Dance education

In general, a dance education curriculum is designed to impart the knowledge and skills of performing dance for the students. Knowledge-oriented curricula may cover any of a diverse range of topics, including dance notation, human anatomy, physics, dance history, cultural aspects of dance, and music. A curriculum may involve the study of one or more dance genres, including formal genres such as ballet, ballroom, contemporary, jazz, Latin, tap, pointe, hip hop, jazz funk and informal and social genres such as line, freestyle, and sequence dancing. ==Professional dance education==

Professional and vocational dance education is offered by both public and private institutions. Private institutions, which are commonly known as dance schools or dance colleges, are typically focused on dance education, whereas public institutions usually cover a broad range of topics. Examples of private institutions include the Royal Ballet School and the School of American Ballet, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (now The Ailey School), The Juilliard School, and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Many public and private universities and colleges offer minor programs in dance, or major programs with academic degrees such as Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Master of Fine Arts in dance. Some public secondary education institutions offer comprehensive dance education curricula. For example, Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) offers concentrated vocational dance education in conjunction with its pre-professional dance company, The Jefferson Dancers. In addition, some dance companies offer pre-professional, adult, community, adaptive dance training, and/or workshops, along with their company programs. Some examples include: the Joffrey Ballet (Chicago, Illinois), Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Houston Ballet, the Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet companies. There are at least three categories of classes. Regular dance classes will generally go more than a few weeks. For younger students, many dance schools will follow the local school calendar. Majority of dance studios start the new season at the beginning of August and last until the beginning of June. This makes a typical dance season about 40 weeks long. Dance workshops generally go from a day to a week, often in Summer, and offer a variety of dancers an opportunity to hone their skills. Dance intensives are generally for higher-level dancers. They have a more focused lesson plan than workshops, and last between two weeks and a month. == Self-teaching ==

It is possible, to one degree or another, to teach oneself to dance. One way is to watch videos of one's favorite dancers and imitate their moves. The choreographer Wade Robson learned to dance this way. Another way is to befriend excellent dancers, and learn their moves from them. One actually can learn moves from any other dancer. Although one is able to self-teach dance moves, it is not recommended because executing the skills incorrectly can cause injury. It is very vital that when learning dance, the dancers should also learn correct form because if not, it can prevent the dancer from progressing. ==Dance in formal education==

Early formal dance education was heavily influenced by Western dance styles and, as a consequence, was a highly technical discipline, focusing on specific routines and requiring set steps. However, the 1926 marked the introduction of the first dance major into the college curriculum. dance in primary education embodies this flexibility and strongly emphasizes the importance of creativity. Secondary education Dance has not currently established its role in secondary education due to an increasingly overwhelming focus of modern education on disciplines like mathematics, science, and literacy. The general guidelines for implementing dance in secondary education stress the importance of self-expression and independence as teenagers exhibit a strong desire to establish their identity. Consequently, there is an increasing conflict between formal higher dance education and the education of actual professional dancers, who mostly train in private sectors. ==Dance education around the world==

Dance has faced many challenges on a global level on its way to becoming an acknowledged form of art and part of the wider education system. The United States dance framework focuses on performing, choreographing, and relating dance to other disciplines. History of dance education in the United States Early to middle 20th century Up until the start of the 1900s, dance was considered an integral part of upper class life, but it was not viewed as part of one's education. The 1910s and 1920s saw the rise of dance in colleges and universities. In 1926, the first dance major was created in the University of Wisconsin by Margaret H’Doubler. However, with the recent changes in the National Curriculum, all schools in the Western Cape are required to include dance education in their curriculum. Dance in Syria was influenced heavily by Europe and Russia and performed in nonformal settings of homes and communities. However, dance is to this day not an official subject of study in Singapore. The latest iteration places special focus on fostering rational thinking and developing creative expression through dance. However, the national dance curriculum is questioned in terms of its efficacy as there are no measurable effects of dance on the development of creativity. Dance is offered in schools based on demand, with the majority of South Korean schools not offering dance courses at all. ==Standards and assessments==

Dance is evaluated in varying ways across many countries, institutions and methodologies. There are two levels of evaluating dance: individual performance assessments and teaching program evaluations. On one hand, it is the process of evaluating students’ individual performances. Some of the most common dance assessment methods are auditions and stage performances, direct observations in class, self-assessments, peer responses, portfolios, and written examinations of dance knowledge. Dance educators strongly advocate the standardization of curricula and assessments in order to improve teaching methods. The National Dance Association of the United States has formulated seven standards by which students are evaluated. These standards include a various set of skills, from being able to understand and perform choreographies to applying critical thinking and problem-solving skills to learning dance. On the other hand, dance assessment refers to the process of evaluating dance teaching programs. Dance program assessments are mostly based on the framework of best practices created by experts. However, dance evaluation studies are rarely published, making it hard for the dance community to reach a consensus on unified international standards. ==Factors influencing dance education==

The ability to pursue dance education through stages of formal education and later as a career is defined by a number of different factors. Physical fitness The ability to meet the physical demands of a given task is crucial in being able to perform dance. Professional and pre-professional dancers exhibit greater than average flexibility and muscular strength. Musicality Musicality encompasses four main elements of rhythm, melody, harmony and tone colour. Dance students naturally respond to external stimuli with movement and are generally more sensitive to music. Personality Research examining correlations between personality traits and successful dance careers is extremely lacking Dance talent development across the lifespan: a review of current research. There are findings linking dancers to such personality traits like openness to new experiences and creativity. However, there is not enough empirical evidence to conclude that certain personality traits lead to higher success in pursuing dance education. Motivation Success in dance education is dependent on optimal motivation, growth mindsets, well-developed psychological strength and social skills. Motivated dancers are more likely to persist with their education and sharpen their capabilities to attain optimal results. Support A key element of successful dance education is access to a variety of sources such as teachers, mentors, parents and financial resources. The latter has the most weight as the ability to travel and gain access to dance lessons with competent instructors is directly linked to one's financial means. ==Current issues in dance education==

Gender issues Dance has been historically perceived as part of one's gender role. However, dance has been increasingly classified as a female art form as a by-product of the Western culture and rise of feminist viewpoints. This is partly because most dance educators are more engaged in teaching, choreographing and performing dance as well as directing a student body, leaving little time and room for prospective research. This phenomenon became especially apparent in ballet - it was defined as the pinnacle of dance. Although the issue of Western bias in dance education research remains present, the efforts to enrich the dance education identity with diversity have received significant support and investment. ==See also==