Creative Dance for Learning: The Kinesthetic Link

Making Kinesthetic Sense provides theoretical and practical guidance on teaching creative dance, particularly in educational settings. It is both a textbook for education courses and a resource for current teachers – both dance and nondance teachers. The authors speak from a passionate, lifelong commitment to arts education and over twenty years of experience as dance specialists in elementary schools and community settings. The authors’ approach is heavily influenced by Barbara Mettler, Margaret H’Doubler, and Rudolph Laban, all legendary figures in the field of creative dance. Their theories are combined with the authors’ own insights to explain dance theory in common language; provide methods of linking movement to academics; offer many ready-to-use, well-tested lesson plans, guide readers into building and presenting lessons of their own; and validate dance as art education. The National Standards of Learning (Goals 2000: Educate America Act) include dance as one of four artistic disciplines that students are expected to study. This commitment to the art of dance as part of the core curriculum is affirmed in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. Even so, dance is commonly absent from the educational environment. This text explains how teachers can tap into this rich modality of learning and utilize it for not only for fitness, but also for developing individual and group problem-solving skills. The text will help teachers clarify the abstract concepts of creative dance so that they can draw upon their students’ profound bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Teachers will also learn how to link movement activities to academic subjects. As a comprehensive teaching guide, Making Kinesthetic Sense addresses the “what”, “why” and “how” of creative dance. Plentiful examples from classroom experience illustrate how movement can be used to help students learn concepts, solve problems, and understand a subject. Important progressions are outlined for transforming guided explorations into concrete forms. A sizable section of lesson plans reaches all subject areas and are adaptable to a wide range of age groups and settings.

Table of Contents:
PrefacePART I: A KINESTHETIC APPROACH TO DANCE AS CREATIVE ART ACTIVITY1: Breaking Ground2: Principles Of Dance as Creative Art Activity3: Creative Dance: A Collage of LearningPART II: A FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING THE ELEMENTS OF DANCE4: The Instrument of Dance: The Body5: The Material of Dance: The Force Element6: The Material of Dance: The Time Element7: The Material of Dance: The Space ElementTable: Elements of DancePART III: LINKING DANCE ACROSS THE CURRICULUM8: Linking into the Elements of DanceTable: Inter-Disciplinary Links to the Elements of Dance and Linking Lessons9: Connecting to World Cultures10: Engaging Multiple IntelligencesPART IV: BUILDING MOVEMENT LESSONS11: The Lesson Planning Process12: Creating a Learning Environment for Dance13: Assessing Student ProgressPART V: CREATIVE DANCE LESSONS14: Foundation Lessons15: Extension Lessons from the Body Element16: Extension Lessons from the Force Element17: Extension Lessons from the Time Element18: Extension Lessons from the Space Element19: Crossover Extension LessonsAppendix A: Biographical Sketches of InfluencesAppendix B: The Skeletal SystemAppendix C: Formats for Group WorkAppendix D: Creative Dance Performance ObjectivesAppendix E: Quick and Easy ActivitiesAppendix F: Teaching ResourcesBibliographyIndex

About the Author :
Mary Ann Brehm has a Ph.D. in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has taught dance at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Vermont. Currently she travels throughout the United States to teach the course Creative Movement: Kinesthetic Learning Across the Curriculum for Lesley Universitys Integrated Teaching Through the Arts Masters Program. She is a former member of the Barbara Mettler Dance Company and is on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Creative Dance. Dr. Brehm has been a dance teaching artist for nearly 30 years, using dance in relationship to school curricula in several nationally recognized, award-winning arts education programs, including the Tucson Unified School Districts Opening Minds through the Arts Program; Arts Genesis, Inc. (Tucson); the Shaftsbury (VT) Elementary School Arts and Basics Program; and the University of Arizonas Project DISCOVER. All these programs integrate the arts into the ongoing classroom curriculum in communities with high rates of poverty. Dr. Brehm is the author of several publications that explore the use of dance for a variety of educational purposes, such as building community, supporting curricular learning, fostering the development of multiple intelligences, and promoting individual growth. She was one of three artists nominated for the Buffalo Exchange Arts Award in 2005. Lynne McNett has a B.A in Dance from Western Washington University and 30 years teaching experience. She studied Childrens Creative Dance with Virginia Tanner in Salt Lake City and Creative Dance Improvisation with Barbara Mettler in Tuscon. For two decades she has been teaching dance in educational settings from pre-school to college, developing dance curricula to align with state standards and presenting her work at dance and art conferences nationwide. She has taught as adjunct faculty at Western Washington University. Currently Ms. McNett works as a professional development consultant for the Allied Arts Education Project in Bellingham, WA, training and mentoring dance art educators and classroom teachers in methods of dance instruction in schools. She is on the Board of Directors for the International Association for Creative Dance.