Powerpoint: The embodied character of the dance teacher's practical-pedagogical knowledge

The embodied character of the dance teacher’s practical-pedagogical knowledge - investigated in dialogue with two contemporary dance teachers Tone Pernille Østern (Dr. of Arts in dance) Dance artist and Associate Professor in Arts Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology [email protected]

? The meaning of the lived body while teaching

1.  In what ways does the practical-pedagogical knowledge of the dance teacher have a bodily character?

1.  What is the exchange between the teacher’s

bodily-sensory experiences, inner dialogue and choices while teaching?

The research process as an iterative cyclic web

By Smith and Dean (2011), inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s rhizome (1987)

Hazel Smith and Roger T. Dean (2011): A model of creative arts and research processes. The iterative cyclic web of practice-led research and research-led practice.

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!!!!!Figure!1!(Østern,!2013).!The!research!process!in!the!project!“The!embodied!character!of!the!dance@teacher’s!practical@pedagogical!knowledge”!illustrated!as!an!iterative!cyclic!web.!Based!on!the!model!for!an!iterative!cyclic!web!of!practice@led!research!and!research@led!practice!by!Hazel!Smith!and!Roger!T.!Dean!(2011)!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Idea generation: In what ways does the practical-pedagogical knowledge of the dance teacher have a bodily character? !

2.!Selection!of!empirical!approach!!Introspective!logs!by!one!dance!teacher+!interviews!

3.!Iteration:!!!Introspective!logs!by!another!dance!teacher+!interviews!

4.!Output!!Identification!of!themes.!Themes!formed!as!choreographic!maps.!

5.!Theoretisation!of!themes!as!research!publication!!!!

6. New idea generation: How can the theoretical results of the lived material (dance teaching) be brought into contact with the dance teachers’ bodily understanding again? ! 7.!Idea!selection!

!Choreographies!by!the!dance!teachers/artists!based!on!choreographic!maps!+!joint!interview!

8.!Output:!artwork!!Choreographies:!One!dance!film,!one!live!choreography!documented!on!film!!!

9.!Output!!Analysis!of!artwork!with!the!help!of!identified!themes!in!output!4.!Theoretisation!as!research!publication!!

TTheh!

Theory!and!practice!intermingling!in!every!subEprocess,!every!leap!and!step!of!the!whole!process.!Theory!and!practice!as!and!from!the!lived!body.!!

FOCUS TOPICS FOR THE SELF-REFLEXIVE LOGS

Sensing and experiencing Thinking and observing Seeing dialogue and connections

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Article 1:

The embodied teaching moment  

The embodied character of the dance teacher’s practical-pedagogical knowledge investigated in dialogue with two contemporary dance teachers

Theoretisation of themes as research publication

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How can the embodied character of the dance-teacher’s practical-pedagogical knowledge be understood and described? Themes discussed based on an analysis of the two contemporary dance teachers’ self-reflexive logs.

TTheh!

Body%tunes:%as!a!backgroound!for!all!different!experiences,!choices!and!actions!the!dance!teachers!make,!they!write!about!body%tunes!(kroppsstemninger!in!Norwegian)!which!ackompany!them!all!the!time.!This!can!be!connected!to!what!the!Danish!philosopher!Løgstrup!based!on!Heidegger!writes!about!”stemthet”!or!”being!tuned”:!how!this!i!s!fundamental!in!life,!and!how!fundamentally!bodily!”being!tuned”!is.!!

Bodily%listening%/%kineasthetic%empathy:%listening!to!one’s!own!body!and!understanding!the!pupils!from!one’s!own!body.%

Teaching%through%touch:%knowledge!and!experience!is!passed!over!through!the!use!of!touch.!!Touch!is!also!used!for!listening!to!and!understanding!the!pupils!experience,!bodily!ideas!or!moods.!!

Own%bodily%participation:%a!way!of!immediately!understanding!the!processes!the!pupils!go!through.%%

The%body%as%tutor:%the!different!ways!of!answering!a!question!by!pupils!in!a!bodily!way!is!articulated!as!a!kind!of!pedagogical!care!taking!form!as!an!”extending!of!the!body”.!My%body%becomes%clear,%concrete%and%I%underline%with%my%body%as%I%answer%a%question%bodily%(Mari)!

