Ralph Buck

Artists in Schools: “Kick Starting” or “Kicking Out” Dance from New Zealand Classrooms

Abstract New Zealand primary school teachers have access to a comprehensive arts curriculum that includes dance, drama, music, and visual arts. This research focused on several teachers’ reality of implementing the dance curriculum in New Zealand primary schools, drawing on Snooks (2012) study in this field. Our research valued the voices of teachers, principals, and parents. We found that the primary school teachers in this study lacked experience in teaching dance, manifesting as a lack of confidence to teach dance in their classrooms. The teachers spoke to the practice of bringing in dance experts to kick start, support, develop, and mentor dance programs in their schools. A surprising, yet clear finding from our study was that a teachers preexisting lack of confidence in teaching dance might be compounded by the visit of an expert. This statement raises several issues regarding artists in schools programs in New Zealand that are examined in this article.

Policy and Practice within Arts Education: Rhetoric and Reality.

This paper reflects upon international arts education action and relative local in-action. The first half of the paper provides a brief narrative of the World Alliance for Arts Education’s advocacy work and the development of the UNESCO Seoul Agenda: Goals for the development of arts education. The second half of the paper highlights a dance education research project in New Zealand that relates to strategies and actions noted within the Seoul Agenda. This dance education research reveals both the power and impotence of policies and events such as the Seoul Agenda and International Arts Education Week. The research reveals that when you step off the global stage and turn to your own backyard, reality strikes hard. Arts education is valued, yet relatively few teachers, fewer schools and even fewer governments are actually willing to fully realise the potential of arts education. Arts education for all the rhetoric lacks commitment and investment. Using dance education as a lens, this research examines what teachers in New Zealand are doing in their classrooms and what this means for local communities, teachers, schools, teacher education institutions, advocacy and support organisations, then provides suggestions so that dance and other arts can fulfil their potential.

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.

The Transformative Potential of Community Dance for People With Cancer

This research describes a community dance project for people affected by cancer, which was led by a trained community dancer over 10 movement workshops and three performances. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the research explored the experiences of a convenience sample of 8 participants out of the original group of 17 individuals who took part in the community dance. The research was participatory and the researchers were involved in workshops and performances as members of the group who also had family members with cancer. The findings indicate the motivation of the dancers to continue in spite of hardship, their sense of pride in being part of something that was larger than themselves, the way the dance permitted them to embody a sense of courage, and finally, in performing, how they managed to share something that genuinely moved an audience.

The Second UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education

From 25 to 28 May 2010 the second UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education brought together approximately 650 arts educators from 95 UNESCO member states (countries) to Seoul, Korea, for a four-day summit of international diplomacy, crossarts networking, global and regional strategic planning and professional development. The conference was hosted by the Korean Arts, Culture and Education Service (KACES) on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korean Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation (UNESCO). The programme of the second UNESCO Arts Education Conference (Seoul Conference) encompassed high-level ministerial roundtables, UNESCO Arts Education Advisory Committee roundtables, international NGOs (Arts Education) forums, teacher and artists’ panel presentations, regional research case studies, keynote addresses, arts education site visits, performances and displays. Dignitaries who participated in the Seoul Conference included: President of the Republic of Korea Mr Lee Myung-bak, First Lady of the Republic of Korea Madam Kim Yoon-ok, Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Korea Mr Yu In-Chon, Director General of UNESCO Ms Irina Bokova, and President of the General Conference of UNESCO Dr Davidson Hepburn. Further to these, ministers and senior civil servants from around the world attended. Arts educators were represented through international NGOs such as the World Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE), the International Society for Education through Art (InSEA), the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the International Drama/Theatre and Education Association (IDEA), the International Theatre Institute (ITI), the International Music Council (IMC) and the World Dance Alliance (WDA). As a member of the World Dance Alliance and the elected dance representative on the Presidential Council of the World Alliance for Arts Education, I currently represent dance education on the UNESCO International Advisory Committee for Arts Education. With the inclusion of an NGO dance representative on the UNESCO Advisory Committee for Arts Education, dance educators had a voice in planning for the Seoul Conference and developing policy that flowed from this event.

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

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.

The Effects of Poi on Physical and Cognitive Function in Healthy Older Adults

This study investigated the effects of poi (a weight on the end of a cord which is swung in circular patterns around the body) compared with Tai Chi on physical and cognitive function in healthy older adults. A total of 79 participants (60-86 years) were randomly allocated to the poi or Tai Chi group. Physical and cognitive function was measured 1 month before, immediately before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention (two lessons a week, for 4 weeks). Immediately postintervention, both groups improved postural stability, upper limb strength, and simple attention. Tai Chi also improved systolic blood pressure. One-month postintervention, compared with immediately postintervention, both groups improved upper limb strength, upper limb range of motion, and memory. Poi also improved systolic blood pressure. Therefore, poi seems to be as effective as Tai Chi for improving physical and cognitive function in healthy older adults.

Negotiating meanings and examining practice of ‘arts across the curriculum’

Abstract Examining practice, within education, is complex and never straightforward. It is not a surprise that when we conduct research, we discover new and contrary meanings. For the last 16 months we have been examining different means for supporting teaching and learning of the arts in primary schools. Our aim was to better understand how to teach the arts across the curriculum. We made a plan, we gained ethical approval, found several schools to work with, and interviewed teachers and principals. Our research has a specific interest in documenting and understanding how the arts are taught across the curriculum. We were most interested in working with teachers, principals and children who were implementing an ‘arts across the curriculum programme’. In short, what we found was that teachers, principals, curriculum and us, all had different meanings of what was meant by teaching the arts across the curriculum.