Teaching Dance Spaciously

Abstract

Abstract This article focuses on and discusses the concept of space as a theoretical tool in connection with dance pedagogy. The author suggests that to look at the dance class as spacious contributes to the dance teacher’s awareness of the fact that she operates in, and also creates, many different spaces as she teaches. This awareness might support the teacher in broadening the dance space in order to embrace differences among dancers, thereby providing the word spacious with a second meaning: generous. The author’s interest in the concept of space as a theoretical device to help understand what goes on in a dance class was born during the analysis of the video material collected for her PhD in dance (Østern, 2009). The practical investigation of the study dealt with formulating an approach to dance pedagogy with a group of mixed-ability dancers based on an understanding of the meaning-making processes among the different dancers in the project. Dialoguing with scholars like Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1962/2002), Valerie Briginshaw (2001), Shaun Gallagher, Dan Zahavi (2008) and Leena Rouhiainen (2007), the author distinguished different spaces in the dance improvisation classes she was teaching, video recording and analysing. Through this process, she developed a theory on the fact that in a dance improvisation class with differently bodied dancers meaning was made in different ways, touching on and producing different spaces. The author concludes that one main advantage of regarding a dance class as spacious is that it allows for an understanding that in class meaning-making can happen in different ways, within different spaces. Together with the dancers, the dance teacher moves in and out of these spaces as she teaches. Tone Pernille Østern (Doctor of Arts in dance) is a dance artist, teacher and researcher based in Trondheim, Norway. She is the artistic leader of the Inclusive Dance Company (www.dance-company.no) which is a small independent contemporary dance company. She has developed the Dance Laboratory (www.danselaboratoriet.no) which is a performing group with differently bodied dancers. The Dance Laboratory also formed the basis of her field work in relation to her PhD in Dance at the Theatre Academy in Helsinki (Østern, 2009). Østern is also the leader of the MultiPlié Dance and Diversity Festival, a biennial in Trondheim since 2004. The festival tries to stretch and discuss ideas about what dancing is and who can be a dancer. From 2009 she also takes up the position as assistant professor at the Program for Teacher Education at the NTNU University where she teaches and carries out research. E-mail: inclusive@dance-company.no / tone.pernille.ostern@plu.ntnu.no