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.