The%body%as%manipulator:%by!the!use!of!bodily!energy,!tempo!and!direction!the!teacher!shows!that!she!is!the!one!who!decides.!She!can!bodily!”press”!(with!no!physical!contact)!the!pupils!into!doing!the!tasks!needed.!!

The%rhythm,%time%and%flow%of%the%body:%the!teaching!happens!through!sensing!and!attending!to!a!developing!timing!and!rhythm!in!the!own!body!while!teaching.!This!gives!the!lesson!a!sense!of!flow.!

The%body%as%a%transparent%surface:%the!transparency!of!the!body’s!surface!is!articulated.!The!bodies!of!the!teachers!reach!out!and!”blur”!with!the!pupils.!They!receive!information!and!energy!with!the!surface!of!their!skin!as!transmittor,!and!in!the!same!way!they!give!away!energy!through!their!body.!

Focusing%own%breathing:%awareness!that!their!breath!tells!them!about!their!own!experiences;!their!breath!helps!them!in!making!teachin!choices.!

The%voice%as%extension%of%the%body:!the!teacher’s!voice!affects!the!teacher!and!the!pupils,!and!the!voice!gives!musicality!to!the!lesson!when!it!functions!as!an!extension!of!the!body.!

The%body,%thoughts%and%language:!the!relation!to!language!is!ambivalent.!Too!much!focus!on!the!words!used!takes!away!focus!from!the!bodily!listening.!Words!and!language!are!also!experienced!as!very!important!for!reflection!and!for!solving!problems.!!

The%body%and%the%gaze:!the!relation!to!stepping!outside!of!the!dance!and!only!observe!is!ambivalent.!Visual!information!sometimes!is!experienced!as!disturbing!the!bodily!listening!to!the!process.!At!the!same!time,!the!stepping!out!and!observing!is!also!very!important!because!it!gives!an!other!understanding!of!the!pupils’!processes.!!

Tone Pernille Østern (2013, work-in-progress): Analysis of themes in the dance teachers’ logs

Led to two new research questions:

a) How can two dance artists and teachers who have the function as informants in a research project actively be brought into the analysis of the empirical material?

b) How can the academic results of the analysis of lived material (dance teaching) be brought into contact with the dance teachers’ bodily understanding again?

Which led to the dance teachers’ choreographies about their teaching experiences based on the choreographic maps.

Ingeborg’s choreography

Mari’s choreography

a) The choreographies are a result.

b) Analysis of artwork with the help of identified themes

as research publication

•  To stand in the middle of teaching is an intrusively bodily

situation. The sensory and kinaesthetic impressions form ground for the thoughts, decisions and actions that the teacher make.

•  This project tells about how active the teacher-as-body actually is.

•  All experiences, all teaching choices the dance teachers do during class happen as kind of an echo to shifting body tunes while teaching.

•  It is not wrong to say, that all the dance teachers do as teachers is embodied. Their teaching actions bounce off from the lived body.

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Since experience always happens in relation to the awareness and culture, which already is interwoven with the body, this project also tells about a contemporary dance teacher culture. In this way, this project also is a window on what dance teachers know.

References: Deluze, G. And Guattari, F. (1987). A Thousand Plateus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press. Depraz, N., Varela, F. and Vermersch, P. (2001). On becoming aware. A Pragmatics of Experiencing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. Fink-Jensen, K. (1998). Stemthed – en basis for æstetisk læring. København: Danmarks Lærerhøyskole. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the Flesh. The Embodied Mind and its Challenge to Western Thought. New York: Basics Books. Løgstrup, K.E. (1983). Kunst og erkendelse. København: Gyldendal. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962/2002). The Phenomenology of Perception. Transl. By Collin Smith. London and New York: Routledge. Engelsrud, G. (2006). Hva er kropp? Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Thompson, E. (2007). Kind in Life. Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Smith, H. And Dean, R.T. (2011). Practice-led research, research-led practice in the creative arts. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Varela, F., Thompson, E. & Rosch, E. (1991). The Embodied Mind. Cognitive Science and Human Experience. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.