The Program in Dance Education
Presents:
Department of music and performing arts professions
Program in Dance Education
Contents
About the Dance Education Program
Page 1
An introduction to Kaleidoscope Dancers
Page 2
Format
Page 3
Lesson Examples
Page 4
Workshop Form
Page 5
Upcoming Events
Page 6
Designed by: Danielle Bazinet
Photography: Chianan Yen and Kindra Windish
The Dance Education Program
The Mission
The mission of the Dance Education Program is to provide high
quality training and professional development in the theory and
practice of dance education for teachers, administrators,
performing artists, and research scholars in the fields of dance
and education. Our goal is to facilitate the development of your
creative and critical thinking abilities, thereby increasing your
knowledge and expertise in dance and dance education. Our
approach emphasizes the integration of the developing mind &
body in the context of cultural practices.
Throughout our existence, Dance Education at NYU has been guided
by a belief in movement as central to human development and
education. From this perspective, dance and education are viewed as
complementary domains of knowledge. Dance represents an
intelligent expression of human experience and is an important
source of understanding that contributes to our cognitive, emotional
and physical growth in multicultural settings. Education is the means
by which we increase knowledge and develop expertise.
We offer masters (M.A.) and doctoral (Ph.D., Ed.D.) programs in
Dance Education. In our graduate programs, we pursue disciplinebased inquiries and scholarly research to increase knowledge and
expertise in these domains and to transform the way educators
understand and teach dance. For this reason, our distinguished
faculty members focus on creative-, pedagogy-, and research-based
inquiries. A creative-based inquiry allows the dancer to master her
craft with coursework that includes choreography, technique, and
improvisation. The pedagogic-based inquiry enables deep
understanding of learning and teaching processes with courses in
teaching methods, curriculum development, and multicultural
practices. The research-based inquiry provides theory and methods
courses for creating new knowledge in the field of dance education.
An Introduction to Kaleidoscope Dancers
Mission Statement:
Kaleidoscope Dancers is our resident performing company
that provides community based programming to local New
York City school children. The company is dedicated to
creating connections between professional dancers and
children. Through performances and movement workshops
facilitated by company members, students will explore
elements of choreography and will understand the art of
dance-making.
What is Kaleidoscope Dancers?
Artistic Director: Deborah Damast
Music Director: Pat Daugherty
Kaleidoscope Dancers is a company of professional dancers and
educators that are dedicated to creating a fun, interactive, nonthreatening studio environment for school children in the New York
area. With Kaleidoscope Dancers, students will observe and discuss
professional choreography as well as explore movement of their own.
The workshop will culminate in group movement activities facilitated
by our company members.
Objective
Students will produce original dances based on elements of
choreography. In collaboration with our resident composer, they will
create original scores to accompany their dances.
As a result of this workshop, students will:
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Experience movement
Solve Complex problems
Express feelings through movement
Learn how to appreciate different forms of movement
Develop creativity through the art of dance and music
Develop inter- and intrapersonal skills
Develop awareness and respect for others
Format
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Students arrive at NYU and are then escorted to the dance studio
where Kaleidoscope Dancers present excerpts of a dance
performance.
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Students discuss elements of the dances (what they liked, what
made them different, moods presented, movement qualities etc.)
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Classes break into small groups to work with one of the company
dancers.
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The groups create a movement study based on the elements of
choreography.
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The students meet with the accompanist to discuss their music
requests.
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The original works are presented to the class accompanied by live
music.
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Students discuss the elements that they observed for each dance.
Additional Programs
Each semester the Dance Education Program produces a Friday
matinee concert for local schools. Kaleidoscope Dancers introduce
children to the different elements in the dances performed as well as
other activities that coincide with the production.
When and Where
All Kaleidoscope workshops take place during the spring semester
beginning in February.
Address:
NYU Education Building
35 West 4th Street
Studios 305 and 304.
Time: 10:30am- 12:00pm
Please arrive fifteen minutes early
Cost: $3 per student
Also note security procedures at the University require us to
provide a list of names of all non-NYU people who will be entering
the building for an event. We will need a list of all students and
adults from your school who are attending the workshop.
Lessons
FUN WITH CHOREOGRAPHY
SAMPLE LESSON TOPICS
*
ABA
THEME AND VARIATIONS
LEVELS
CANON AND REPETITION
PATHWAYS
SYMMETRY/ASYMMETY
RELATIONSHIPS
Dates Available for Spring 2005: (Fridays)
January 28
February 4, 11, 18, 25
March 4, 11
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Please email the following information to
Deborah.Damast@nyu.edu
Workshop Date 1st and 2nd choice
School
Teacher contact information
Grade Level
# of students:
any special needs
Upcoming Events
Friday November 19th 2004 at 10:15am is the Middle and High School
performance for the Distinguished Faculty Concert.
Friday April 15th 2005 at 10:15am is the pre-k and elementary
performance for the Masters Concert.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Artistic Director:
Deborah Damast
Assistant Director
Andrea Markus
Music Director
Pat Daugherty
212-998-5865 deborah.damast@nyu.edu