Dancing around the Edges: Dance in the Primary School

Abstract

Dance is part of mandatory primary arts curricula in Queensland, Australia. Yet despite an extensive body of literature supporting its contribution education and its appeal young people, the teaching of dance by generalist classroom teachers is minimal, if at all. This has been attributed teachers’ resistance teaching dance, possibly due lack of experience and understanding of the value of this art form. Nonetheless, there are some schools in Queensland where teachers actively teach dance their students. This presentation describes a case study in two Queensland primary schools where dance is taught. It explores teachers' and students' experiences of dance. Teachers in this study tended draw upon their experiences of dance as a creative process gained during their professional development days, and their developments were strengthened by the encouragement and validation of a critical friend or mentor. Students found their expression through dance pleasurable and fulfilling. They commended its collaborative nature, the element of choice, and the relative freedom creating dance gave them to be in their bodies. Findings suggest that rather than learning more content, dance professional development for teachers should hands-on experiences of creating dance in a collaborative setting. Research into what actually happens in dance classrooms is needed in order give voice teachers who have developed professional practice knowledge in dance, and can therefore provide images of what is possible in dance education.