Nonverbal communication in dance teaching - How do students experience and interpret the nonverbal communication of a dance pedagogue?

The purpose of this thesis is to further the knowledge about how a dance pedagogue's nonverbal communication could be interpreted by dance students. The thesis focuses on four semiotic resources; placement in the room, facial expression, usage of voice, and body language.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. A practical workshop was executed where demonstrations of various ways in using nonverbal communication within a dance class context was shown. A questionnaire was based upon these demonstrations. A group interview was conducted. In the process of making the content of the demonstrations, video filming was used. The theoretical framework is based on theories of social semiotics and multimodality.

The results show that small details in the dance pedagogue's usage of nonverbal communication have great influence on students' experiences of the presence of a dance pedagogue, the clarity of the instructions from the dance pedagogue, and the power dynamics between dance pedagogue and student. The study shows that these components are crucial for students' comprehensions of the content of a dance class and their experiences of the social climate of the classroom. The study advocates the importance of consiousness among dance pedagogues about their usage of nonverbal communication in teaching.

The school curriculum guideline for the upper secondary school states that student themselves should take responsibility for their learning and results. At the same time teachers discuss to what extent students do so. Responsability as a critical issue was observed during my teachers’s practice period at an upper secondary school, where students seemed to claim teachers more responsible for their activity. On this basis my aim is to investigate how students and teachers apprehend the notion of student’s responsibility for their learning and what factors facilitate or obstruct the action of taking responsibility. The overall theoretical approach for this study is phenomenography.Thus I collect data through interviews and categorise the statements in descriptions of categories which represent qualitatively different ways of experiencing responsability. In addition I take inspiration from reflexivity as a means of being aware of my own impact on the study. The result of the interview material is structured into Responsabiltiy, Student´s- teacher´s responsabilty and Obstacles/facilities to which of each three descriptions of categories correspond. The distinctions between the categories comprise to responsability being perceived as an obligation or as a means of power, whom is held most responsible and where the emphasis lies as to what obstruct or enhance the act of responsibil

This thesis is based on my own experiences of dancing Halling, a type of folk dance. Halling is commonly referred to as a male or masculine dance. This has been entangled in the problems I have had with the dance, as I have felt uncomfortable performing all the movements to their full extent. Therefore, I have researched my experiences of this dance through a practical study with a focus on specific movements that I have struggled with. Combining the findings of my practical study with theories about feminism, gender and masculinity has shown me that, while my problem is complex, it is nevertheless possible to structure into two parts of my own understanding. The first part concerns the movement that make up the dance. Through my research I was able to deal with some of the problems that I had with specific movements, and this led me to the conclusion that the movements of Halling in themselves do not have to be problematic in a gendered way. The second part concerns Halling within its context, and the way that its representation and the expectations surrounding it affect me and my dancing. The study has also shown me that being a pedagogical role model is a very complex situation where it is not only important for me to be aware of the choices I make but also the person I am in the teaching situation. 

This article communicates a study on dance for people over 65 in Sweden. Earlier studies on dance for elderly people have primarily focused on treatment and wellbeing. The current study centers on the right to make oneself heard in and through contemporary dance as an artistic form of expression, regardless of age, gender, or geographical context. The specific aim of the study is to describe and analyze the experiences of women aged over 65 in a rural area, who participated in contemporary dance workshops as a form of arts learning. The workshops, which were observed and documented, constituted part of an EU-financed project, Age on stage. Participants also shared experiences through informal chats and e-mails. The material was analyzed in a narrative manner. The results show that the workshops created a safe space for dance as a dwelling place, where dance was discovered, and at the same time developed, collaboratively. The results also highlighted the importance of this type of artistic participation for elderly women in terms of developing an understanding of themselves and coping with life.

The purpose of this study is to explore how mindfulness can be integrated into jazz dance. Throughteaching two classes of jazz dance where we integrate mindfulness, are we trying to discover how ourdance participants experience the dance style. We also want to figure out if and how this integration canbe an access to movement. In search for our result are we analyzing self reports that are written by ourparticipants. In the result we present the essence of the participants experiences. Acceptance, freedom anddifficulties with the integration of mindfulness in jazzdance, are the mainly experiences. The result alsoshows that feelings and bodily sensations can be an access to movement.Keywords:

Whether stretching should be used in conjunction with exercise is a much debated subject. Stretching has in a large part of dance training received a major stronghold. Recent research has shown that some forms of stretching can reduce performance. The purpose of this study is to compare the current research regarding stretching and how stretching is used in dance teaching. Based on the questions:

- What does the current research say about the effects of static and dynamic stretching?

