The 13th World Congress of Dance and the Child International (daCi) was held 5–10 July 2015 in Copenhagen Denmark hosted by the Dance Halls, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen and the Danish National School of Performing Arts.
The World Congress explored the theme of identity in dance as it is experienced in formal, non-formal and informal settings of education. The program included a variety of activities and presentation formats such as Nordic Dance Flavour workshops, invited keynotes, Creative Meeting Points, Twin Labs, Youth Forums, Professional Forums, papers, panels, roundtables, research and dance workshops, project dialogues, lecture sharing, performances of young people and professional companies.
Dance is part of four recognised artistic areas within arts education, which is acknowledged as a key area within UNESCO’s 21st Century Skills. Dance education, in particular, puts an emphasis on the role of the body in artistic processes, and the body is in current research in educational studies, psychology and neurophysiology highlighted as being the ‘place’ where experiences, cognition and identity processes are grounded. A person’s identity is multi-faceted and believed to be constantly developing in intertwinement with embodied and cultural experiences, social relations and the various situations that the human being experiences. This understanding of identity formed the base for the Congress presentations to explore:
- How can we comprehend and describe identity in the 21st Century?
- What kinds of identity are experienced and expressed in dance practice of young people around the world today?
- What role does dance play for young people to define and perceive their own and others’ identities?
- How do professionals working with dance and young people comprehend and articulate their own professional identity?
Following the event, authors of papers, panels, and project dialogues were invited to submit their contributions for these proceedings, the second that are published online by Ausdance National. The submissions are organised into the themes of the congress program: Embodiment, Empowerment, Assessment, and Education. In addition, there are a few special papers: two papers that report research as recipients of the Across Borders Research Fund from daCi, and one Roundtable report that followed a keynote and the Youth Forums report.
We appreciate the support of all those who made these proceedings a possibility and hope that you will enjoy reading.
Susan R. Koff and Charlotte Svendler Nielsen, co-editors and co-chairs of the congress committee for papers, panels, and project dialogues.
Embodiment, learning and ‘DANNELSE’
What can the role of dance be in identity development and learning of young people? What are experiences of the body, culture and gender in dance? What kinds of bodies dance? What are essential skills in digitalized societies where even dancers ‘dance’ together in cyberspace, and what role does the body and the brain play in the future of learning and communication? What role does the social dimension play? Why is twinning a growing focus of political organisations occupied with learning? And how can young people develop positively as human beings through dance and collaborative practices? How does ‘personal education’ (‘DANNELSE’ in Danish) through dance come about in formal, non-formal and informal settings as defined by UNESCO?
Research papers
- Dance, physical activities, and young people: A Taiwanese perspective (866 Kb PDF)
David Mead, UK - Embodied encounters: Identities in experiential, informal dance, and movement in Central Java (660 Kb PDF)
Lise Lavelle, Lund University, Sweden - Moving to think: Knowledge generation through dance (170 Kb PDF)
Fiona Bannon, University of Leeds, UK - Of possibilities and potential—dancing adolescence composing a present identity (141 Kb PDF)
Fiona Bannon, University of Leeds; Duncan Holt - Raw board working style, pedagogical love and gender (170 Kb PDF)
Isto Turpeinen, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland - Relational identity: A case study of the Now and Next Dance Mentoring Project (143 Kb PDF)
Marissa Nesbit, East Carolina University, USA
Empowerment and well-being
What is the role of dance in processes of personal development and holistic well-being? How can dance be used as a means for young people to express themselves physically, emotionally and creatively? Can dance give young people opportunities to develop new senses of self in problematic and even catastrophic circumstances?
Research papers
- Empowerment through dance: Taking a turn (155 Kb PDF)
Cara Calibaba, Canada; Ann Kipling Brown, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada - Is there a history of children’s dance? Who is writing it in the 21st century? (357 Kb PDF)
Karen Bond, Temple University Department of Dance, USA - Reflections from A/R/Tography perspective to review creative activities with special-needs children (219 Kb PDF)
Shu-Hwa Jung, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan - The development of identity in teenage dancers through community engagement (137 Kb PDF)
Miriam Giguere, Drexel University, USA - Dancing on the mountain: Dance and the significance of place contributing to young children’s sense of belonging and cultural identity (400 Kb PDF)
Adrienne Sansom, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Project dialogues
- Say something (105 Kb PDF)
Chell Parkins, Middle Tennessee State University, USA - Service learning and dance education: A pilot project for emerging teachers (82 Kb PDF)
Marissa Nesbit, East Carolina University, USA - The identity of dancers with disabilities (76 Kb PDF)
Lesley Ovenden, New Zealand - When your dance and my dance are entwined (210 Kb PDF)
Clare Battersby & Elizabeth Battersby, TAPAC, New Zealand
Assessment, research and evaluation tools
When dance is believed to be a site for identity development how do we then ‘measure’ competencies in dance? What is quality in dance education? And who decides what quality is in this area? How can we assess and evaluate dance learning from a multi-faceted perspective? What research methodologies in dance education will promote knowledge about embodied experiences and identity processes? How can the voices of young people be included in research?
