Nicholas Rowe

Dance education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: hegemony, counter‐hegemony and anti‐hegemony

This article presents a historical, ethnographic and practice‐based study of dance education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The concepts of dance learning, hegemony and counter‐hegemony are analysed in the context of cross‐cultural interventions in politically marginalized communities, and the theoretical concept of anti‐hegemony is introduced and defined. This is followed by a historical overview of dance learning in Palestine/Occupied Palestinian Territories. Specific contemporary local dance learning processes are examined within the performing groups El‐Funoun and Sareyyet Ramallah. This leads to recommendations on how improved dance education praxis might enhance local cultural autonomy and support anti‐hegemony as a cultural ideal.

Teaching creative dexterity to dancers: critical reflections on conservatory dance education in the UK, Denmark and New Zealand

This paper introduces the concept of creative dexterity within the choreographic process and explores how contemporary dance conservatories are seeking to foster performers’ skills in choreographic collaboration. Through investigating the institutional strategies of the London Contemporary Dance School, the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, the Danish National School of Contemporary Dance and the New Zealand School of Dance, we examine how and why a dancer’s ability to flexibly adapt to different choreographic contexts is being sustained as a pedagogic goal within these conservatories. This has involved reviewing the curricula of these institutes and interviewing key institutional decision makers. In acknowledging the highly competitive market for dance graduates and the ever‐shifting demands of a career in dance, it would appear these institutes are seeking to design their curricula to support the creative dexterity of their graduates. Through the identification of creative dexterity as a valued graduate attribute, and the locating of it within each curriculum, this paper provides a theoretical platform from which future research might examine the efficacy of such curricula designs.

Researching dance education post-2016: the global implications of Brexit and Trump on dance education

Abstract The results of the 2016 British referendum on membership of the European Union and the presidential election in the United States of America initiated political changes that will arguably have resounding impacts, within and beyond the UK and the US for years to come. Much of the rhetoric accompanying these political victories appears to confront humanist ideals associated with inclusion, rationalism and transnational exchange. This article argues that these seismic political events in Europe and America will have an international impact on policies, practices and pedagogies associated with dance education, inevitably challenging those who seek to broaden meanings of socially, culturally, economically and politically inclusive arts education. We have gathered the queries of leading dance education researchers from around the world, to better understand how these political shifts are perceived, who feels they may be affected, how they feel it may affect them, and how research into dance education may respond to, and address, these effects. In doing so, we hope to provide a global snapshot of concerns felt by dance education academics in the aftermath of the 2016 British referendum and US Presidential election, and a research framework for investigating the implications of these events on dance education.

Bursting bubbles between sand and sea: teaching dance on the edge of the Mediterranean

In July 2010, on the crest of ‘The Arab Spring,’ 28 independent dance teachers from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, gathered in Bodrum, Turkey, for the Symposium on Dance Education in Arabic Speaking Countries. This article reflects on the symposium experience, examining the sociopolitical environment and cultural history in which the event took place, while also revisiting the philosophical tensions behind the design and implementation of this dance teaching and learning event. The experiences and voices of the participating teachers are shared, and the opportunities and threats that continue to face dance education in the region are considered. From the symposium, strong questioning of dominant models and meanings of teaching and learning dance emerged, along with a demand for tolerance towards different ideas and approaches. The pedagogical philosophies and challenges expressed by many of the participating dance educators appeared to be parallel wider political discourses on how society might be organized, and how speaking up about these visions can enhance pride and engender solidarity within a diverse dance community.

Moving oceans : celebrating dance in the South Pacific

Foreword Salote Nita Latu, Nicole Peirera and Pauline Hiroti. Preface Stephanie Burridge. Acknowledgements. Introduction Ralph Buck and Nicholas Rowe. 1. Godwits, Kuaka and the Returns of Ausdruckstanz in Aotearoa Carol Brown 2. The Role of Gunge Takwaku Dance in Kraku-bandi Female Initiation of the Yangit of Papua New Guinea Naomi Faik-Simet 3. Learning and Performing my Pacific Island identity Teuila Hughes 4. Earthquakes and Aftershocks: Dance in Christchurch Trudy Dobbie 5. Hip Hop Dance in New Zealand and Pacific Islands Katherine Walker, Josh Mitikulena and Seidah Karati 6. Tracing the Steps of Modern and Contemporary Dance in Twentieth-Century New Zealand Marianne Schultz 7. A Teachers Story: He Purakau na te Kaiako Tia Reihana-Morunga 8. Dancing the Kolo under the Long White Cloud Dagmar Simon 9. Treasuring the Meke in a Modern Fiji Sachiko Miller 10. The Role of a Service Organisation for Dance - DANZ, Dance Aotearoa New Zealand Tania Kopytko 11. Artist Voices and Biographies Sarah Knox and Rose Martin. Index

Refugees, Migrants, Visitors and Internally Displaced Persons: Investigating Acculturation in Academia.

