Dear Readers:
Our offerings in this issue cover a wide range of topics that I hope will be useful to many dance educators. In our opening column of the issue, Susan McGreevy-Nichols and Shannon Dooling-Cain discuss developing professional development goals and plans, with specific emphasis on how NDEO programs support educators.
In our first article, Megan Brow, Megan Powell, Jamie Haines, Claire Marsh, Emilie Rohn, and Heather Trommer-Beardslee write about a collaboration between dance and physical therapy students to develop and teach classes for people with Parkinson’s disease. This article might serve as a model for how we can break through the silos of disciplines at our institutions to create programs that benefit the creators, teachers, and students.
Next, Suchi Branfman writes about supporting the development of choreography by incarcerated individuals through written correspondence during the pandemic. She developed innovative ways to continue supporting the creative voices of men within the prison system under very, very challenging times and circumstances.
In our third article, Melonie B. Murray, Megan Glynn Zollinger, and Steven Ross Murray write about the importance of supporting dance within physical education. They unpack some of the history of the development of dance in higher education and how that has affected how and where dance is taught today. They support an openness to whether dance is taught in physical education or arts departments, with the ultimate goal of bringing dance to all students.
Miriam Giguere’s column closes our issue. As we have been preoccupied with the frantic and even overwhelming return to a more frenzied pace of activities, she has observed that many of us are so busy with “doing” that we are not allowing time for reflection. She offers the viewpoint that reflection continues to be vitally necessary to growth, with a particular focus on dissecting what we consider “normal.” She offers tips for finding ways to include self-reflection as part of our daily lives.
The fall of 2021 was a whirlwind for me, and I know it was for many of you, too. Coming back to full and packed schedules was a shock for many students and teachers. As we move into spring, I hope for all of us that we find times and places to slow down even as we strive to catch up from “lost ground” during the pandemic.
Elizabeth McPherson, PhD
Executive Editor, Dance Education in Practice
[email protected]