Creative and embodied methods to teach reflections and support students’ learning

ABSTRACT

Dance education in the twenty-first century has started to shift with the evolution of contemporary dance techniques and the introduction of more holistic somatic practices into dance training. Nowadays, the idea of developing ‘professional self-sufficiency’ is at the heart of the learning experience for young dancers. We believe that in response to these shifts and in order to future-proof dance education there is a need for a renewed focus on theoretical approaches and academic engagement; a focus reminiscent of and aligned with the conceptual frameworks commonly associated with social sciences, in which the process of arriving at ‘professional self-sufficiency’ is inextricably linked to reflective practice. In this article, we describe a project at the Rambert School of Dance that introduced the use of creative methods for teaching reflection and reflective practice. After a brief introduction to the specific context of Rambert School, we will provide an overview of dance education and reflective practice. Subsequently, we describe the reflective-practice project with its session contents as it was delivered over the course of several weeks before providing a critical evaluation. In the final section we offer concluding thoughts regarding the relationship between reflective practice and dance education.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflective practice
• creative methods
• arts-based methods
• reflection
• dance education
• dance training

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported and funded by the Conservatoires of Dance and Drama.

Notes on contributors

Phaedra Petsilas

Phaedra Petsilas, BA(Hons) MA PGCE SFHEA, is a dance educator who is currently Head of Studies at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.

Jennifer Leigh

Jennifer Leigh, PhD MA BSc(Hons) PGCHE PGCE SFHEA, is a Lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice at University of Kent researching embodied experience, how innovative and creative research methods can add depth, richness, honesty and emotion to experience, as well as reflective practice, reflexivity, the ethics of research, the boundaries between research and therapy or art, and how these relate to practice and academic identity.

Nicole Brown

Nicole Brown, Mag. MTeach DipTrans PGCHE SFHEA, is a Lecturer in Education and Academic Head of Learning and Teaching at UCL Institute of Education interested in identity and body work, physical and material representations and metaphors, the generation of knowledge, and advancing learning and teaching within higher education. Contact details: [email protected] Web site: www.nicole-brown.co.uk Twitter: @ncjbrown @FibroIdentity @AbleismAcademia

Catriona Blackburn

Catriona Blackburn, BSc(Hons), is an award-winning freelance video producer at Althaia Films.