Crossing Artistic Modalities to Enhance the Teaching of Dance Technique

Abstract

Crossing artistic modalities so that students respond aesthetically to dances rather than through written critiques can enhance the teaching of dance technique. This integrative method encourages the practice of artistry, the act of finding voice, along side the learning of technique. The use of a basic premise from expressive arts – that art making is a part of our innate human capacity to make meaning of our lives – has led me to encourage students to develop their imaginative, expressive capacity as young artists. The act of making (and presenting) a creative response has encouraged and validated the students' own aesthetic choices in improvisation and in dancing expressively in a fully embodied way. The crossing of modalities has also increased their relational skills and improved their ability to make meaning out of abstracted dances.