Teaching dance
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Child safe dance practices
Children have a fundamental right to be safe while involved in dance, sport or associated activities and teachers need to be aware of their legal obligations.
Booting the tutu: teachers and dance in the classroom
Ralph Buck (National Institute for Creative Arts and Industries, University of Auckland) focuses on how we might develop sustainable dance education practice in the primary school classroom. He emphasises the importance of changing perceptions about dance in terms of the associations with femininity, ability, performance, mastery of skill and elitism.
Safe Dance ® practice
These Safe Dance ® practice guidelines include how to set up a safe learning environment, what makes a practice or performance venue safe, the importance of cater for physical different bodies and abilities, how movements might impact on the body, and simple injury prevention and management strategies.
Effective dance teaching methods
A checklist of skills, knowledge, considerations and practices that form the basis of good teaching methodology. Some are generic and apply to good teachers of any discipline, while others are specific to dance and artistic instruction.
Covid-19 – cleaning your dance floor
To support the needs of dance and physical performance studios, companies and performers, Ausdance Victoria contacted major suppliers of dance floors in Australia for safety advice for studio owners.
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Dance part of every young person’s education!
Participating in dance provides creative, healthy and stimulating experiences for young Australians. Dance is now a part of the Australian Curriculm which means every young person will have the opportunity to experience dance. This offers huge potential for developing creativity and innovation across the curriculum.
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Investigating injuries in Australia’s professional dancers
Australia is at the forefront of dance injury epidemiology efforts; the Safe Dance Project Report on dance injury prevention and management in the Australian dance profession, known as Safe Dance®, was launched almost 30 years ago. It was the first study of its kind conducted in Australia and showed an alarming prevalence of both chronic and acute injuries in Australian dancers. These findings led to a variety of recommendations and initiatives, including a recommendation to repeat the Safe Dance study regularly to evaluate the effect of these initiatives and provide further insight into dancer health and wellbeing.
Dance in the Australian Curriculum
With the arts now part of the Australian Curriculum, we continue to promote dance as a key artform in alongside music, visual arts, drama and media arts.
2013 Dance Education in Australian Schools roundtable
The 2013 Dance Education in Australian Schools (DEAS) roundtable focused on ‘best practice’ for dance in the classroom and how to engage with professional dance companies offering dance education programs.
Supporting the Live Performance Training Package
After nation-wide research, Innovation and Business Skills Australia concluded that 'there is strong industry and community demand for national qualifications to help lift standards across the profession and set clear national benchmarks which promote consistency while maintaining flexibility'.
Dance Plan 2012
Identifies four ambitions for 2012, with a list of achievable objectives. These ambitions reflect the diversity and dynamism of dance in our communities. They require our energy and attention to ensure that dance, as an artform and an enjoyable form of recreation for all, remains at the heart of Australian life.
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Australian guidelines for teaching dance
The Australian guidelines for teaching dance outlines codes of ethical and professional behaviour and emphasises the importance of safe dance practice and teaching methodology.
We designed it to help dance teachers and students by providing minimum standards, and by suggesting ways teachers can maintain or upgrade their teaching skills. Parents can use the Guidelines to help choose a dancing school or group for their children.
Panpapanpalya 2018
This publication of 16 papers with authors from 9 countries provides a snapshot representation of themes from the joint dance congress broadly embracing dance, gathering, generations, learning. The papers range from the beginnings of dance in the early years through the different stages of school and to further education – and beyond through the lifespan to the joys and challenges of dancing in later years with lived experiences that bring changing bodies, new insights and wisdom.
Return To Dance: Principles and framework for restarting dance activities post-Covid-19
This document provides guidelines for practising dance safely whilst meeting the required health and safety guidelines in a new post-Covid environment. It applies to all members of the dance community: dancers, teachers, studio owners, companies and organisations.
The guidelines directly reference the Framework for Rebooting Sport in a COVID-19 Environment developed by the Australian Institute of Sport. The Ausdance guidelines have received the endorsement of Dr David Hughes, Chief Medical Officer, Australian Institute of Sport Medical Director, Australian Olympic Team, Tokyo 2020.
1977 Dance Education Conference Papers
Dance Education Conference Papers by the Australian Association for Dance Education. These papers are an edited version of the talks and discussion of the Dance Education Conference held in Melbourne in August 1977.
Ausdance National newsletter
Published every two months, and themed around an event or popular dance topic, our email newsletter reflects on professional dance practice and shares ways for you to get involved.
News / Blog / Press Releases / Events View all
Tertiary Dance Council responds to political interference in ARC grant programs
The Tertiary Dance Council of Australia (TDCA) is comprised of academic members from Australian higher education institutions that offer programs in Dance and Dance Education. It exists under the auspices of Ausdance National, and is chaired by Associate Professor Peter Cook of the University of Southern Queensland.
The TDCA is seriously concerned about the Federal Government’s re-prioritisation of research funds, resulting in ministerial intervention and the enacting of veto powers in relation to the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Grants and Linkage programs.
The TDCA has recently made a submission to the Senate's Australian Research Council Amendment (Ensuring Research Independence) Bill 2018.
Australian dance educators are also being encouraged to sign the Australian Parliament House Petition to prevent political interference in ARC funding grants (closing on 16 March).
Ausdance responds to ACARA’s review of the Australian Curriculum
The Ausdance National Education Committee, led by Dr Jeff Meiners and Sue Fox, has prepared a submission to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in response to its review of The Australian Curriculum: The Arts.
The proposed revisions aim to declutter the content through improving the curriculum's clarity of structure and refine the content descriptions and achievement standards. This response relates specifically to Dance in the F-6 curriculum, as this is the identified focus of the review.
As Ausdance’s reps on the National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE) Council, Jeff and Sue have also contributed to the NAAE's submission, which has reached a review consensus across all art forms.
We thank Jeff and Sue and the Ausdance National Dance Education Committee who contributed to Ausdance's submission, and who will continue to work with ACARA on next steps.
Ausdance National Education Committee members are:
- Rachael Bott (WA)
- Trish Brown (ACT)
- Sarah Calver (NT)
- Peter Cook (NSW)
- Megan Cooper (SA)
- Julie Dyson (ACT)
- Candice Egan (VIC)
- Sue Fox (QLD)
- Lesley Graham (TAS)
- Julie-Anne Grant (QLD)
- Rikki Mace (TAS)
- Kate Maquire-Rosier (NSW)
- Jeff Meiners (SA)
- Helen Mullins (QLD)
- Katrina Rank (VIC)
- Amy Wiseman (WA)
National Advocates for Arts Education—November 2018 update
The NAAE met in Sydney in September at the offices of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to have discussions with Arts Curriculum Specialist Helen Champion and Director of Curriculum, Janet Davy.
Dance in Proximity: World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific Conference & AGM
Taipei National University of the Arts, 10–11 November 2017
There were some special moments at the Dance in Proximity conference, hosted in Taiwan by the Taipei National University of the Arts in November, and organised by a wonderful team of artists, choreographers and teachers, led by Yunyu Wang.
National Advocates for Arts Education 2017 arts education advocacy
The NAAE has had another busy year advocating on behalf of all five arts subjects in the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. In 2017 we –