CHOREOGRAPHIC OUTCOMES Warburton Critique on Smith Autard
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Transcript of CHOREOGRAPHIC OUTCOMES Warburton Critique on Smith Autard
7/27/2019 CHOREOGRAPHIC OUTCOMES Warburton Critique on Smith Autard
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CHOREOGRAPHIC OUTCOMES:
IMPROVING DANCE COMPOSITION
by Jacqueline Smith-Autard andJim Scho-
field, assisted by Michael Schofield. 2005. Bed-
ford Interactive Productions, j CD-ROMs
(for PC) including Resource Pack with "Cre-
ative Practice Guidebook" and Smith-Autard's
"Dance Comp osition" (^th ed, 2004). $j6o.
Computer-aided instruction for dance is
a hard sell . On the one hand, judging
from the proliferation of dance technology-
related websites, dancers seem more inter-
ested in computer applications for perfor-
mance than instruction. Not surprisingly,
dance is regarded by the educational soft-
ware industry as something less than aniche market and therefore a low-priority
investment. On the other hand, popular
views of educational technology in dance
tend to exaggerate both its promise and its
peril . Advocates tout computers and the I n-
ternet as instant remedies for dry curric-
ulum and didactic instruction. Alarmists
worry that computers will undermine cre-
ative activity and the W orld W ide W eb w ill
replace teachers as the preferred source ofinformation.
Until recently, these states of mutual dis-
interest and distrust among dancers, edu-
cators, and software-makers have resulted
in a serious lack of imaginative, intelligent,
and effective educational uses of new tech-
nologies in dance. No more. Together with
Bedford Interactive (www.dance-interactive
.web.com), Jacqueline S mith-A utard's re-
cent forays into educational technology
have produced a series of state-of-the-art
CD-ROMs for dance and dance educat ion.
These impressive computer resources com-
bine Smith-Autard's substantial knowledge
with Jim Schofield's commonsensical ap-
proach to the technology. The ir m ost recent
product ion. Choreographic Outcomes, avoids
placing too much emphasis on the technol-
og y itself, leaving ample room for people—
especially teachers—to shape its role in
learning.
Choreographic Outcomes is described as a
"comprehensive CD-ROM resource pack
. . . aimed at improving student choreog-
raphy th rou gh detailed study . . . [w ith]
full access video of 8 dance pieces." Sounds
simple, but do not let the attractive pack-
aging fool you. While the program can
be used off-the-shelf to good effect, it is
a teaching and learning resource that ex-
pands exponentially if one understands the
logic behind its approach. In the interests
of full disclosure, I admit to a predisposi-
tion toward technological applications and
Smith-Autard's work in particular. How-ever, before now, I had not previously used
or beta-tested this program, so I came to it
with fresh eyes (and ears).
T he first th ing you will notice about the
program is the high-qu ality production val-
ues. It is clear from the outset that this is
a hefty piece of software with plenty of
features and supporting materials that lie
just off the beaten path. The package in-
cludes three CD-ROM discs , a CreativePracticeGuidebook, and Smith-Autard's book
Dance Composition (2004). The program in-
cludes over a hundred movies and requires
a lot of computer memory, so Bedford In-
teractive includes two different discs to al-
low the user two options: direct-use from
disc or full-install on user's hard drive. The
direct-use option downloads each movie
as you select it and thus involves a short
delay each time you click on a new movie.
If you can spare the 630 M B on your hard
drive, then I recommend the full-install
option. You'll move more quickly through
the program and you can insert the Work-
sheets disc, which includes an electronic
version of activity wo rkshee ts. A helpful i n-
struction booklet walks you through these
options.
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The potential of all these resources at
the touch of one's fingertips is enticing.
Unfortunately, I realized immediately that
I could not access the CD-ROMs because
I work on an Apple PowerBook with Mac
OS X. The hardware requirements for Cho-.
reographic Outcomes are quite reasonable, but
a PC Windows environment is required. In
my experience, many American dance stu-
dents, teachers, and programs in h igher ed-
ucation, use and stock computer labs with
Apple computers. The market may be too
small, or the cost prohibitive, but I sincerely
hope Bedford Interactive has plans for a bi-
platform version in the near future.
You can start working with Choreographic
Outcomes by click-opening the source video,"Motifs For A Solo Dancer," which takes
you to a step-by -step analysis of the original
piece. Th e o ptions include viewing the entire
filmed solo, a universal access feature, a li-
brary of key motifs, time analysis, and space
analysis. As a graduate student in the mid-
1990s, I participated in numerous usability
studies at Harvard University's Education
with New Technologies project (http://
learnweb.harvard.edu) . CD-ROMs were
the latest technology, and I learned phrases
like "wayfinding index" and "universal ac-
cess" to describe the nexus between acces-
sibility, ease-of-use, navigation, and inter-
face elements. Bedford Interactive deserves
high marks on all these design indices.
Overall , Choreographic Outcomes takes
full advantage of what computers do best.
