As someone with a passion for all things creative, Kate Kuper has blended her multi-arts interests, love of dance and teaching skill in working with children and adults. Choreography is the art of making dances. Dance training does not necessarily emphasize the choreographic side of the art form. Creative Dance, however, highlights this dimension. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions.
What is Creative Movement and Dance?
Creative movement and dance is all about mind and body working together.
With emphasis on the word “creative,” the focus is on physical
and creative expression, whole body movement demonstrating musicality and
coordination, and awareness of dance making and dance appreciation. Moving
with other people is also a social experience, a form of non-verbal communication
that promotes positive, appropriate interaction. Dance requires focus, concentration,
and the ability to make transitions from one activity to another, one place
to another, and one grouping to another. Children learn to listen, watch,
and understand through all the senses as they respond to instructions, sound
cues and modeling. Movement requires self-control. Creative movement involves
reflection and self-direction. Creative dance is imaginative. To make a dance,
one problem solves within a structure, expands upon ideas, sets and breaks
rules as the process unfolds, explores and takes risks. Within a group, this
involves sharing and sorting, selecting and organizing ideas. All of these
skills are profoundly important for learning and social adjustment.
Why is Creative Movement and Dance Important in the Education of
a Child?
We are experiential learners. When we do, we understand.
When we interact, we improve our social skills. When we learn to think on
our feet, we are empowered.
Creative dance provide students with the chance to use all the senses in combination with thinking skills. Exploring and problem-solving teach that there isn’t just one “right” way to get to an answer, nor is there only one “right” answer.
Through creative movement, students learn to take risks and express themselves appropriately. They also learn the value of cooperation over competition as they journey towards discovering their personal best in action and performance.
Creative movement and dance represents the education of the whole child, in the deepest sense, for it utilizes every aspect of learning and touches every kind of learner.
What is the Difference between Creative Movement and Creative Dance?
Creative Movement and Creative Dance are synonymous. “Dance”
training alone may imply study of a specific set of teacher-initiated technical
skills in a specific style (ballet, tap, jazz, modern) learned through repetition,
such as turns, leaps, and leg extensions. Ideally, exposure to both technical
and creative dance builds a well-rounded dancer. In school settings, creative
movement is appropriate because it is inclusive, accessible, and can be taught
by educators who do not have a classical dance background. Because the word
“dance” is sometimes a turn off to boys in our culture, I may
start with the word “movement” or “creative movement”
to explain what we will be doing, and then introduce the term “creative
dance” once everyone is hooked.
Call it “Movement,” “Dance,” “Creative Movement,” or “Creative Dance.”
|
|