ABSTRACT What is the boundary of the academic space, and who can belong within it? The migration of skilled practitioners into Academia from other workplaces brings with it the opportunity to expand the understandings and functions of higher education. Similar to processes of geographic/political migration, the acculturation resulting from this professional resettlement can lead to the assimilation, integration, separation or marginalization of academic migrants. Within this article, we explore how differing pathways within and into Academia from other professional contexts can impact upon an academic immigrants sense of belonging. Adopting the roles of an economic migrant, a refugee, an internally displaced person and a temporary visitor, we entangle our professional narratives with themes of citizenship and migration, to examine the complexity of integration and inclusion within higher education. Our imaginative reconceptualization of academic migration leads into a discourse analysis guided by contemporary theory on acculturation and recollections of the acculturative queries we have encountered on our own journeys.

The gaze or the groove? Emerging themes from the New Meanings and Pathways: Community Dance and Dance Education Symposium in Beijing

Established in 1954 and drawing heavily on dance conservatory models from Russia, the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA) has become a predominant influence on dance education in East Asia. As it addresses the artistic, cultural and educational needs of China into the twenty-first century, the BDA is now negotiating a new terrain and seeking new pedagogical strategies. Investigating similar issues, the Dance Studies Programme at the University of Auckland has become a research hub for applied uses of dance in community and educational contexts. This article critically reflects on a dialogue held between these two institutions, on the meanings, functions and future directions for dance in education and the community. This includes a historical analysis of the term ‘community’ in English and Mandarin, a political analysis of possible relationships between dance and a community (drawn from different UNESCO mandates), and a pedagogical analysis of educational strategies employed within dance in community contexts. Queries emerge regarding the potential challenges and opportunities of intercultural education in dance education. Through historicizing the cultural, political and pedagogic environments of the two institutions, the authors hope to provide some clarity around differences and commonalities, and consider how this institutional dialogue might provide a platform for further intercultural collaboration.

Teachers as frontline agents of integration: Finnish physical education students’ reflections on intercultural encounters

ABSTRACT Background and purpose: This article focuses on how future Physical Education and Dance teachers may be better prepared to work in increasingly diverse education environments. It also discusses how tertiary institutions might address issues of social inclusion and cultural pluralism within their programmes, courses and assignments. The authors critically reflect on an experiential learning intervention in Jyväskylä, Finland, in which trainee PE teachers facilitated kinaesthetic language-learning workshops for asylum seekers. The applied use of physical education and dance in this context was aimed at providing a distinct opportunity to consider a PE teacher’s professional competence and role as an agent of integration. Methods: Adopting an interpretive approach, the authors sought to understand students’ experiences, rather than to determine the causes behind, and results emerging from, the experience. Through a qualitative, open, yet structured set of questions they gathered the trainee PE teachers’ reflections on their experiences related to the workshops. The data were analysed through a collaborative, interpretive process. The analysis was supported by pertinent theories on, e.g. transformative learning in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the meanings of this intercultural encounter for the trainee teachers. The authors have sought to understand how a learning intervention may function as a transformative experience, shifting professional dispositions towards social inclusion and cultural integration. Results: The interpretive process resulted in a thematic structure that contains the following four themes: (1) Preconceptions of others, (2) Questioning the relevance, (3) Positive affirmation and (4) Pedagogical practices in motion. Conclusion: This study has sought to identify the ways in which intercultural encounters may support PE teacher trainees’ dispositions towards working with asylum seekers, and migrants in general. The findings suggest that not all students feel that such encounters are relevant to the role of a PE teacher. The authors conclude that courses on interculturality need to be developed for encouraging trainee teachers towards such encounters and applied uses of physical education and dance. For many students, however, the experience appeared to contribute to a process of transformation, in which they were developing professional competences that are amenable to the idea of being an agent of integration.