The multiple representations—from dia-
grams to videos—make it highly accessible,
deepening the learning experience without
sacrificing breadth of information. The
ubiquitous views, perspectives, and th um b-
nail pictures m ake it easy to follow and fun
to use. The logical structure, clearly marked
buttons, and text directions support navi-
gation through the sophisticated analyses.
The uncluttered desktop's attractive color
and font scheme is one of the most appeal-
ing interface designs that I have seen in
any educational software. The high-quality
film and sound direction are impressive
and essential. The solo performer, Lauren
Potter, is a brilliant dancer of remarkable
movement clarity and articulation. I found
her lack of affect somewhat curious, but
perhaps there was a conscious decision to
focus on form versus feeling. Regardless, it
is clear that Bedford Interactive engaged a
dream team of dancers, educators, and de-
signers to produce this work.
Though Bedford Interactive and I have
different definitions of the term, I was par-
ticularly enchanted with the Universal Ac-cess option. In some software design circles,
universal access refers to software design tha t
seeks to mak e new med ia accessible to every-
one; for example, creating "electronic curb-
cuts" for cognitively or hearing-impaired
persons (see wAvw.cast.org). Bedford Inter-
active uses the term Universal Access to mean
a comp rehensive, catholic look at all aspects
of the dance composition. On a single page,
one has access to the whole solo dance: itsmovement phrases, key motifs, and tim-
ing. So, for instance, if one wants to make
a close examination of how the "tip" motif
develops into a "tip back into travel" ph rase,
one can easily locate the motif, watch its
development from a thumbnail video that
pops up seamlessly into a full view, and lis-
ten to the precise musical phrase in which
it occurs. In the space and time analyses
sections, I yearned for a Labanotation score
to round out the phrase structure studies,
but I suppose enough is enough. O ne has to
make choices, and the choices are generally
splendid.
I found that one of the more innovative
choices included an "Outcomes" section:
that is, seven new pieces choreographed
92 Dance Research Journal 37 /2 Winter 2005
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by three different people inspired by the
original solo motif. Details of participants
are included in this section, which serves
as a kind of credits-cum-comparison page.
Here one can read about the director and
choreographers, view the new works, re-
view a detailed composition analysis, and
compare the new works to the solo dance in
a directed or search mo de. Th e comparison
modes place the outcome video next to the
solo video, allowing the viewer to compare
and con trast the phrases. Or, at least, I think
that is the intention. This section is a great
idea, but it seemed like a bridge too far for
the computer. I was never able to make this
function work to my satisfaction. O f course,
it is entirely plausible that, after eight hours,
I was losing my mind and my (borrowed)
computer was losing its memory.
Clearly, Choreographic Outcomes is no
"plug-and-play" program. It is a sophisti-
cated , deeply inte lligen t, effortful endeavo r.
The fact that it embeds many important
educational insights and practices into the
very fabric of the pro gram should also come
as no surprise. Dance education is Smith-
Autard's bailiwick. This is an importantadvantage, but also a real challenge to the
user. There is no simple answer to how one
mak es effective e ducation al use of new tech -
nologies. Sometimes the tool seems attrac-
tive, but exactly how to integrate it in prac-
tice is unclear. Fortunately, Smith-Autard
has brou ght he r "A" gam e to this issue. She
understands learning, how diversified it is,
and how im portant it is to develop method s
and materials that are as articulated andflexible as the individuals utilizing them.
For this reason, the accompanying sup-
po rt m aterials are key to the effective use of
this program. Th e Dance Composition book
provides a clear framework for integrating
teacher-directed instruction with opportu-
nities and challenges for creative and criti-
cal inquiry. Through a series of carefully
constructed activities and worksheets, the
Creative Practice Guidebook demonstrates
how to use the technology selectively to
present dynamic models of key concepts or
to enable students to participate together in
disciplined inquiry.
I highly recommend this computer re-
source to dance professionals in private
studios and higher education. Before buy-
ing the program, however, I suggest you
review Smith-Autard's The Art of Dance
in Education (2002). This seminal work
will alert you to the cond itions affecting
teaching and learning, and highlight how
technology might improve your practice.
Next, be sure to use the supporting mate-
rials in concert with the discs. Together,
the program and m aterials can promote the
kind of retention, understanding, and ac-
tive use of difficult concepts—such as mo-
tif development—that are both crucial to
further progress in dance and widely rec-
ognized as difficult to teach and learn.
Finally, respect the process and take your
time. When used by knowledgeable dance
instructors in a reflective, integrated way, Ihave found that this new, interactive, por-
table tool can extend instruction beyond
the dance studio and significantly enhance
student learning.
Edward C. Warburton,
University of California, Santa Cruz
Works Cited
Smith-Autard, Jacqueline M. 2002. The
Art ofDance in Education. 2nd ed. Lon-
don: A8cC Black.
. 2004. Dance Composition: A Practi-
cal Guide or Teachers. 5th ed. New York:
Routledge—^A The atre A rts Book.
Dance Research Journal 37 /2 Winter 2005 93