- Which approach to stretching does a chosen group of dance pedagogues in Sweden have?

- What are the similarities and differences regarding stretching in current research and in the chosen group of dance pedagogues?

This is examined by doing a research review of stretching, a questionnaire survey for dance pedagogues and by doing a content analysis of this material, and finally a comparison of those results. Research and dance pedagogues agree about the positive effects of dynamic stretching and disagree when it comes to the effects of static stretching. Research agrees that it is negative for performance, while many dance pedagogues mean it is positive for performance. Just as the research results the dance pedagogues disagree about the effects of stretching. But generally, research do not consider stretching to be needed as much as dance pedagogues do.

In this study I investigate differences and similarities between contact improvisation and floor work

within contemporary dance. The aim is to explore whether a floor work class can benefit from integrating

exercises from contact improvisation.

To answer these questions I do literature studies, interviews and let a group of dancers explore it through

movement. The dancers write a self-report in the end where they reflect upon their own experience on

integrating contact improvisation into a floor class. All my analyses are done using a phenomneographical

analysis model.

The result shows that the physical work is quite similar – such as working with the physical laws and the

body’s functionality. The learning environment is different though, where it is more open and

experimental within contact improvisation.

The self-reports show that working with a partner through improvisation can help the dancers to

understand different themes within the floor work in a deeper/different way. It also creates a more playful

and easy going climate. As a pedagogue I experience that I give the participants more space to reflect

together. Difficulties that come up are that the set movement phrases get unclear and that there are many

things for the dancers to focus on.

How can articulating dance in practice, problematize the notion of an expanded concept of choreography at Stockholm University of the Arts? What approaches are needed to make different perceptions of dance as phenomena contribute to the development of the field?

These are the questions of the study and they are examined through dancing. The examination builds upon a relation between comprehension and constitution, and the question, if we ever are comprehended? Placing my dancing body in center of the research gave rise to a position which yielded the required perspective. When dancing, the stance of “representing a genre” was assumed, taken and explored concretely, “folkdance”within the context of Stockholm University of the Arts. Researching by dancing allowed for the exposition of the practice so that it could be reflected upon with someone else. Five meetings in the dance studio facilitated the articulation of practices and approaches through the process of learning from an other.

Moving in theoretical circles through different realms and allowing these circles to intersect in practice, the work achieves its critical point of view in relation to choreography and the field of dance. The expanded notion of choreography is critiqued using theories which deals with ideas of universal practice and exclusion. The work looks for a constructive way to fill an empty space that is perceived within the epicenter of the expansion. It fills this space with dance and works with choreography as a critical practice that acknowledges the specific and intense physical work which must be invested by any body in order to find a way of being in the world.

In maintaining an ambivalent relation to the practice there is an urge, to move on in dance through choreography, to find ways in which agency can constitute the subject within discursive context, and to reflect upon aesthetic, political and pedagogical consequences of the ideas that arise. By searching for further ways to articulate difference in dance, the study contributes to the field of contemporary dance pedagogy.

The aim of this essay is to increase the awareness about the use of interpretation in classical ballet education through qualitative methods and a phenomenographical approach. Three ballet pedagogues are interwiewed about two phenomena. Firstly how they percieve interpretation and secondly in what ways they percieve their use of it in teaching. The interwiews are transcribed and represents the data for a phenomenographical analysis in which seven description categories are created in two category systems. Each system describes a phenomenon and the second system is a development of the first. Conclusions from the analysis suggests that interpretation can be percieved as a teaching method, a separate unit, a necessary ability for a dancer as well as a part of life. Interpretation as a teaching method can in turn be used by the teachers to evaluate themselves or their students or to help the students achieve greater understanding of classical ballet, for example technical difficulties. Furthermore, it is also percieved as something used to create dance out of movement.

