Introduction Melanie: Hello my name is Melanie Bunker. I’m eighteen years old and I have attended ISB for about 11 years. Senior Seminar explores the different theories of knowledge and how we can apply them to our everyday life. We have gone in depth about the basic four WoK: reason, perception, language and emotion. We have also studied other areas of knowledge such as mathematics, arts, sciences, history, ethics, and religion. The aim of this class is to try to find explanations for ‘how do we know what we know’? With the Wok and the AoK I mentioned, as a class we have come closer to finding answers to that basic question than we were before the semester started. Today I will be talking about how different ways of knowing have affected my learning experiences in the dancing field and helped me grow both as an individual and as a dance student. Interviewer: What is a specific example of your learning experiences as a dancer that has affected you as a dance student? Overview of my Learning ExperienceMelanie: A specific example of my learning experiences from my dance career would be: my student dance assistant job I have had for the past 5 years and my dance classes that I attend. Over the past 5 years I have helped taught jazz and ballet classes to elementary students from the ages of 10 to the age of 4. As a dance assistant I have had the pleasure of going week after week, day after day to a room full of energetic elementary kids to teach them something that I love. I have studied different dance styles since I started dancing; jazz, ballet, and pointe. I have participated in IASAS dance for the past two years along with taking IB Dance class. I have had the privilege to have amazing teachers for all the dance styles that I have taken. Taking dance classes itself has basically taught me self-discipline and how much love I must have for doing dance for me to do it for about 15 hours a week. Interviewer: Therefore, in reflecting and giving us an overall introduction about your experience as a dance assistant, how has different ways of knowledge affect your learning both as a dance assistant and a dancer specifically? WoK #1: Language Melanie: Now that I have introduced what it has meant to me to be a dance assistant and as a dancer, we can link this to the different Ways of Knowing to how dance it taught in and of itself. When you teach dance you don’t always have to use the spoken language, we use our

body language to communicate different dance moves so that collectively as a whole the group can perform their best. The dance terms are specific and you have to know the meanings in order to do the steps that your teacher is asking you to do. Interviewer: What theory from the Language WaysofKnowing does this apply to? meaning as know how which is I learned the meaning of the word when I knew how to use it-- For example, I know what a chasse is from not only the dictionary definition of the translation is “to chase”, so in my mind whenever I hear ‘chasse’ I know that my feet have to ‘chase’ each other in the air. When you teach children the terms you have to make sure that you know it so that you don’t confuse them. Many times I have seen girls calling steps the wrong names and I have to correct them. After years of ballet and jazz I have a small repertoire of French words. I don’t have to be fluent in French—or even take French class to know what my teachers are telling me to do but since I have heard the name of the step and my teacher showed me that step, I can associate the step with that word. Interviewer: Can this be applied to any other theories of meaning? Dance is not only about the definition theory- like the meaning of the terms but image theory as well and how I interpret the steps that my teacher tells me to do. This form of language is entirely creative and open-ended. Myself and other dancers are able to use the language used to create dozens of different combinations if we are given as little as 5 dance terms. Interviewer: What are some problems you have encountered as a dancer with language? Melanie: Some problems, just like in language, that when my teacher says a dance term it is still a matter of know-how. Unless I have heard the term before and have actually tried the step, chances are that I will know what my teacher is asking us to do. But if I have only heard that term once, then chances are I will be clueless as to what I am supposed to do. I have had experiences where my teacher says “Alright we are doing a combo across the floor, I want you to do tambe, padubare, chasse, grand jete”, and sometimes I wont know what to do because it is too vague. Not only do I have to remember the combo that I was told, not shown, I also have to put it to music that either has a fast or slow tempo, so sometimes its too vague. Language in dance has helped served as a medium between the choreographer and the dancers and can help the dancers express language through movement. We are always using body movement to express language even if the movement is holding a pose on stage.

