Bringing History to Life - Conference Presentation by Kelly Preece
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In ‘The Sense of the Past’ (1999) Shelley Berg argues that ‘[a]lthough the performance and analysis of masterpieces of dance repertory are central to the tradition of dance history, we have not fully explored the educational potential of the process of reconstruction and revival.’ (243) Fourteen years later, dance history is still primarily a lecture/seminar rather than studio-based branch of the discipline. This scholarly paper will introduce my use of reconstruction as a pedagogical approach to teaching dance history. I will argue that as choreography is primarily taught through embodied practice in the studio, an effective way to facilitate students to make connections between their choreographic practice and its historical heritage would be through the introduction of reconstruction work into the teaching of dance history. Using reflections on my own teaching practice, I will propose that reconstruction work here can bridge the gap between students’ experience of history in the lecture/seminar with their experience of choreography in the studio. My paper therefore combines the following conference themes: developing choreographers and dancers in diverse settings and genres approaches to dance education and training issues around heritage, adaptation and re-versioning of dance works Reference Berg, S. (1999). The Sense of the Past. In S.H. Fraleigh and P. Hanstein (Eds.), Researching Dance: Evolving Modes of Enquiry (pp. 225-248). London: Dance Books
Transcript of Bringing History to Life - Conference Presentation by Kelly Preece
Bringing History of Life: Pedagogical
Approaches to Dance History in Higher Education
Kelly PreeceLecturer in Dance
University of Northampton U.K.
IntroductionPedagogical approach to dance history
Dialogue between:
my educational experiences as an undergraduate
my pedagogical approach
‘Bringing history to life’
Linking history and practice
Michael Huxley (2012) students drawing links between practice and its historical context
An example from my education: The trouble with Nelken, and understanding my
practice as a performer
An example from my teaching practice: Teaching about postmodern dance and
reconstructing Trio A, and the understanding choreographic intention
Transformative learning experiences
Learning and knowledge making as an experiential process ‘…the embeddedness of
thought in experience...’
(Davidson, 2004: 198)
An example from my education: Wigman/Graham research project
An example from my teaching practice: Using creative tasks and reconstruction to understand the movement vocabulary of
Siobhan Davies’ Wyoming (1988), and the resulting (sophisticated) analysis of the work
Conclusion/Beginning
On my education: a sense of excitement about and connection to the
past
On my teaching practice: constructing learning activities that encourage
transformative learning
How might reflecting on my own significant learning experiences become
the basis for pedagogy?
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