The purpose of this study is to examine teachers experiences of student’s motivation in dance at Upper Secondary School. Furthermore, the study aims to visualize how teachers feel that they can promote student’s motivation. An additional goal is to create interest and discussions among dance teachers in general about how teachers can promote student ́s motivation. The research questions are: “How do teachers experience that student’s motivation is affected in dance education?” and “What strategies do teachers feel that they can use to promote student ́s motivation in dance?”. The theoretical frameworks of the study are sociocultural perspective on learning, goal theory, McClellands theory about needs and self-determination theory with its understanding of internal and external motivation. The method of the study is to conduct semi-structured interviews and then analyze the material with a qualitative method.

The result shows that teachers experience that student’s motivation is affected by goals, experience of dancing and development, social environment, student ́s health and assessment. The study also resulted in strategies which teachers use to promote student’s motivation in dance. Teachers can establish goals together with their students, give students opportunities to make decisions on their own, acknowledge student’s emotions, give feedback, adjust movements according to student’s knowledge and adjust the lessons dramaturgy.

Uppsatsen är baserad på litteraturstudier och informella samtal med tre verksamma danspedagoger. Syftet är att undersöka om och hur dansen kan utveckla en människas personlighet på ett positivt sätt samt förbättra hennes psykiska välmående. Utöver detta har jag utarbetat en mindre arbetsmodell för hur man kan arbeta med detta i dansundervisning. Uppsatsen redogör för litteratur i ämnen som påverkar den personliga utvecklingen och det psykiska välmåendet. I uppsatsen ingår även en redogörelse för tre danspedagogers tankar kring ämnet. Undersökningen visar att det finns ett stort antal beståndsdelar som man som danspedagog kan arbeta med för att positivt påverka elevernas utveckling däribland är beröring, samtal, musik och andning fyra stora faktorer.

The Swedish school’s fostering assignment is a well-researched field within social science, but there is a lack of research regarding the assignment related to dance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to contribute to an understanding of the fostering assignment in relation to dance. This is a qualitative study aiming to give an insight to how dance teachers in upper-secondary schools interpret and include the fostering assignment in their work. The study also aims to address how different dance traditions affect how fostering is practiced in upper-secondary schools. The method used for collecting data is semi-structured interviews and the analysis is hermeneutic. The result shows a lack of an overall picture of what fostering in upper-secondary schools actually means and the fostering assignment’s changing and contextual character in relation to the shifting ideals of society. Dance as a practice and subject can contribute to students developing abilities relating to democracy, empathy, entrepreneurship, and also strengthen students’ identities and subjectification. In conclusion, the study stresses the importance of specifying the implementation of the fostering assignment on different levels (macro, meso, micro) within organisations. Otherwise, there is a risk that the fostering happening counteracts the content written in the curriculum.

This essay raises the question about the preconditions for dance in Swedish elementary school. With a design theoryperspective the essay examines the different aspects of the school system which play a role in the discussion on dance inschool. These different aspects are the physichal resources, the institutional patterns including regulatory documentsand also the teacher´s education. To get an insight view of what the actual teaching situation looks like observationsgave been done in classes year 1 and year 3 in elementary school.One important part of this question is what view of knowledge that exists in society, school and in the arts. Thereforea part of the essay presents these different views.The conclusions are that the preconditions for dance in school are difficult due to the lack of research in the subject,the regulatory documents where dance plays a minor role, the time schedule that does not give much time for the arts inthe schedule, the teaching program that lacks education in the arts in general and in dance in particular. The mainconclusion is that the status of these parametres are due to the fact that the view of knowledge in society and school arelargely instrumental and economic and based on mathemathic and linguistic skills rather than artistic.

The aim of this study is to investigate transmission of knowledge as critical archive practice within folk dance, and thereby contribute to updating the concept tradition bearer. The research questions are: What is done in the situation of knowledge transmission where different folk dance bodies understood as archives – both living dancers and bodies in text and image – meet over time and space? How can these situations be understood theoretically and thus contribute to a new, archive oriented, theoretical understanding of the transmission of knowledge and tradition within folk dance? The empirical material consists of phenomenological interviews with three folk dancers who each participated in two workshops created by the author: in one case, the participants encountered archival material such as text, film and photography, in the other a living dancer understood as an archive. Drawing on critical and pluralizing archive theory, the findings of the study show how both dancers and archive records are stakeholders and agents in creating the affective, dynamic and complex interchanges that take place in both situations. Pluralizing archive theory also proved useful in identifying values and hierarchies among the stakeholders in the folk dance archive. In the interchange between dancer and archive, negotiations between different approaches to tradition took place. Through pluralizing archive theory and the understanding of the body as archive, the concept of tradition bearer may be given a more dynamic and inclusive definition, shifting focus from what it is to what it does, and be considered a complex relational situation.

I have been intrested in sound as a communicative tool for interpretation and deeper kinesthic understanding in dance pedagogy. My ambition has been to investigate if there is a relation between different ways of using the voice and different types of movement and develop a method to enhance learning in dance. [---]

In this study I analyze the marketing strategies of the six biggest private dance schools in Stockholm, Sweden, through their official websites. As a target I have chosen to focus on dance for children in the age of two to five. The purpose is to summarize the information about the school’s range of courses offered, their target groups and their pedagogic ideology. The aim is also to gain a deeper understanding of the school’s view on dance as an art form versus a commercial field, and the possible influence of these on the teachers and their pupils. With an objective approach I have chosen an image- and content analysis as a method. The study shows that the schools aim towards a limited group of gender-stereotypical children of which they portray a unilateral image of; where variation of ethnicities and body types is limited. The results show as well that the schools have a major commercial focus in their marketing as they both verbally and visually highlight scenic performance. This assumingly suggests that their pedagogic practice has its ground in choreographic work, even with the young ages. This creates a complication as the commercial agenda collides with the artisic vision of a higher educated dance pedagogue.

In this essay, Choreography within cinematic virtual reality (VR) is investigated through the genre of screen dance. The purpose is to contribute to the knowledge of choreography by investigating the experience of the medium from the perspective of the viewer/participant and the importance of the site. Essentially, using a laboratory approach, a choreography has been developed in two stages which after being filmed with different dancers at different sites, has been the starting point to the analysis. Part of the approach has also been that I myself actively participated in the whole process by taking on different roles. My participation was threefold; first as a dancer/choreographer, then as choreographer/participant/viewer, when the dancers came into the process, and finally as participant/viewer. As a theoretical point of departure, the concepts of affect, emotion and emotional expression are used to create an understanding of how an experience is created in 3D with the help of choreography and locations. The importance of a site was investigated though three different concepts which include the physical location, technology as a location, and the thirdspace. With the help of these concepts, it is shown how a physical location changes and becomes a thirdspace with the help of technology. Because of technology, this leads to the acceptance of the thirdspace as the fictional location equivalent to reality by the viewer/participant. The term kinesthetic perception explains the phenomena of how the viewer bodily experiences being "there". The result of my study has revealed that for a deeper experience to occur, the traditional film convention of 180 degrees must be challenged and supplanted by the 360 degree rule where the relationship between the viewer/participant, choreographer and the location are in focus and where engaging the moment of point of interest (POI) is allowed to happen. Further each viewer/participant has their own impression of what is taking place, unlike a scenic or performative action, the experience in cinematic VR is not shared directly with other viewer/participant.

[---] Utifrån litteraturen om Montessori och hennes pedagogik har jag analyserat och reflekterat över hur jag kan överföra och inspireras av denna i min dansundervisning. [---]

The purpose of this survey is to map dance students perceptions of the phenomenon non-genre defineddance. This phenomenon is investigated to develop didactic questions in areas other than genre-orienteddance in relation to questioning of norms in the dance teaching field and creation of identities. Afterparticipating in non- genre defined dance classes the differences in the students perceptions are gatheredand categorized through the qualitative methods of written self-reports and phenomenographic approach.The analysis forms three descriptive categories that deals with different purposes of the dance classessuch as working with expression, the joy of dancing and the layout and mix of dance genres. The categoryembracing the work with expression is divided in three additional ideas which includes the physical andpersonal expression and working with characters. By adding a norm critical perspective, different normsappears from the result, all within the context of dance education. Conclusions from the discussionsuggests the non-genre defined dance as a tool to give the teaching situation more width by including thepedagogue’s and all students competence and identities. Didactic questions are developed in relation tothe non-genre defined approach and norms in relation to the study are being questioned and challenged.

Jag har använt mig av litteraturstudie om Katherine Dunham, videomaterial med Vanoye Aikens och en intervju med Katarina Lundmark för att svara på frågorn: Hur såg Katherine Dunhams bakgrund ut och vad har influerat hennes teknik?Hur har Dunhamtekniken bevarats och utvecklats i Sverige och vad finns kvar av den och undervisas på Danshögskolan dag? [---]

Dance students perceptions of the phenomenon happiness in dance.

Happiness is a phenomenon in human lives that is constantly being researched, and even though the topic is expanding there is still no literature about happiness in dance in Sweden. The purpose of this study is through a phenomenogaphical approach to get increased knowledge about how dance students perceive happiness, and the variations in their perceptions of happiness. In order to find out about this five dance students in the University of Dance and Circus were interviewed in the spring of 2018. The results showed that dance is affiliated with feelings of happiness, at least when those dance students were interviewed about it. Of course, the picture was not a clear picture, but rather complex and varied. What happiness in dance means turned out to be quite different, ranging from a euphoric feeling, a sensual experience of the movements of the body, to joy over challenging limits, accomplishing a new achievement or simply a feeling of well-being. In addition, different situations, contexts, moods and occasions give different opportunities to feel happiness in dance, according to the dance students. The atmosphere of the group, the influence of the dance educator, and the role of the audience influence in different ways. Requirements for good performance can both cause happiness when you succeed and sadness when you fail. This study creates new knowledge of happiness in dance, which has not previously been investigated; and shows that describing happiness in dance is like defining a very subjective experience.

Sammanfattningsvis ser man att designen fungerar ändamålsenligt för ett skapandeprojekt i relation till Skolverkets kunskapskrav och att begreppet konstnärlig process genomförs på ett gestaltande sätt. Själva begreppet konstnärlig process tydliggörs eller medvetandegörs inte verbalt i så stor utsträckning annat än i projektets början, men lärprocessens utformning som ett projekt kan kroppsligt vara en konkretisering av en konstnärlig process. Det är främst det aktiva fysiska deltagandet i den konstnärliga processen som uppfattas som en kunskapsskapande aktivitet. Denna aktivitet kan dock verbaliseras mer explicit vilket i sin tur kan göra lärprocessen av en konstnärlig process mer tydlig och därmed begriplig.

Lärprocessen i sig blir genom designen av projektet en gestaltning av en konstnärlig process. I de lösningsinriktade deliberativa samtalen är publikens fokus, dansarens upplevelse och verkets uttryck ständigt aktuellt. Genom samtalen växer och formas stycket till sin slutliga koreografi.

Danseleverna får utrymme i improviserandet att undersöka och pröva egna personliga dansuttryck där samtalen kring valen av rörelsematerial verbaliserar materialet. Genom argumenteringen i de deliberativa samtalen synliggör och förtydligas både temat och tankarna kring detta, stycket blir mer konkret. Eleverna lär sig samtidigt hur man agerar i en demokratisk process, ett för Skolverket övergripande mål för alla gymnasieelever. Designen gestaltar konkret vad designteoretikern Lijnse menar med ”guidens from above and freedom from below” (1995, s. 192) och där rundan fyller funktionen av förberedande metod, trygghet och identitetsskapande.

I designen tillåts eleverna genom det kollektiva arbetet med skapandet av en koreografi både kollektivt och individuellt tillägna sig Skolverket kunskapsmål (2011b) och visa förståelse och förmåga att med handledning genomföra en konstnärlig process. De tecken på kunskap som lyfts fram och blir synliggjorda i relation till begreppet konstnärlig process tydliggörs mest i processen genom de didaktiska verktygen, rundan och deliberativa samtalen. Detta tack vare att eleverna i gruppen visade sig engagerade i temat och aktiva i processen. En mindre engagerad grupp, under andra förhållanden och med mindre aktiva deltagare skulle kunna ge andra resultat beträffande kunskapsutveckling och förståelse av konstnärlig och demokratisk process.

Kunskapstransformationen eleverna emellan får utrymme och handlingsalternativen inom fältets genre blir fler tack vare den kollaborativa skapandeaktiviteten. Meningsfullheten i sammanhanget och den meningsfulla aktiviteten i arbetet ligger främst i att eleverna tillsammans skapar och framför ett stycke danskonst samtidigt som de förtydligar sin egen individualitet i relation till varandra. De bygger på så sätt också en gemenskap som reducerar risken för konflikter och borgar för framtida effektiva samarbeten.

Det dialogiska förhållningssättet som är signifikativt i designen ger en kontinuerlig utvärdering av skapandeprojektet för alla deltagarna både lärarna och eleverna. De deliberativa samtalen får liksom konstverket ett eget liv och blir som en drivande motor i projektet. I de deltagandes aktivitet ligger en energi och ett momentum som för hela projektet framåt. Här finns möjligheter för gruppdeltagarna att, där det kollaborativa arbetet innebär en verbalt och fysisk diskussion kring kommunikation och koreografiska val, fungera som språkutvecklande resurs för varandra i den konstnärliga processen. Kunskapsutvecklingen blir i verbaliseringen och språkliggörandet av innehållet i processen därmed också mer synlig för danslärarna och vilken kunskapsnivå eleverna uppnått.

Genom det kollaborativa skapandet ingår varje elevs röst och rörelsespråk både i ett mindre, gruppens, och ett större samhälleligt, sammanhang. Detta uppfattar min kollega och

jag som bidragande orsak till känslan av meningsfullhet. Att ha förmåga och kunna delta i samhällsdebatten är också ett tecken på demokratisk kompetens önskvärt av Skolverket (Englund 2000).

Maktbalansen mellan lärare och elever jämnas ut genom de deliberativa samtalen och ägandeskapet av danskonstprodukten för över till elevgruppen och blir en engagerande faktor för alla elever. Dock är det svårt att bortse från danslärarnas egna kulturella kapital då designen utformas och projektet planeras. Det behöver inte vara negativt om både ämneskunskaper och danserfarenhet finns som kompetens och resurs i undervisningen.

Inom skolans fält förekommer olika förhållningssätt både till transformation av kunskap och till elevens aktiva roll och dess inflytande över lärsituationen. Detta är också en tradition som elever inom dansutbildningar bär med sig. Det behöver medvetandegöras i en lärsituation för att utveckling av ämnesdidaktiken ska kunna ske. Studien av designen visar på vilket sätt undervisningen kan systematiseras och överföras och på så sätt förskjuta lärarens mästarposition över till eleverna och genom detta öka deras inflytande. I en grupp elever på gymnasiet finns ofta några som har dansat någon form av scenisk dans tidigare och därmed kroppsligt bär med sig mästar-lärling-traditionen. För elever nya för danskonstens undersökande förhållningssätt kan det vara en utmaning att ändra perspektiv och vara den som medverkar i konversationen verbalt och fysiskt med att utifrån sin egen åsikt beskriva en tolkning av egen eller någon annans rörelse. Genom designen som min kollega och jag utformat kan detta genomföras och systematiseras i både i dansgestaltning, men i förlängningen även i övrig undervisning.

Metareflekterande deliberativa samtal, visar sig fungera som en drivande motor i processen och ge möjlighet till diskussioner om danskonsten som uttryck. De ger samtidigt möjlighet för varje enskild elev att få syn på sin egen konstnärliga röst, de individuella preferenserna och val en danskonstnär ställ inför i en konstnärlig process i speglingarna av övriga gruppmedlemmar. I metareflektionen intar varje elev en representation av sin erhållna kunskap vid det aktuella samtalstillfället. På så vis visar studien att de deliberativa samtalen inbegriper kunskapsutveckling ur flera aspekter.

Att denna studie endast visar på en mindre del i en större design av en konstnärlig process kan anses begränsat, men man får se det som en i raden av flera skapandeprojekt i den större övergripande designen för eleverna i ämnet dansgestaltning under tre år. Studien kan även ses som en i raden av flera studier av design-för-lärande som i sin tur kan jämföras och diskuteras. Vad studien visar är att eleverna enskilt eller tillsammans kan driva, leda, skapa, uppleva, tolka och kulturellt utforma danskonst i sin kontext inom fältet och därmed ha tillräcklig kunskap för

att genomföra en konstnärlig process. Resultatet visar således att den här studerade designen ger grundträning för en förståelse av och färdighet i en konstnärlig process. Eleverna har möjlighet att inom designens form tillägna sig vissa domänspecifika kunskaper tillhörande danskonstens fält, arbeta med ett för dem meningsfullt projekt, utveckla demokratisk förmåga samt få utrymme att pröva sin egen personliga konstnärliga röst inom ramen för designen.

This bachelor thesis is a study of how collaborative learning impacts accessibility, with a particular attention given to the relationship between the learning process and accessibility. The aim is to gain insights into how collaborative learning as a pedagogical approach impacts accessibility in a group of mixed ability dancers. For that purpose, we propose a theoretical framework of accessibility, collaborative learning and pathways to knowledge. The study is conducted through a qualitative research method using abductive reasoning. It consisted of two workshops as well as in-practice reflections and discussions, following an eight-step thematic analysis method. In summary, five main themes were identified in this study: sense of belonging, openness, the act of sharing, space for interpretation and to dare. Each theme reflects components of breaking the loop, a process in which new insights may arise. Thus, all of the themes can be used as inspiration to create more accessible learning environment in which we pave the way for discovery and creativity. Thereof, while arguing for the significance of collaborative learning, this study intends to contribute to the conversation surrounding accessibility in the wider context of dance education.

The aim of this study is to investigate how different approaches and methods for giving feedback can be articulated, problematized and discussed. Also, to produce a bigger knowledge about how feedback is used in a contemporary dance teaching context and to pay attention to feedback in dance teaching. The investigation is made by qualitative methods there three dance teachers have been interviewed and their answers were analyzed by disposing their answers in categories. The result of the study shows that teachers’ feedback can have different forms and their choices depends on several factors. Teachers’ intention is to not comment their pupils’ appearance and instead focus on dance-related aspects and use feedback consciously. The aim of teachers’ feedback is to develop and improve pupils’ dance practice and includes also problems and difficulties that can be encountered in the communication. However, the study contains and present how just a small part of dance teachers experience feedback and cannot be representative for the all dance teachers in one country or even institution.

Dance figure skating – A comparison between a score executed on ice and on floor

This work derives from a curiosity of how figure skating and contemporary dance as two different art formscould work together. In what ways can different techniques within the fields of contemporary dance and figureskating inspire and develop each other? Video analysis together with introspection are used as methods. A scorewith different techniques from each field is recorded on the ice and on the floor. This material together with awritten introspection contains the base for the analysis and discussion together with relevant literature from thetwo fields. There are both similarities and clashes when analysing the results of the scores. Gliding and being onedges are fundamentals in figure skating and they are not transferable to floor. Falling and catching the fall issomething that turns out to be restricted to the floor since the skates makes edges while leaning and glidinginstead of falling. There are more explorations to be done when it comes to merging the two art forms together,hopefully this essay will give some inspiration to further work within contemporary skating.

In this thesis, I have studied the stories of primary school teachers regarding their experiences of the values of dance lessons by visiting teachers from Sigtuna kulturskola provide in their classes for children aged eight and nine. This work was completed through narrative research as a methodological approach, in which eleven primary school teachers were interviewed. These teachers had actively participated in the dance lessons, which were led by a dance teacher from Sigtuna kulturskola for forty minutes each week during two grades. My aim is to contribute to knowledge about dance in school by investigating how a number of primary school teachers in a municipality think about the teaching of dance in school. To achieve that aim, of contributing to knowledge, I formulated two research questions: What do a few primary school teachers think about dance in school? And: In what way can the teachers’ thoughts about dance say something about dance as an aesthetic learning process in primary school? Through my research, I have found that dance in school can be a powerful tool for students' basic education. Through the inherent rhizomatic nature of aesthetic learning process, students are given the opportunity to experience, create, and develop in the same situation. They can go through a holistic learning that promotes both health and well-being. Aesthetic learning processes not only strengthen students' identity and personal development, but also communication with the outside world. Through creative expression, in creative forms, the students get personal experience of exploring the artistic sphere, and thus experiences meaningful learning that contributes to language development as well as a knowledge in the various subjects of primary school. The teachers were given seven conversation themes, at seven stations, to share their thoughts on: knowledge acquisition, language development, personal development, social observations, gender, creativity, and one more station, named “other aspects”, where the teachers could bring forward something of their own initiative. In all the stories, the teachers were unanimously positive at the stations They agreed that aesthetic learning processes strengthen both the class as a whole and the student on a personal level. The students are given tools to be creative both individually and in groups in dance through dance. Dancing in school helps students acquire the knowledge that the school wants to convey, also linguistically.