Special events
Roundtable
- Dance education research methodologies—new ways? (95 Kb PDF)
Session moderators: Eeva Anttila, University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland; Ann Kipling Brown, University of Regina, Canada
Across Borders projects
- My dream is . . . what I like about myself is . . . about me . . . (289 Kb PDF)
Mary-Elizabeth Manley, York University, Canada - Dance and visual arts: A collaborative research between American and Brazilian art educators and students (284 Kb PDF)
Alba Pedreira Vieira, Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil; Claudio Jose Magalhaes, Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil; Laurie Thompson Merriman, Illinois State University, USA; Sara Semonis, USA
Youth Forums
- Copenhagen Congress, July 4–11, 2015. Reflective documentation report by Springboard (426 Kb PDF) Paige Horton, Dancewave, Brooklyn, USA & Meggy Sweeney Smith, NYU Steinhardt and William Paterson University, USA
Education, professions and policymaking
How can educational frameworks and policies contribute to the development of competencies and professional identities in dance education—for dancers and for teachers? Does it make sense to distinguish between the art forms in education, or is the label of ‘arts education’ more fruitful for future practice and political attention to how dance as part of the arts plays a role in identity development?
Research panels
- Shaping future directions for dance education (238 Kb PDF)
Ann Kipling Brown, University of Regina Saskatchewan, Canada; Susan Koff, Steinhardt School at New York University, USA; Jeff Meiners, University of South Australia; Charlotte Svendler Nielsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark - The art of collaboration: Sound Moves—creating dance and music (104 Kb PDF)
David Sutton-Anderson, Royal College of Music, Junior Department; Avril Anderson, Royal College of Music, Junior Department; Iris Tomlinson
Research papers
- Advocating culturally responsive teaching practice for Indian classical dance in Australia (181 Kb PDF)
Bindu Rajendren, Queensland University of Technology, Australia - Applied learning: Dance, design, and community (97 Kb PDF)
Joy Guarino & Ann Emo, SUNY Buffalo State, USA - Dance as expression in physical education? Aesthetic experiences, identities, and unusual learning processes (167 Kb PDF)
Torun Mattsson, Malmö University, Sweden - Dance education as the practice of living (139 Kb PDF)
Susan W. Stinson, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA - Educating artist educators for youth and community (152 Kb PDF)
Stephanie Burridge, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore - Exploring the identity of dance teachers in Taiwan (225 Kb PDF)
Chu-Yun Wang, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan - How to match dance and assessment: An unlikely pair? (178 Kb PDF)
Elisabete Monteiro, the Ethnomusicology Institute, Music and Dance Center Studies and the Human Kinetics Faculty, Lisboa, Portugal - Next choreography: Transformative potential for young people in choreographic practice (1 Mb PDF)
Charlotte Slade & Dr Kerry Chappell, The University of Exeter, UK - Student teachers’ developing identities as dance educators: Opportunities and challenges (168 Kb PDF)
Liz Melchior, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand - The use of video as self-evaluation in dance classes (839 Kb PDF)
Maria João Alves, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Project dialogues
- Applying body aesthetic concepts on kindergarten education: Exploring the partnership between teachers and researchers (84 Kb PDF)
Chu-Yun Wang, Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan - Dance competitions and children (87 Kb PDF)
JuanAnn Tai, Department of Dance, Tainan University of Technology, Taiwan - Extended classical ballet with young people (97 Kb PDF)
Elisabet Sjöstedt Edelholm, Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden - The identity of dance in schools in the tension field between art and education
Ulla Gad, Dansehallerne, Denmark (83 Kb PDF) - Where are you from? Creative dance crossing boundaries to nurture roots and wings through a creative dance workshop for young children (84 Kb PDF)
Evelin Silva Moreira Keller, Motive for Motion Dancework - Young identities and dance as an aesthetic and participatory activity (97 Kb PDF)
Unne Loa Jensen, Dansehallerne, Denmark