Teaching and Technique in Dance Medicine and Science: A Descriptive Study with Implications for Dance Educators

Abstract

The scientific basis of human movement has been studied by dance students, teachers, and researchers in the United States since Margaret H'Doubler established the first dance major at the University of Wisconsin in 1926. Since then, students, faculty, practitioners, and researchers have applied a scientific line of inquiry toward dance movement and training. In the 1980s, medical practitioners and researchers involved with dance populations joined this scientific approach movement. This article is a descriptive study that catalogs and details peer-reviewed articles under the topic headings of teaching and technique. With 229 listed publications, teaching and technique are popular topics. This study delimits analysis of these publications to those in peer-reviewed journals, narrowing the field to 59 articles. In this study, research was organized three ways: 1. by the type of research (descriptive studies, analytical studies, experimental studies), 2. by the identification of interests (area of interest and agent of change, item of interest and type of analysis, dependent and independent variables), and 3. into four main themes (participant health, teaching effectiveness, quality of learning and performance, and the field of dance education). Findings are organized into tables for easy navigation and reference. It is hoped that accessibility to and easy navigation through this research will provide teachers with information and support toward informed choices and healthy classrooms. The ultimate aim is to provide a starting place from which dance students, educators, and researchers can develop their own dance medicine and science inquiries into teaching and technique.