level and vocational dance education in the country. At the same time students of physical education were given the opportunity to specialize in dance pedagogy. The new Finnish Opera House in Helsinki also generated a great deal of publicity for dance in general. All this gave impetus to a demand for qualified dance teachers and increased the number of people involved in art dance. Since the 1970s, folk dance has also become more popular than in previous years and today there are many innovative folk dance choreographers who want to see folk dance not only as the transmission of tradition but also as a theater-art form. The latest changes to take place in the field of folk and ballroom dance are partly due to the new four-year program for folk and ballroom dance instructors offered by the Oulu Conservatory of Music.

The purpose of this paper is to study the use of the selected interactive environment as a means of promoting and popularizing folk dances among Chinese youth. The author of the research used the DanceForms application as an example of an interactive learning environment. They also used specially developed assessment: five invited dance teachers moderated and evaluated a test and a questionnaire that included10 questions and described students’ interest in folk dances. The DanceForms application demonstrated its effectiveness in all four categories of evaluation. The influence group strengthened their technical skills by 12.75%, musicality and rhythm by 12.07%, performance quality by 22.96%, and choreographic memory and adaptability by 14.85%. The interactive system also influenced the level of interest positive. The students who had practised in DanceForms demonstrated a level of interest 25.99% higher than the dancers from the control group did. The scientific value consists in new up-to-date data on the influence of interactive systems on the success of teaching folk dances and contribution to the discussion on ways to popularize, preserve and disseminate intangible cultural heritage in the global world. The results may be of value to dance teachers, university functionaries and students.

The folk dance is originated in the body language in people`s daily life, the dance is performed by the abstraction of the daily activity, it can also be called Hula or country dance.What is different from the ballet or sport dancing is the folk dance match the special music,customs.The performance form can be very various, the dance style is diversified,visualize and vivid.This paper talks about the Chinese folk dance teaching innovation from five respects which are mastering the folk dance moves characters, introducing diversified dancing teaching methods, implementing personalized teaching methods, designing all kinds of folk scenes, realizing three-dimensional development.ofthe teaching evaluation system.

Background/Objectives: Folk dance represents an educational and cultural practice that is capable of promoting psychological well-being, social cohesion, and identity formation. However, few studies have integrated students' voices regarding their lived experiences in these practices. This study aimed to analyze the perceptions of children and adolescents about their participation in school folk dances, exploring their impact on psychological well-being, self-confidence, and body awareness. Methods: A qualitative study with an exploratory and descriptive design was conducted with a purposive sample of 76 elementary and secondary school students who participated in the School Folk Dance Encounter "Heartbeats of My Land", organized by the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (Chile). Semi-structured interviews were applied, and a thematic analysis was performed on 285 statements, organized into two dimensions: Psychological Well-being and Self-Confidence (PWS) and Body Awareness, Expression, and Communication (CEC). Results: The analysis revealed a predominance of the (PWS) dimension (85.3%), focused on positive emotions, self-confidence, and emotional regulation. Students' testimonies highlighted dance as a means of release, self-esteem, and joy. To a lesser extent (14.7%), the (CEC) dimension reflected the perception of the body as a vehicle for communication and symbolic expression. Conclusions: Folk dance emerges as an integral pedagogical space that enhances emotional well-being, self-confidence, and cultural identity. Its systematic inclusion in Physical Education is proposed as a strategy to foster meaningful learning, mental health, and social cohesion.

The article provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in the concept of 'folk dance' in Estonia from the end of the 19th century until today. The diachronic analysis of both theoretical and practical discourses is based on Estonian-language paper and web publications where the word rahvatants (folk dance) has been used as a term or where the concept is defined; an inquiry among the members of a folk dance group, and my personal ethnographic fieldwork in the folk dance world of Estonia. My borderline position between the roles of a dance researcher and a dancer and folk dance teacher in practice makes it possible to switch between different discourses and find their intersections. Shifts that occur in terms and concepts used in both scientific and public classifications, as well as in specialised discourses situated between them, reflect varied trends in the Estonian dance tradition during the 20th century and explain the development of the present situation.

Indonesia has many dances in each region. Traditional dance and folk dance are dances that existed in Indonesia before the development of contemporary dance. As one of the local cultures in each area, dance art is included in local content at the elementary to high school level. The changing curriculum has disrupted local cultural education in the world of education some time ago. In addition to these factors, the lack of interactive learning media at least affects. The purpose of this study is to develop a learning pattern for folk dance as a local culture in Indonesia through an interactive mobile application. In addition, this research is used to help preserve and introduce the folk dance arts of each region to students in Indonesia. Gamification can be an alternative for developing folk dance learning. What usually happens is the lack of innovation in conventional learning media to attract students' interest in studying local culture, especially folk dance as a local content subject. This activity is a folk dance education about history, regional origins and dance movements. The result of this application is a folk dance game in Indonesia. There are several levels that must be passed to be able to complete this game. Each season will be taken 3 people who get the reward. The rewards that we design are based on the prizes preferred by elementary, junior high and high school students. Based on the results of the System Usability Scale evaluation, the prototype designed got a score of 86.25% and was considered to have met the usability element.