Dr. Miriam Giguere
Faculty
Westphal College – Department of Performing Arts
Taipei, Taiwan-Dance and the Child International Conference 2012
On July 12, 2012 I traveled
to Taipei, Taiwan to attend the
international joint conference of
Dance and the Child International
and the World Dance Alliance. Both
organizations serve to promote
scholarship and research on dance
with children and youth, and to
support the sharing of culture
through dance. The week-long
event included workshops, paper
presentations, and performances.
The conference was held at Taiwan
National University of the Arts.
My main objectives in attending the conference were to 1) Present on my research on
dance and cognition, hopefully making contacts for further research projects, and having the
opportunity to have feedback and dialogue with other dance scholars from across the world on
this topic. 2) Make contact with other dance faculty from around the world to further Drexel’s
programs in study, performance and co-op abroad, 3) Learn more about how dance pedagogy
and advocacy are handled in other parts of the world, and 4) To see youth performances from
international groups to enhance programing for the Youth Performance Exchange at Drexel and
the Drexel Dance Ensemble.
My first goal was achieved when I
presented my paper Enhancing Cognition
Through Children’s Dance Creation on
Monday July 16. The paper was fairly well
received and there were some interesting
questions and discussion that followed. I
was invited to submit a paper to the
Taiwan Dance Journal at the conclusion of
the presentation, so that could also be seen
as one measure of success. Additionally I
met and have maintained email contact
with one of the keynote speakers, Dr. Blake
Martin, from Canada, whose work could
potentially inform mine. I have also subsequently been asked to be a peer reviewer for a new
international journal being put out by the World Dance Alliance.
My second goal of making contact with dance faculty from other countries for possible
curricular collaboration was also met. I began discussion of a collaborative performance and
research project with two youth dance companies from Australia, and furthered discussions and
contacts with several faculty from the University of Auckland in New Zealand regarding both
student and faculty exchange for AY 2014-2015.
With respect to my third
goal of learning more about
world dance pedagogy and
advocacy, I was able to attend a
series of sessions on national
dance standards from countries
around the world. It was
fascinating to see both the
similarities and the differences
in our efforts to support
learning in the arts throughout
the world. I was also able to
participate in and observe
movement workshops with
children ages 12-17 from all
around the globe teaching
sharing dance indigenous to their home countries. It was powerful to see this intercultural
exchange, watching children from Taiwan, Finland, and the Philippines learn reggae dance from
a group of Jamaican dancers.
Lastly, I exceeded my goal of watching youth performance, attending the work of 25
children’s companies (ages 8-17), 10 college companies (ages 18-21) and 12 professional
companies from all around the world. I am grateful for the opportunity to attend and present at
the Dance and the Child International 2012, and appreciate the support of the International
Travel Grant.
Next 3 photos: Taiwan National University of the Arts: Site of the Conference
View near Mount Keelung: