Dance interrogations

A site-specific solo dance work created and performed by Dianne Reid. The work interacts directly with the audience who must move in and around the dance action in intimate and non-traditional performance locations. The dancer creates the performance in real-time, improvising her movement and text in response to the location and the particular audience members she encounters there. The work also incorporates projected video imagery using the skin as projection screen, and a unique soundscape is created for each performance drawn from the music and effects library of SA composer Stuart Day.

Dance interrogations

A site-specific solo dance work created and performed by Dianne Reid. The work interacts directly with the audience who must move in and around the dance action in intimate and non-traditional performance locations. The dancer creates the performance in real-time, improvising her movement and text in response to the location and the particular audience members she encounters there. The work also incorporates projected video imagery using the skin as projection screen, and a unique soundscape is created for each performance drawn from the music and effects library of SA composer Stuart Day.

Dance hall

A collaborative residency resulting in three performance presentations as part of an Interdisciplinary Artist Hothouse/Festival produced by Vitalstatistix.

Moving to the rhythm of Africa : a case study of a tertiary educator's understanding of multicultural dance in teacher education

Australia is proud of its rich and varied array of the Arts depicting a range of cultural diversity formed by ongoing migration. Although the complex issues of dance, culture and identity are interconnected, forming a multicultural society in Australia, dance education is a powerful platform to transmit and promote togetherness where understanding and respect is shared in dance practice. The focus of this article is on dance education as part of multicultural arts education within teacher education courses at Deakin University (Melbourne) Australia. It forms part of my ongoing wider study that started in 2010 regarding Attitudes and perceptions of Arts Education Students: Preparing culturally responsive teachers across two continents (Australia and South Africa). In 2011, I interviewed the dance educator and will report on two themes from her interview data: multicultural dance and the inclusion of African dance within multicultural dance practice. I argue that the inclusion of innovative and immersive practice of dance where authentic teaching and learning can be facilitated is a powerful platform to share multicultural dance practice in tertiary education.

Process in skill acquisition : motivation, interruptions, memory, affective states, and metacognition

Models of skill acquisition, such as Ackerman's (1988) theory of skill acquisition, largely ignore the experiences and dynamic internal processes of a person while learning a skill (e.g., how they feel, what strategies they are using, the role of the external environment). Riding and Powell (1993) suggested that the information-processing model (a common conceptualisation of learning and thinking) is an inadequate model to explain the complexities of human brain functions. These models are largely holistic, and do not provide detail about the qualitative aspects of a person's learning experience. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of a dynamic description of skill acquisition and to “unpack” the skill acquisition stages, with a focus given to process rather than performance or outcome. Learning more about what is going on “inside people's heads” whilst learning a skill, and what feelings or affective states are present, can inform both skill acquisition theory and various practical issues, such as why some training programs fail and some succeed. The role of emotions, motivation, environment, and other factors; the concepts of skill and ability; and various theories of skill acquisition are discussed. This highlights missing elements in the typical cognitive experimental focus. The concept of process itself is explored, with a focus on learning in general. Process-oriented factors such as motivation, memory, interruptions, emotion, and metacognition are investigated in relation to skilled performance. Areas for future research and some practical implications for training are outlined.

Experiencing indigenous East African dance songs : reflections from North West University (South Africa)

After democracy (1994) the doors of teaching and learning in music opened widely to include local indigenous music and culture in South Africa. Since 2005, African music has been a vibrant aspect of the music curriculum within the School of Music, North West University, South Africa. Globally tertiary music educators are challenged to include informal pedagogy of indigenous musics within the formal context of university courses. University music courses in South Africa are still predisposed towards ‘western’ music pedagogies. In October 2012, the School of Music invited a visiting expert in African music and dance to offer onsite teaching and learning of Ugandan dance songs to tertiary students. The initiative to include Ugandan music as part of the teaching and learning workshops on African music at the School of Music was funded by the South African Music Rights Organization. The School of Music has an ongoing policy to invite and include culture bearers to share their skills and expertise with students and academics. Such sharing provides culture bearers the opportunity to transmit much needed skills, which are not often offered by academics. UNESCO (2012) identifies scarce knowledge and skills as intangible heritage.

Can social dancing prevent falls in older adults? a protocol of the Dance, Aging, Cognition,Economics (DAnCE) fall prevention randomised controlled trial

Background:  Falls are one of the most common health problems among older people and pose a major economic burden on health care systems. Exercise is an accepted stand-alone fall prevention strategy particularly if it is balance training or regular participation in Tai chi. Dance shares the ‘holistic’ approach of practices such as Tai chi. It is a complex sensorimotor rhythmic activity integrating multiple physical, cognitive and social elements. Small-scale randomised controlled trials have indicated that diverse dance styles can improve measures of balance and mobility in older people, but none of these studies has examined the effect of dance on falls or cognition. This study aims to determine whether participation in social dancing: i) reduces the number of falls; and ii) improves cognitive functions associated with fall risk in older people.

Methods/design: A single-blind, cluster randomised controlled trial of 12 months duration will be conducted. Approximately 450 participants will be recruited from 24 self-care retirement villages that house at least 60 residents each in Sydney, Australia. Village residents without cognitive impairment and obtain medical clearance will be eligible. After comprehensive baseline measurements including physiological and cognitive tests and self-completed questionnaires, villages will be randomised to intervention sites (ballroom or folk dance) or to a wait-listed control using a computer randomisation method that minimises imbalances between villages based on two baseline fall risk measures. Main outcome measures are falls, prospectively measured, and the Trail Making cognitive function test. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses will be performed.

Discussion: This study offers a novel approach to balance training for older people. As a community-based approach to fall prevention, dance offers older people an opportunity for greater social engagement, thereby making a major contribution to healthy ageing. Providing diversity in exercise programs targeting seniors recognises the heterogeneity of multicultural populations and may further increase the number of taking part in exercise.

Dance interrogations

A performed conference presentation incorporating dance, video projection and spoken word.

Cuban thrills of a dance revolution

Review : Ballet Revolucion performed at State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne