KERRY ZAK

A dance educator is unique in that they must possess the skills of both an artist and an educator, with the strengths of both working together in dynamic excitement by opening students of all abilities up to brand-new learning experiences. As a dance educator, I aim to create an inclusive experience for students, who may otherwise lack access to dance outside of school, or who have misconceptions about its accessibility. The first step in appreciating the importance of arts in schools is defining the role of the instructor. Upon initially refining students’ varied understandings and ideas toward dance as an art form worthy of their education, I am thus able to captivate and inspire their intrinsic motivation to learn. 

 

Furthermore, the role of the teaching artist in the classroom is to teach in a way that is safe, accessible, and engaging for students so that students of all backgrounds and ability levels can reap the myriad benefits of a movement practice. In order to effectively teach, I value the importance of evaluating every learners’ unique capabilities before selecting the most appropriate learning method to use when planning a class. This practice produces a dance classroom in which students feel challenged, motivated, and successful. This also applies to my philosophy on teaching students with special needs, who can also be successful when included in a dance education curriculum. Dance is a unique combination of teaching fine and gross motor skills, as well as a creative practice, in which students have the opportunity to create movement, perform, respond, and connect their ideas about movement to other subjects and areas of life. As a dance educator, I aim to scaffold my classes in a manner that provides opportunity and inquisition into various methods of moving the body so that students of mixed abilities can find a way to engage with the practice.  

 

Next, I believe in the idea of cultivating a “growth mindset” within the classroom. I affirm that every child is varied in their intelligences and preferences of learning styles (Pritchard, 2014). Psychologist Carol Dweck argues that a “growth mindset,” or “the belief that intelligence is not fixed and can be developed” is a strong and positive predictor of achievement (Dweck, 2015, p. 1). In the dance classroom, this idea is especially important to maintain when giving students critical feedback about their performance. Because dance is both physical and creative in nature, the type, nature, and frequency of feedback I give my students is vital in determining their motivation to learn and achieve positive results in the classroom, and I aim to get to know all of my students on an individual basis in order to best align with their ways of learning.

 

Finally, my goal as a dance educator is to allow students to equally reap the benefits of dance as both a physical and creative practice. In dance, students gain “strength, flexibility, balance, posture, alignment, co-ordination and stamina, and [also learn to] present and give expression to the movement by attending to qualities of rhythm, phrasing, dynamics, spatial patterning and style” (Smith-Autard, 2002, p. 20). I aim to create equal emphasis on my students learning movement principles, such as Laban movement analysis, as well as stylized technical training, and then connecting it to a greater understanding of the cultural context of the dance world, to cultivate the most well-rounded form of a dance education. I believe that the skills provided through the means of a dance education extend beyond the dance classroom by also teaching the student innate self-discipline and critical thinking skills, which are available for use in any context.

 

My philosophy for dance education aims to strengthen the understanding of the different aspects of dance outside of the technical modality in order to promote the idea that dance is a means to communicate, understand, and connect to ourselves as well as each other. I believe that dance, as an art, is unique in its ability to offer a creative practice as well as a movement practice and emotional outlet for young learners. This discipline of strengthening the mind-body connection is beneficial beyond the scope of an artistic means, but as students transition through their own understanding of the world around them, as well as shifting self-perception within the K-12 setting. Dance provides the most accessible means for students to constructively nurture their innate curiosity, imagination, and desire to move. At the hands of the right dance educator, students are offered a window into new ways of thinking, connecting to their environment and community, and accessing a more nuanced sense of self. My goal is to continue to uncover these boundless connections and promote an increased value for the arts within schools, beginning with their implementation within the K-12 setting. 

 

References

Dweck, C. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the growth mindset. Education Week, 35(5), 20-24.

Pritchard, A. (2014). Ways of learning: Learning theories and learning styles in the classroom

(Third edition. ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 

Smith-Autard, J. M. (2002). The art of dance in education. A&C Black.