My study is exploring whether gaps exist between the teachers perceived benefits of dance and the students perceived benefits of dance, with the hope being that I will be able to improve the success of my own classes. Students attend classes with certain expectations, and the teachers do the same. In this observational study Cheesman states the following in her conclusion:
"I think reasons why this class works are inextricably linked with the people who chose to come to this class. Individuals attending this class come primarily to dance, and enjoy improvisation and the social interaction with other people. In this class we dance, play, and laugh a lot, and much of what happens comes from within as opposed to being imposed." (Cheesman, 2011.)This is a perfect example of student and teacher expectations matching, and therefore the class is successful in both the eye of the student, and the teacher.
What if an experienced, traditionally trained dancer attended the dance class, possibly with a different set of expectations and perceptions of dance? Would that student leave the class having enjoyed it and benefitted from it? Would they go back again, or would they seek out a different class more in tune with their own perceptions of dance?
Cheesman goes on to say:
"Interesting to note is that this class does not usually attract participants who have had what we might call traditional dance training. I suspect this may be because the differing bodies with differing abilities are too confronting, challenging their ideas about what dance is and who can dance." (Cheesman, 2011)Cheesman focuses on a sense of community, inclusion and freedom of voice; these are her perceived benefits of dance. Those particular benefits may not be the only ones she acknowledges professionally, but certainly in the case of this class, they are the ones that she focuses on. Seemingly (referring back to the first quote) the participants expectations of the class match what Cheesman is delivering, and therefore "the class works" (Cheesman, 2011). I would assume that if her students were attending with the expectation to improve their flexibility, technique and aesthetic quality they would regard the class as inappropriate and a waste of time. This is not to say that the class is poorly delivered or constructed, merely that it has been created to implement the teachers perceived benefits of dance, not the students.
This article serves as a great example of perceived benefits of dance being matched between student and teacher. It could be that the students and teachers that are part of my research are in the same situation, but it could also be that there are differing perceptions and expectations.
My study aims to explore how this relationship between perceptions effects the quality of a dance class, and by altering perceptions can dance class delivery be improved? If so, how can this be accomplished?
3 comments:
I think this is a really great avenue that you have started to look down, the concept of perceptions of quality and delivery. I feel that it is important, so as to empower those involved in any arts based activity, to encourage the belief/idea that what is being developed/taught/worked on within the class is of a high quality. Ensuring this gives a sense of achievement to those involved. When you start to incorporate different levels of skill the delivery becomes harder as you are catering for a mixed/varied concept of quality, those with greater skill will have deem a greater level of difficulty as having more quality than that which is more 'basic'. However we need to re evaluate what we mean by quality. In these situations we blur the line between bad quality and simple, it is easy, as we progress in skill to assume what is simple now to us, is not high quality work. So it is the individual delivering the session to instil a sense of quality at every level of skill, creating a routine that can be adapted, for example, to be easier or harder based on an individuals level of skill is a great way to improve the delivery of a dance class as you can increase your target audience. Please have a look over at my other posts on my blog to see other points about the sense of adaptations we carry out and provide through inclusive theatre. Do you think these would benefit your work?
Yes Liam - good article to use for your study. Anthony - good pints about quality - it is a word and concept that I have fallen foul of before because in 'policy' contexts it can have quite specific meaning. Differentiating learning for a varied audience can also be tricky - which is why a lot of provision is just offered on one level instead of many. However, within those perimeters there is also the need to vary delivery. Yes please compare notes!
Antony, the points you make about the distinctions between quality and simplicity are very provocative. It's something I've never thought about, but you're right. Once we get to a certain level, we begin to look back on the more simple work we used to do as poorer quality. Absolutely!
I am involved quite a lot with community dance, working for a project which used the slogan "anyone can dance", so I am constantly employing the skill of adaptation in my workshops. I will often have a range of abilities from absolute beginner right through to advanced, with the ages of participants ranging from 8 to 18. In order to keep everyone engaged and ensure everyone is benefitting from the class, adaptation to individuals is essential.
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