Comments on: Ivory Tower? http://karenashg.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/ivory-tower/ (Insert clever tag about dance here) Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:58:03 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Catherine http://karenashg.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/ivory-tower/#comment-15 Catherine Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:41:15 +0000 http://karenashg.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/ivory-tower/#comment-15 Some optimistic points... Though I did not pursue a college education before embarking on my dance career (which will become obvious as my spelling continues to embaris me thoughout this post...) More and more professional dancers do. With the increase of information we have about sport medicine and nutrition, the ease with which we can travel etc, dancers are able to dance much longer and a college education is no longer a sacrifice of such valuable years. One must also remember that in the US, colleges and universities are virtually the only source of government funding dance has, so companies frequently travel between universities while on tour in the US. Perhaps inviting more cross disciplinary panel conversations with visiting choreographers and experts in say public policy, or sport medicine, or educational philosophy etc, would invite working professionals to saturate their minds with a broader range of ideas, and inspire dance students to keep thier minds open as they embark on thier careers. The studio teaching question is a good one, I know that Washington State has just set up a system of certification for dance teachers and other states are working on such systems as well. It would be great if more studios offered dance history or anatomy, but most studios teach highschool kids and they have to sit in classes all day at school. I know when I was that age I needed to MOVE when I got to dance class. I'm not saying studios shouldn't have good qualified teachers, or that history and anatomy can't be mixed into a technique class, but I am saying that the university system is more closely related to the professional world than you might think. (Think Bennington and Martha, Hanya, and Doris...) Seigle needs to give all the new research time to permiate the world, and when/if you become a university professor- YOU can choose how you integrate that info into your teaching, choreography, and community through open panel disscussions and encouraging cross diciplinary work. Some optimistic points… Though I did not pursue a college education before embarking on my dance career (which will become obvious as my spelling continues to embaris me thoughout this post…) More and more professional dancers do. With the increase of information we have about sport medicine and nutrition, the ease with which we can travel etc, dancers are able to dance much longer and a college education is no longer a sacrifice of such valuable years. One must also remember that in the US, colleges and universities are virtually the only source of government funding dance has, so companies frequently travel between universities while on tour in the US. Perhaps inviting more cross disciplinary panel conversations with visiting choreographers and experts in say public policy, or sport medicine, or educational philosophy etc, would invite working professionals to saturate their minds with a broader range of ideas, and inspire dance students to keep thier minds open as they embark on thier careers.
The studio teaching question is a good one, I know that Washington State has just set up a system of certification for dance teachers and other states are working on such systems as well. It would be great if more studios offered dance history or anatomy, but most studios teach highschool kids and they have to sit in classes all day at school. I know when I was that age I needed to MOVE when I got to dance class. I’m not saying studios shouldn’t have good qualified teachers, or that history and anatomy can’t be mixed into a technique class, but I am saying that the university system is more closely related to the professional world than you might think. (Think Bennington and Martha, Hanya, and Doris…) Seigle needs to give all the new research time to permiate the world, and when/if you become a university professor- YOU can choose how you integrate that info into your teaching, choreography, and community through open panel disscussions and encouraging cross diciplinary work.

]]> By: rainr http://karenashg.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/ivory-tower/#comment-6 rainr Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:37:17 +0000 http://karenashg.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/ivory-tower/#comment-6 You know, I've always found it odd that studio teachers don't really need credentials. I guess that reputed studios tend to have good teachers (not always) who are capable of incorporating other information about dance. However, how many studios have we all seen that have the older students teaching the younger ones? Are they really qualified? Of course, with my questions comes the idea of somehow regulating dance teachers--making them take pedagogy and such and get some sort of certificate. I think we would lose out on some amazing teachers if we did this, yet, at the same time, I think about so many of the teachers who have skills intuitively but really have no concept of the science of teaching. How much better would they be if they understood even more about what they are doing? That's my ramble. I guess it means that we need to recognize the importance of studio teachers and in that recognition expect more from such positions. What do you think,KHG? You know, I’ve always found it odd that studio teachers don’t really need credentials. I guess that reputed studios tend to have good teachers (not always) who are capable of incorporating other information about dance. However, how many studios have we all seen that have the older students teaching the younger ones? Are they really qualified?

Of course, with my questions comes the idea of somehow regulating dance teachers–making them take pedagogy and such and get some sort of certificate. I think we would lose out on some amazing teachers if we did this, yet, at the same time, I think about so many of the teachers who have skills intuitively but really have no concept of the science of teaching. How much better would they be if they understood even more about what they are doing?

That’s my ramble. I guess it means that we need to recognize the importance of studio teachers and in that recognition expect more from such positions. What do you think,KHG?

]]> By: petitallegro http://karenashg.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/ivory-tower/#comment-4 petitallegro Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:14:10 +0000 http://karenashg.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/ivory-tower/#comment-4 This topic is near and dear to my heart. Even at the University here, the training is 95% practical, and theory/history can only be learned through electives. I LOVE theory and history, so it is sometimes frustrating to me to realize how this information has not spread as widely as maybe it should. Then again, I think this goes to the craft vs. art argument for dance. Since dance is a craft in many ways, dancers only need to learn the technical side of things in order to perform adequately. On the other hand, in order to respect the context of what they are doing and in order to create an artistic presentation of some depth, dancers do need this information. I think that it's kind of like what they say in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--a tea leaf does not know the entire history of the East India Company...(nor does it need to in order to make a good cup of tea)...and many dancers approach their work in this kind of passive way--that they are an instrument for the art form to use. I agree that it is up to the studio teachers to sprinkle theory into classes. My teachers did this, and I think that I appreciate my work very much so because of it... Steph This topic is near and dear to my heart. Even at the University here, the training is 95% practical, and theory/history can only be learned through electives. I LOVE theory and history, so it is sometimes frustrating to me to realize how this information has not spread as widely as maybe it should.

Then again, I think this goes to the craft vs. art argument for dance. Since dance is a craft in many ways, dancers only need to learn the technical side of things in order to perform adequately. On the other hand, in order to respect the context of what they are doing and in order to create an artistic presentation of some depth, dancers do need this information.

I think that it’s kind of like what they say in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy–a tea leaf does not know the entire history of the East India Company…(nor does it need to in order to make a good cup of tea)…and many dancers approach their work in this kind of passive way–that they are an instrument for the art form to use.

I agree that it is up to the studio teachers to sprinkle theory into classes. My teachers did this, and I think that I appreciate my work very much so because of it…

Steph

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