Janice Ross

Arts Education in the Information Age: A New Place for Somatic Wisdom

n the following article, Janice Ro.3.v addresses both a problem m i l an opportunity, one that conf r o ~ t s all of‘ us interested in the I c.dircutiotial contributions of the urts. Th{, prOhkFn and opportunity I speak 01 is the desire, on the one hand, to get I/W arts into school programs by appealing to ,justifcations that are uttruetiiy to those outside of the arts but which u y Y ttiernselves extra-artistichigher SAT scores, increased stundurdized arhpi~enient est scores, better spatiul remt ining, and the like. On the other hand, ~ ‘ i u w t to avoid undermining the distinctiue contributions o j the arts to educatioki hv appealing to justipcations that other ,fields can achieve. In our eflorts 11n provide “practical” justipcations jot the educational values of the arts, hv’ w-etch-and in our ejbrt, we risk rtr~r~:qinmli~irzg-the qualities o j experitwe and the distinctive forms of meatiiii~ rhut the urts make possible. At the sattit’ time, there may be some very real beni:fit.r to the forms of thinking thut tht’ tirtstS. when well taught, can promote. Juirire Ross’s article explores this tensionthe practical benefits o j refined j ; wrns of‘ cognition and commitment t o what the urts have historically been Libwit in the human community. H o w cirts educators will respond to the growing interest atnong neuroscienhologists. and other new Columbuses in the arts remains to be seen. At the moment, from my perspective, the less thoughtjiul among us are all too eager to hop aboard the bandwagon. I believe, and clearly Janice Ross believes, that we should exercise prudence, even caution. Although her article focuses on dance, the field of her expertise, her message pertains to all the arts. In the end we need to be in a position to claim what we can legitimately claim without selling out what i3 ut the heart of the arts. Janice Ross s essav helps us recognize the rocks and shoals while avoiding a mindless protectionism that will serve neither the urts nor our children very well.

Anna Halprin's Urban Rituals

How do Halprins urban rituals contribute to todays dance aesthetics? Halprin forged her genre of urban ritual in the early 1960s by incorporating real-life tasks and relationships into her performances. Understanding Halprins educational and philosophical history is essential to the writing of any postmodern dance history that takes into account ritual as a performance methodology and strategy.

Atomizing Cause and Effect: Ann Halprin's 1960s Summer Dance Workshops

“For a long time during the 1960s,” the composer Steve Reich wrote, summarizing the relationship between music and dance in a 1973 essay, “one would go to the dance concert where no one danced, followed by the party where everyone danced.” He concluded, “This was not a healthy situation.”1