Elizabeth McPherson

Building Bridges: Using Dance and Other Arts in an Urban Initiative.

Summary “Building Bridges,” describes the use of the “city as text” for high school students in their first experience of a college course. This article is timely, in that many of the classes and workshops that were held as part of the recent NDEO conference in New York City (June, 2009) accessed the city itself as the learning modality.

A Collaboration in Dance Education Between Montclair State University and Bradford School (K–5)

For college students who are pursuing dance teaching degrees, having the opportunity for teaching experiences in a public school before student teaching or internships, under the guidance and support of professors and peers, provides meaningful opportunities to grow as an educator. There are many aspects of teaching that are best taught through experience. For example, discussing classroom management at length is not nearly as informative to university students as working directly with children and addressing whatever behavioral challenges arise. This article details my process of developing, implementing, and reflecting on an experiential teaching course, Dance for Children, for Montclair State University (MSU) undergraduate dance students.

Vitalizing Dance Legacy Through the Use of Labanotation as a Staging Tool

In the 21st century, carrying dance legacy forward and exploring it to provide depth and understanding of the continuum of dance helps ensure that our current and future practice has a scaffold on which to grow and thrive. This article begins by exploring the importance of staging dances from the past to keep dance legacy alive as well as the unique benefits of employing Labanotation as a tool. This discussion is followed by a description of the process of staging a dance from Labanotation from the directors perspective with the specific examples of the authors stagings of Donald McKayles Games (1951) and Helen Tamiriss Negro Spirituals (1928–1942) at Montclair State University.

Introduction to Modern Dance Techniques

Author Joshua Legg aptly states that his book could be considered “a biography of modern dance techniques” (194). As such, this book would be a useful text for modern dance technique classes at the high school or college level. In the first chapter, titled “The Expressionists,” Legg discusses the individuals and their techniques or styles that preceded but contributed to the development of modern dance: François Delsarte, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn. He then discusses at length the techniques of Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Katherine Dunham, Lester Horton, José Limón, Erick Hawkins, Merce Cunningham, Alwin Nikolais, Murray Louis, Paul Taylor, and what he terms “Post-Judson Training Practices.” Legg includes sample lesson plans that illustrate the techniques in practice, as well as questions at the ends of chapters that ask students to analyze and synthesize information. He also provides an overview biography of each choreographer or teacher. Along the way, he discusses the contributions to the development of modern dance by artists such as Helen Tamiris, Pearl Primus, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm, and Alvin Ailey. Whereas the lesson plans seem to be geared toward teachers, the rest of the book seems targeted more for students. In writing the abbreviated biographies of the choreographers, Legg had to make choices of what to include and exclude. Some of the biographies contain more information about the subject’s personal life than others. Occasional details are left out that leave a gap in the overall understanding of a person’s life and career; however, ideally the book will inspire students to further investigation of individual choreographers and teachers. A larger issue is how each choreographer is placed into categories. Legg terms Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey: The Originators; Katherine Dunham and Lester Horton: The Mavericks; José Limón and Erick Hawkins: The Next Generation; Merce Cunningham, Alwin Nikolais, and Murray Louis: The Avante-Garde; and Paul Taylor: Transition to Postmodernism. Categorizing is an interesting puzzle. Was Erick Hawkins less a maverick than Katherine Dunham? His technique moved far from his original work in ballet and with Graham. In most ways, each choreographer mentioned could be called an originator, a maverick, and avant-garde when viewed from different perspectives. And what about the transition to postmodernism? Several of these choreographers made moves that would contribute to the rise of postmodernism; for example, Merce Cunningham with his in-depth and consistent use of abstraction along with chance techniques and a separation of the distinct connection between music and dance. Categorizing is never simple because each individual is complex and likewise his or her choreography and style. Styles rarely break cleanly into tidy groupings. But, perhaps the categorizing itself could be a point of discussion in a class. There are many well-placed photos, and Legg cites numerous books and articles. His research is thorough, employing primarily secondary sources along with his own interviews with students and company members of the choreographers mentioned. At the college or high school level, this would be a text that students might be asked to purchase in their freshman year in a dance program. It could then be used throughout the typical four years of study. Or, it could be well-used for a one-semester survey course of modern dance techniques. Overall, this book is a welcome addition to the small number of textbooks for modern dance. Although modern has often in the past been taught without a text, in an era of increased attention to the documentation of learning experiences, having a good text on record and using it is becoming more and more necessary. With its accessible and informative style, this book will help fill that need.