WoK #2: Perception Perception is also another very important Way of Knowing that affects my learning experience as a dance assistant as well as a dancer. Perception allows use to interpret what we have observed through our five senses. It enables us to structure our reality. Dance is an art form that allows us to see the world through different eyes. We are able to create movements that allow us to express ourselves and we are given opportunities to watch professional dance companies and when they dance you can see that in every movement they are grabbing the world around them and transforming it into art so that the audience can visually see. There are a lot of flaws with perception because it is so specific to the individual that it is harder to find true knowledge. Interviewer: What are some problems you see with perception and dance? MELANIE: The hardest thing that I have with perception in dance is of the expectations that I have set for myself and what I think others have set for me. When I dance ballet or jazz, I picture what the people are watching me are seeing. But sometimes it is entirely different than when I watch the recording of my dance. For example, when I have performed in duets or small ensembles in the past, I feel like I am doing my best on stage but when I watch it, it is nothing like how I imagined the audience saw it. Interviewr: How does the selectivity of preception come into play with dance? Melanie: The problem of ‘selectivity of perception’ can be seen in the dancers I teach. They will listen and see what they want according to how they are feeling. They react to what they want and how they want. When they dance, they pick out the moves that stands out to them and it is hard for me as a dance assistant to correct their movements, even if they are a little bit off because it has become a habit for them. The most evident age group that this problem can be seen at is between the ages of 4-6. I can name at least two girls in my classes that that this affects them the most. If they are in a good mood, they will do their best to impress myself and the teacher, but if the teacher or myself gently scolds them, they feel offended and their mood shifts and they don’t feel like dancing anymore. As a performer and choreographer, selectivty of perception is always something to think about. I dont want to have a group of 5 plus dancers on the stage and all doing something different or else the audience wont be able to see the big picture and they start picking out the things they like and focus on a particular person instead of the group. As a choreographer, I have images in my head of what dance steps I want to do but you don’t want to make it too literal or else the audience will get bored and wont use their imagination. For example, if I had a dance around the theme of ‘gestures’ I wouldnt want to put in movements like waving my hands, i would want to come up with something

more abstract so that the audience will think out of the box and try to figure out what the movement is. WoK #3: Emotion Whether you are choreographing your own dance or you’re taught, it is your responsibility to put emotion in it. For every dance, there is a choreographer’s intent where they have themes that they want to express through different emotions. Dancers use the primary emotions- happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust- as well as the dancers experiment with other social emotions. The music itself has a mood that sets the tone for the dance. The tone of the music plays off of the choreographer’s intent. I know that when I choreograph a dance I pick my emotion first then I find a song that sounds like that emotion so that the audience will get the message behind the dance. Interviewer: As a dancer, are there times when emotions negatively impact performance? MELANIE: There are instances where emotions of the students do affect their performance. You can tell who the teacher’s favorites are in the class and when we do critiques, the teacher mentions only a few mistakes that they did, but when it comes to me (and other dancers) we are given a laundry list of what we need to work on. It’s not a problem to have corrections but this is an example of emotional coloring. When the girls that I teach are not quiet and don’t listen to me, I do use emotive language, but not to the extent that will make them cry but enough to get them to sit still and listen instead of doing cartwheels across the floor. Interviewer: How does Yerkes-Dodson’s theory work? And how does it ties in with dancing? MElanie: This is a performance theory where the more stress that is placed in a situation, the worse you perform. On the contrary it can be negative when you have low stress levels you also perform poorly. Your optimal performance is when you have a perfect balance between stress and performance. Before performances, backstage all the dancers wish each

other good luck which helps us to be excited and anxious. Also the fact that there is an audience, is nerve wrecking but when you are backstage with a team before a performance, it is comforting and helps us all perform at our best. I do have embarassing moments when my stress was too high for a performance, i totally froze on stage and it was really embarassig. But it just teaches me to learn how to balance and control my stress before I go on stage. Emotion in dance is a key factor in not only performing but also your own attitude in a dance class. Interviewer: What do you know about yourself that will change how you approach learning in the future? Analysis of my approach to learning in the future After going in depth into about the different studies of Theory of Knowledge I am able to apply the Ways of Knowing (language, perception, reason, and emotion) into how I learn dance and how I teach dance. I can take what I have learned and expand it to more areas of my life, not just dance. In the future, I will be more aware of the limitations that come with life experiences. There will be times when I will need to judge a decision based on my emotions rather than my language and there will be times where my emotions are not a reliable source of knowledge to confirm my decisions or opinions. This class has given me new insights on how to base my knowledge off of, do I always follow the strict, Plato’s theory of K=JTB or will I be able to be a little more lenient on my decisions that maybe they don’t always have to be a belief to make it knowledge, even if it’s a decision based on do I continue dancing in the future? With starting college next semester, I am able to be more cautious about the choices that I will make, especially since I will be on my own. The Yerkes-Dodson performance curve is probably what I will use most in my future as I continue to take dance classes as well as learning how to balance my everyday life.