The fifth element — a visual ethnographic study on knowledge, teaching and training methods within breaking.

In this thesis I examine how a few selected dance teachers define breaking as a dance genre and how they describe their teaching practice and training methods. The aim for the thesis is to use my prior knowledge and experiences within the field of dance to begin a documentation of the breaking genre, its teaching and training methods. In a further perspective, I intend to use the result of the study to develop my own teaching methods and pedagogical approaches. By using visual ethnography as a method and through a social constructionism perspective, I analyse my collected data. The data consist of two interviews, field notes from two participant observations of a classroom setting and several informal interviews with participants of dance classes.

Aside from reviewing the foundational element and aesthetic values of the genre, this study shows how the history and the cultural context of the genre is integrated in its teaching and training methods. Additionally, the study shows how the teachers within the field emphasize individual learning processes. By using conceptual movement exercises the teachers bring focus to the students' own personal expression and originality. Finally, this thesis demonstrates how visual ethnography can be used within dance studies.

Relating to the documentation of folk dances is and should be a premise even for contemporary folk dancers, but relating to it as a final truth that only needs reconstruction leaves little room for the individual. This study addresses the question off how to relate to the documentation in a way that allows the dancer to experience a given dance form as being alive. Building on hermeneutics I suggest that this is possible when the answer to the dancer’s quest of interpreting the dance is not given. I have together with four chosen folk dancers examined Senpolska from Medelpad, a very well documented polska form, trying to get as close to the documentation as possible. Based on this I have investigated how a method for interpretation effects the given dance form and alters the dancer’s experience of the dance. The study shows that the suggested method of interpretation offers a feasible way for the dancers to always experience the dance form as new. It even has a pedagogical prospect of helping students incorporating a dance form as their own, and widening their capacity of expressing themselves through a specific folk dance form. The method of interpretation as a way of engaging in a dance form offers a way to be a part of a living danced tradition.

Injury prevention for dance pedagogues - A qualitative research in five dance pedagogy educations.

This study is about injury prevention in dance. We examined five dance pedagogy educations in four schools in Sweden to find out how injury prevention is included in these different programmes. The purpose of the study is to find differences and similarities in the schools and to highlight a subject that we think is important for dance pedagogues. We sent questionnaires to the four schools and analysed their course syllabises to find out in which courses injury prevention is included. Our literature overview gave us a foundation of the subject but through our two interviews we got a deeper understanding of why injury prevention is important for dance pedagogues. We did a content analysis on our material to get clearer comparisons of the schools. From the content analysis we created three categories: substance, knowledge and aim. The result of the study shows that injury prevention is included in courses with dance training and didactics. In these courses are theoretical and practical anatomy, dance technique and didactics included. Some of the schools also have physiology, biomechanics, nutrition and complementary training. The aim of the courses is that the student should learn to take care of her/his body and avoid injuries. The student should know how to create exercises and material for different ages and bodies in order to avoid injuries. Injury prevention is important for dance pedagogues because they have responsibility for their students and because the pedagogues should have a sustainable career.

Det här arbetet handlar om dansundervisning och lärande. Danspedagoger besitter ett stort kunnande i dans och lärande, något som de har inhämtat under många år av träning, övning och praktik. En stor del av detta kunnande är en tyst kunskap som danspedagogen förvärvat under ett liv med och i dans.2 Det är först när danspedagogen kan formulera sin kunskap som hon kan dela med sig av den till andra och utsätta undervisningsprocessen för kritisk granskning.Jag har under min livstid ägnat en stor del åt dansen, men trots att jag verkat i en värld av dans har det inte talats om dansundervisning utifrån gemensamma begrepp eller teorier utan snarare om dansundervisning i form av metoder. Under min tid på Lärarhögskolan kom jag i kontakt med olika tänkare och deras teorier om lärande och det har väckt tankar om dans och undervisning och kanske speciellt om hur danspedagogen ser på teori och praktik i dansundervisningen.Arbetet syftar till att i en konstnärlig film försöka se spår av teorier i praktriken hos två danspedagoger genom att analysera deras lektioner utifrån tre skilda teoretiska perspektiv på lärande. Ett skäl till att söka teoretiska förklaringar till dansundervisning är att jag själv som blivande danspedagog bättre kan förklara och förstå vad jag gör och varför man gör det.3